VANCOUVER, CANADA – Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, calls for the criminalisation of ‘gender apartheid’ in international law, highlighting the “institutionalized system of discrimination and oppression” by the Taliban against women and girls in Afghanistan in his new report.
Mr. Bennett will present the report next Tuesday, June 18, at the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
“The Taliban’s institutionalisation of its system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls, and the harms that it has entrenched, should shock the conscience of humanity.”
He says that the institutionalized system of domination and oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan [by the Taliban] should trigger the discussion on drafting the crime of gender apartheid, similar to how the systematic oppression of black and non-white people in South Africa led activists and governments to establish the crime of apartheid and helped to end it.
Mr. Bennett specifically calls for amending the definition of gender apartheid in the Rome Statute, suggesting it should be defined as “inhumane acts committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one gender group over any other gender group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.”
He added that this definition precisely describes the systematic discrimination against women and girls that lies at the core of the Taliban’s ideology and governance.
In numerous consultations and correspondences with Afghan citizens, especially women, Mr. Bennett found that they believe the term “gender apartheid” best represents the cumulative and intergenerational harm inflicted on them by the Taliban and have called for its recognition as a crime against humanity.
Recognizing the crime of gender apartheid would obligate states to take effective measures to prevent the crime and punish its perpetrators, thus strengthening international legal norms, he explained.
Afghan women emphasized that the concept of gender apartheid could be used as a mobilizing tool, including in setting standards for states’ interactions with the Taliban and as a deterrent against normalizing the group.
Mr. Bennett has called on states to support the recognition and drafting of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and to provide political support for Afghan activists mobilizing around this concept.
Previously, UN experts have also called for recognizing gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, stating that the Taliban’s policies against Afghan women constitute gender apartheid.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, they have imposed extensive restrictions on women, depriving them of many basic rights, including the right to education, work, and freedom of movement.
In his previous reports, Richard Bennett described the Taliban’s policies against Afghan women as “systematic” and “institutionalized,” labeling them as “crimes against humanity” and suggesting that these policies could be regarded as “gender apartheid.”
