KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on the Taliban to uphold global human rights obligations, emphasizing their importance for the protection and prosperity of Afghanistan’s current and future generations.
In a statement on International Human Rights Day, December 10, UNAMA expressed concern over the ongoing human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly the systematic discrimination against women and girls, who are excluded from nearly all aspects of public life.
International Human Rights Day is observed annually on December 10 to honor the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the UN General Assembly in 1948, with Afghanistan among the UN members supporting its adoption. The UDHR is a milestone document that affirms the inalienable rights of all individuals, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or any other status.
This year’s International Human Rights Day theme is “Our rights, our future, right now,” highlighting how human rights empower individuals and communities to build a better future and act as a pathway to solutions.
“Regrettably, we continue to see the opposite unfold in Afghanistan,” said Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA. She added that despite the reduction in armed conflict, there is an ongoing and dangerous erosion of human rights protections, with women and girls bearing the brunt of it.
“With authority comes responsibility. The claim of the de facto authorities to be legitimate representatives of the Afghan people within the United Nations must be accompanied by genuine efforts to uphold and advance our shared norms and values,” she added.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Afghanistan, Fiona Frazer, was quoted in the statement, saying, “If Afghans, in particular women and girls, continue to be denied their rights, this constitutes a clear and intentional failure to protect and be responsible for the well-being of all who live in Afghanistan,”
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, however, commended the “resilient and courageous” Afghans who continue to demand their rights despite enduring gender persecution, torture, ill-treatment, and a humanitarian crisis.
“Let’s all stand by them!” Bennett emphasized in a post on X today.
Meanwhile, marking the day, a group of Afghan women criticized the international community for not doing enough to safeguard human rights, particularly women’s rights, in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
In a statement, the Women’s Movement for Freedom, a group of women activists in Afghanistan, called for urgent, unified, and concrete actions against the Taliban to uphold human rights, especially the right to education for women and girls.
The human rights situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the past three years, with widespread violations committed by the regime, particularly against women and ethnic and religious minorities.
Since the takeover, the Taliban has issued more than 100 directives and edicts targeting women’s rights, including their rights to education, employment, social mobility, and other fundamental freedoms, effectively erasing them from public life. Recently, women and girls were barred from attending medical institutes, depriving at least 35,000 women and girls of access to medical education across the country.
