KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Several international rights groups have criticized the international community’s response to Taliban human rights violations, describing it as increasingly ineffective and, at times, even harmful.
In a joint statement on Thursday, August 15, rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for an urgent rethink of the international response to the crisis in Afghanistan.
“The Taliban have imposed draconian policies and taken abusive actions that clearly violate Afghanistan’s obligations under international law, including international human rights law,” the rights groups said.
“These policies have had a particularly devastating impact on women and girls, LGBTQI+ people, human rights defenders, and religious and ethnic minorities,” they added.
The rights groups stated that despite international condemnation, the Taliban continue to impose new repressive measures and intensify the enforcement of existing ones.
The human rights situation in Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the past three years, with widespread violations committed by the Taliban, particularly against women and ethnic minorities.
Afghanistan remains the only country where women and girls are prohibited from attending school beyond sixth grade and university, and are banned from working in most sectors, including in UN agencies.
The rights groups also criticized the UN for holding the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan in June without including Afghan women and civil society, and for omitting human rights and women’s rights from the agenda.
“We believe this decision by the UN handed the Taliban an enormous victory for no meaningful benefit. It betrayed Afghan women who are risking their lives to fight for their rights and could set a precedent that is deeply harmful to both the struggle for human rights in Afghanistan and to the global women, peace and security agenda,” they said.
The rights groups urged the UN and the international community to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and ensure that Afghan women are fully included in all discussions about their country’s future.
They also called on all nations to urgently and effectively unite in addressing the ongoing “human rights catastrophe” in Afghanistan.
