<
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/06/11/un-expert-slams-taliban-crimes-against-afghan-women-girls>
"On June 18, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in
Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, will present to the UN Human Rights Council his
latest report, which powerfully calls for the Taliban to be held accountable
for their crimes against women and girls. The report, issued today, examines
the Taliban’s “institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation,
disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls.”
The situation in Afghanistan is the most serious women’s rights crisis in
world, and it is steadily worsening. The Taliban continue to issue abusive
orders and have intensified enforcement of existing ones. In March, the Taliban
issued an order that women be stoned to death for so-called “moral crimes,”
such as sex outside of marriage and “running away” from their homes, often to
escape domestic violence.
Afghan women and girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, from many
forms of employment, and from free movement, protest, and public life. They
often describe themselves as prisoners in their own homes. It is no surprise
that rates of suicide are escalating.
The special rapporteur pulls no punches. Bennett calls the Taliban’s system of
discrimination a crime against humanity, saying it “constituted in and of
itself a widespread and systematic attack on the entire civilian population of
Afghanistan.”
In line with the demands from Afghan women’s rights activists, the special
rapporteur calls for measures including: the recognition and codification of
gender apartheid as a crime under international law; for states to bring a case
in the International Court of Justice regarding Taliban violations of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
support to the International Criminal Court as it investigates Taliban crimes,
including the crime of gender persecution; and for states to “[a]void
normalization or legitimization” of the Taliban “until and unless there are
demonstrated, measurable and independently verified improvements, including
human rights benchmarks, particularly for women and girls.”
Afghan women and girls feel forgotten by the world, and the special
rapporteur’s report leaves no doubt as to the seriousness of the Taliban’s
crimes against them. It should be a priority for every government that
professes to care about women’s rights to hold the Taliban to account."
Via David.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
