Afghanistan’s UN Mission Calls for Taliban Accountability on Human Rights in Geneva
Afghanistan’s mission to the United Nations office in Geneva has called for continued global efforts to hold the Taliban administration accountable for human rights violations, particularly those affecting women and girls, as the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council begins. The session will be held in Geneva from June 15 to July 7, and the Afghan delegation has stated its presence to raise the voices of the Afghan people.
In a statement released today (Sunday), the mission said the primary focus of the Afghan delegation is to highlight the situation of women and girls who, according to the mission, have been deprived of their fundamental rights under Taliban rule. The statement emphasized that the rights of Afghan women and girls “are not negotiable, deferrable, or forgettable.”
According to the mission, the Human Rights Council session will discuss issues including the denial of secondary and higher education to girls, widespread restrictions on women’s work and social participation, violence against women and girls, human trafficking, and the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons.
Additionally, several side events are planned during the session to address pathways to justice for Afghan women, the consequences of the ban on girls’ education on the rise of child marriages, and ways to expand educational opportunities for women and girls.
The 62nd Human Rights Council session will also review reports from special rapporteurs on issues such as education, freedom of expression, extrajudicial executions, extreme poverty, climate change, peaceful assembly, internal displacement, and human trafficking.
The Afghan mission stressed that the international community must not remain indifferent to the restrictive policies of the Taliban administration and should use human rights mechanisms to ensure accountability and justice for victims, especially Afghan women and girls.
