On Human Rights Day, UN Urges Taliban To Lift Restrictions Which Violate Rights of Afghans

After their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban imposed severe restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.

The group has deprived Afghan women and girls of many of their rights. Among others, the Taliban has closed down secondary and high schools for Afghan girls and have restricted women’s presence at amusement parks, stadiums, and women's bathrooms.

The Taliban has also ordered that Afghan women can’t travel alone and should be accompanied by a male relative. On the other hand, the Taliban dismissed a large number of women working in government institutions and many women lost their jobs due to the strict policies of the group in the private sector.

Afghan women have repeatedly protested against the strict laws of the Taliban for more than a year, but they have faced repression, detention, and torture by the group.

Despite the pressures from human rights organisations, the Taliban has not stopped their strict rule against women in Afghanistan.

The Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul was shot at from a building adjacent to the embassy on December 2, however, he was not injured. ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, Pakistani officials said that they were investigating the attack.

Hours after the attack, the Taliban had announced the arrest of a suspect from a building near the Pakistani embassy.

This attack was met with many domestic and international reactions.

Soon after the attack, the Pakistani embassy announced that it will continue to operate in Kabul.

On Thursday, the 36th meeting of the Afghanistan Working Group was held within the framework of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO.

Representatives of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been present at the meeting, too.

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

Representatives of member countries called the situation in Afghanistan dire and approved their work plan for 2023 regarding Afghanistan. The details of this programme have not been announced.

Both the officials emphasised on national reconciliation in Afghanistan and stressed that the Taliban must fulfil their commitments to the international community.

Henick convoyed to the Uzbek envoy that the United States wants to work closely with Uzbekistan on a peace resolution for Afghanistan’s issues.

A statement by Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry added that the US has also appreciated Tashkent for providing humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan.

Earlier, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, Vladimir Norov, and US Special envoy Tom West discussed national reconciliation in Afghanistan.

The organisation has not spoken about the age of the group of the enrolled children at the community-based classes.

Currently, female students in secondary and high schools have been deprived of the right to formal education in Afghanistan.

For more than 445 days, the Taliban has prevented the reopening of girls' secondary schools in Afghanistan.

UNICEF announced on the organisation’s Twitter account on Friday that it will never stop advocating for every child's right to an education.