KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN Security Council (UNSC) has expressed concern over Taliban policies that restrict the human rights of women and girls, warning of their negative impact on Afghanistan’s peace, stability, and development.
In a press statement on Friday, December 27, council members urged the Taliban to quickly reverse these policies, including the recent suspension of medical institutions for women and girls.
“Recalling its resolution 2681 (2023), the members of the Security Council emphasized the need to ensure the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan for the country’s future and long-term development,” the statement reads.
“Positive developments in this area are crucial for building confidence with the international community,” it adds.
For over three years following their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have carried out a relentless and all-encompassing attack on the human rights of women and girls, regulating and limiting virtually every aspect of their lives.
The Taliban recently ordered all public and private institutions to suspend medical training, such as nursing and midwifery, for women and girls. This decision effectively closed the last educational avenue available to women, denying over 38,000 female students access to such training in a country with some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
According to the UNSC statement, member states also urged the Taliban to take decisive steps to strengthen their efforts in combating terrorism, particularly against individuals, groups, and entities designated under UN counterterrorism resolutions.
They said that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used to “threaten or attack any country, plan or finance terrorist acts, or shelter and train terrorists.”
“No Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country,” UNSC members emphasized.
According to the statement, council members emphasized that dialogue, consultation, and engagement among Afghan stakeholders, the region, and the broader international community, including through the UN-convened Doha process, are crucial for achieving a political settlement in the country.
They highlighted the importance of a “political roadmap” to guide Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community and the fulfillment of its international obligations.
The council members expressed concern over the dire humanitarian and economic situation in Afghanistan, urging increased assistance and support for the Afghan people.
They reaffirmed their support for the fight against the cultivation, production, trade, and trafficking of drugs in Afghanistan, recognizing that drug trafficking remains a source of funding for terrorist groups and non-state actors that threaten regional and international security.
“In this regard, they emphasized the necessity to support alternative livelihoods to sustain the reduction in opium,” the statement reads.
