KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on world leaders to act on the global human rights crisis, including the situation in Afghanistan.
In a statement on Friday, September 20, HRW emphasized that as world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly’s annual General Debate, the human rights situation in countries facing crises should be at the top of the agenda.
According to the statement, world leaders will attend the Summit of the Future at the UN from September 22 to 23 and are expected to endorse a “Pact for the Future.” This pact is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of the UN and international cooperation among its member states.
“World leaders at the UN General Assembly should commit to bold steps to end atrocity crimes in the world’s worst crises and hold those responsible accountable,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.
“The world’s leaders need to demonstrate that they are willing to act to uphold human rights,” he added.
“They should end the global neglect of the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have deprived women and girls of nearly all their rights three years after regaining power,” part of the statement reads.
The human rights situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the past three years, with widespread violations committed by the ruling regime, particularly against women and ethnic minorities.
Afghanistan is the only country where girls are banned from education beyond the sixth grade, and women are prohibited from attending university. The Taliban have also enforced strict restrictions on women’s employment, freedom of movement, and participation in public life, including bans on sports, visiting parks, and travel alone.
The newly introduced so-called “morality law,” which took effect last month, has further worsened the already dire conditions for both men and women. The law suppresses women’s voices, forbids eye contact with unrelated men, mandates full-body covering including the face, and imposes several other restrictions.
The European Parliament recently passed a resolution condemning the Taliban’s misogynistic policies and called on EU members to support international recognition of what it described as “gender apartheid.”
Furthermore, under Taliban rule, religious and ethnic minorities such as Shia-Hazaras and Sufis have experienced systematic marginalization and exclusion from society, including being prevented from organizing their religious and cultural ceremonies, among many other restrictions.
The HRW’s UN director says that despite having the tools to pressure governments to end human rights violations, world leaders often fail to take advantage of those available resources.
“World leaders should use General Debate events to kick-start new approaches grounded in international law for all countries, whether friend or foe,” he said.
