HRW urges against normalizing engagement with Taliban without human rights conditions
In Washington, United States, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch called on states not to normalize engagement with the Taliban without clear and measurable human rights criteria. As Dawn reports, the organization also called for recognizing gender apartheid as a crime against humanity and supporting the efforts of the International Criminal Court to hold accountable those responsible for gender persecution and other serious international crimes in Afghanistan.
Report on the situation of children
HRW's statement was released against the backdrop of a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, on the consequences of Taliban policies for children. In his assessment, the institutionalized system of discrimination, repression, and ideological control deprives Afghan children of the right to inclusive and quality education, freedom of expression, and meaningful participation in public life.
Bennett expressed particular concern over girls being denied the opportunity to receive education after the sixth grade. He also drew attention to growing risks of gender-based violence, forced and child marriages, child labor, and ideological indoctrination of children and young people. According to the special rapporteur, restrictions on media, culture, and freedom of expression limit children's access to diverse ideas and experiences.
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According to the report, the most vulnerable are children from poor or remote areas, children with disabilities, members of marginalized religious and ethnic communities, as well as displaced children and those who have returned from abroad. Bennett called on the Taliban to end discriminatory policies, restore full education for girls, strengthen child protection and justice systems, prevent child and forced marriages and child labor, and ban corporal punishment.
Calls to the international community
HRW stated that gender persecution in Afghanistan has intensified further over the past year. The organization cited, in particular, a new criminal procedure code that recognizes only “excessive” beatings as domestic violence against women, as well as a decree on judicial divorce that abolished guarantees of a minimum age for girls' marriage.
Human rights defenders called on UN member states to renew Richard Bennett's mandate, provide his office with the necessary resources, and launch as soon as possible a new independent UN Human Rights Council mechanism on accountability for violations in Afghanistan. HRW also called on governments not to forcibly return people to Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General António Guterres separately called on the Taliban to lift restrictions that prevent Afghan female UN staff from entering the organization's premises and carrying out their duties.
