Dozens of Afghan and international civil society groups have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn Taliban policies and avoid normalising relations with the group. They warned that its new penal code deepens Afghanistan’s human rights crisis.
In a joint statement presented at the council’s 61st session, the organisations said the Taliban have intensified repression over the past four years, particularly against women and girls.
Referring to the Taliban’s penal code, the statement described it as a dangerous formalisation of repression that could have serious consequences for the protection of fundamental rights in Afghanistan.
The groups said the document lacks legitimacy and violates fair trial standards, freedom of expression, the prohibition of discrimination, the rights of women and children, proportionality between crimes and punishments and other basic freedoms.
The statement was signed by 86 Afghan civil society organisations and 13 international groups, including the World Organisation Against Torture, the Canadian Network for Education Defenders, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Asia Democracy Network.
The signatories urged the international community to support victim-centred accountability efforts, ensure funding and political backing for international investigative mechanisms on Afghanistan and strengthen support for Afghan civil society organisations and human rights defenders.
The statement also highlighted restrictions on freedom of expression, discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, discrimination against LGBTQ people and what it described as a growing risk of severe punishments.
The council’s 61st session began on Monday, 23 February, in Geneva and is scheduled to run until 31 March. Afghanistan’s human rights situation is due to be reviewed on 26 February, when reports on conditions in the country are expected to be presented.
