Russia Says Lasting Peace & Stability Impossible Without Engagement With Taliban

Han called on the Taliban to make positive efforts to secure the interests of the Afghan people.

Without naming any countries, the Chinese representative at the meeting blamed some countries for the current poor humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan, stating that the long-term freezing of Afghan assets and the imposition of unilateral sanctions have caused many to suffer and have inflicted "serious damage" on the human rights of Afghans.

He said that China is deeply concerned about the current situation in Afghanistan and supports an Afghan-led approach to addressing the urgent needs of the Afghan people in a "flexible and pragmatic" manner.

Haq told Afghanistan International that the UN does not treat the Taliban as the legal and official government of Afghanistan in the Doha meeting.

Maryam Rahmati, a reporter of Afghanistan International, asked Farhan on Tuesday for his views on the recommendations of Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, suggesting that gender apartheid should be recognised as a crime against humanity.

In response, Haq said, "We want to ensure that women's rights in Afghan society are respected just as they are necessary everywhere in the world."

He called gender apartheid in Afghanistan a key concern.

The Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, in response to Bennett's recommendation that the Taliban should not be treated as the legal and official government, said, "We treat them [the Taliban] as the de facto authorities, they are not treated as the recognised government of Afghanistan."

Bennett warned at the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council that violence against Afghan women under Taliban control has become strong and widespread.

He described the exclusion of women from public life and the deprivation of Afghan women and girls from work and education as crimes against humanity and gender apartheid.

Bennett called on the international community to stop legitimising and normalising relations with the Taliban and not to treat the Taliban as a legitimate government.

Informed sources reported that the UN has accepted some of the Taliban's demands as a precondition for attending the third Doha meeting.

Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch said that the UN has given many concessions for the Taliban's participation in the Doha meeting and accused the organisation of ignoring the recommendations of Richard Bennett.

Fetrat stated that the international response to the Taliban's actions over the past three years has been inadequate and disappointing.

At the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council, this Women's Rights Researcher at Human Rights Watch welcomed the latest report by Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, regarding the situation of Afghan women and girls.

Referring to the upcoming Doha meeting, Fetrat said that excluding Afghan women from this meeting is a clear violation of the UN Security Council resolution on women, peace, and security.

She called on UN member states to ensure the full, meaningful, and safe participation of Afghan women in all discussions related to Afghanistan.

She emphasised that countries must heed the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur. Fetrat said that the world must seriously consider Bennett's calls to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

Fetrat also stressed on the need to establish a comprehensive accountability mechanism, stating that countries should take prompt action regarding past and ongoing abuses by the Taliban, including crimes against girls and women.

During a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, she urged the world to pressurise the Taliban to repeal their oppressive and restrictive directives.

The Deputy High Commissioner said that the Taliban have deprived women of the right to make decisions and ignored their basic rights and fundamental freedoms.

She condemned the increasing restrictions on women, noting that these limitations have severely impacted women's mental health, leading to higher rates of suicide and violence against women.

She also highlighted the situation of women with disabilities, stating that this group faces additional restrictions. According to her, Taliban authorities are not responsive to gender issues.

Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur, will present his proposals to combat gender apartheid in Afghanistan at the Human Rights Council meeting today.

Bennett recently published his latest report on Afghanistan and is set to present its details on Tuesday at the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

In this report, he called on the international community to refrain from legitimising and normalising relations with the Taliban until there is tangible commitment from the group to human rights and women's rights.

He focused on gender apartheid in Afghanistan and the Taliban's policies against women in his report.

Bennett warned that indifference to the widespread and systematic human rights violations in Afghanistan will have highly destructive consequences, even for future generations in Afghanistan and the world. According to him, previous achievements in women's rights and human rights in Afghanistan have been lost.

Given the international community's commitments to the Human Rights Convention, Bennett has called for coordinated action against the oppressive system in Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban have committed fundamental crimes, including crimes against humanity and gender persecution.

The Special Rapporteur stated that gender apartheid as a crime against humanity is the "most accurate description of the institutionalised oppression" of women in Afghanistan. He again urged the international community to recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

Richard Bennett called on the international community to provide legal, political, and diplomatic support for the campaign of Afghan activists to recognise gender apartheid. Amnesty International also, for the first time yesterday, called for the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime.

The UN Special Rapporteur emphasised that the international community must practically empathise with Afghan women and combat institutionalised and systematic repression.

He urged the Taliban to abandon discriminatory and restrictive directives that deprive women of their basic rights and to provide equal access to education for girls at all levels.

Bennett also called for the removal of travel restrictions on women, including travel without a Mahram (male guardian), and stated that the ruling regime must allow women to return to work, including in international aid organisations.

He demanded effective measures to prevent child abuse, especially early and forced marriage, sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking, and said that the ruling regime must guarantee women's access to healthcare services, especially mental and physical health services.

Bennett emphasised on the social diversity of Afghanistan and said that the Taliban must ensure the security of ethnic, religious, and gender minorities and bring those responsible for violence to justice.

He also called on the world to support referring the case of Afghanistan to the International Criminal Court and ensure that the court has sufficient evidence and information about the systematic human rights violations and gender apartheid in Afghanistan.