UNITED NATIONS, Sep 12 (APP):The \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201ccruel\u201d oppression of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban against the backdrop of a severe humanitarian crisis has put the country\u2019s future in jeopardy, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuman rights in Afghanistan are in a state of collapse,\u201d he told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, before sounding the alarm over ongoing reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment, and arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as serious violations against former government officials, as documented in a new human rights office (OHCHR) report.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompounding all of this is a deeply troubling lack of accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Turk highlighted the \u201cdevastating precedent\u201d set by Afghanistan as the only country in the world where women and girls are denied access to secondary and higher education. He underscored the \u201clong list of misogynistic restrictions\u201d confining the country\u2019s women \u201cto the four walls of their homes\u201d, before asking: \u201cWhat can possibly come next?\u201d<\/p>\n
The High Commissioner insisted that any prospect of a stable, prosperous Afghanistan rested on the participation of men and women.<\/p>\n
\u201cDenying women and girls\u2019 rights to participate in daily and public life not only denies them their human rights, it denies Afghanistan the benefit of the contributions they have to offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Turk said that the suspension of the Afghan constitution and of laws protecting women from violence or guaranteeing media freedom, as well as the dissolution of the country\u2019s Independent Human Rights Commission, were elements of the \u201csystematic erosion of the institutions that once provided some protection for human rights\u201d. <\/p>\n
The High Commissioner called on the de facto authorities to \u201cchange course\u201d and bring Afghanistan back to the international fold with full respect for its international human rights obligations.<\/p>\n
He insisted that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) would continue to monitor and report on the situation, as well as \u201craise individual cases and urge compliance with international law by the de facto authorities\u201d to the greatest extent possible.<\/p>\n
Turk paid tribute to the work of his human rights colleagues on the ground, especially Afghan female staff.<\/p>\n
He also exhorted the international community not to \u201cturn its back on Afghanistan\u201d at a time when rights were being eroded and two-thirds of the population were in need of aid, while humanitarian operations were hindered by the ban on women working for the UN and NGOs.<\/p>\n
Turk comments came a day after the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, delivered a sombre update to the Council.<\/p>\n
Many Afghans living abroad \u201csay they feel \u2018betrayed\u2019 by the international community\u201d, the Special Rapporteur explained. They are calling for concrete action and some have even started a hunger strike \u201ccalling for recognition of gender apartheid\u201d.<\/p>\n
In June, Bennett had said that since systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls was at the heart of Taliban ideology and rule, Afghanistan\u2019s de facto authorities \u201cmay be responsible for gender apartheid\u201d which, although \u201cnot yet an explicit international crime\u201d, required \u201cfurther study in our view”.<\/p>\n
Bennett also briefed the Council on Monday on the \u201ccollapse of civic space\u201d and \u201cabsence of rule of law\u201d since the Taliban takeover, the long-term impacts on children\u2019s development and mental health, and the repression and lack of representation of minorities such as Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Turkmen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m concerned about the effect [that the] strong sense of discrimination and exclusion held by large parts of the population may have on the stability of Afghanistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 12 (APP):The \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201ccruel\u201d oppression of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban against the backdrop of a severe humanitarian crisis has put the country\u2019s future in jeopardy, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned Tuesday. \u201cHuman rights in […]<\/p>\n
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