The European Union says lasting peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan can only be achieved through an inclusive, national and Afghan-led political process with meaningful participation by women.
The European Union warned on Wednesday, 17 June, at a session of the UN Human Rights Council reviewing the annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, that the Taliban’s treatment of women and systematic violations of their rights could amount to “gender persecution” and a “crime against humanity” under the Rome Statute.
Criticism of the Taliban Leader’s New Decrees
In the statement, the European Union explicitly described two recent decrees by the Taliban leader, including Decree No. 12 on the criminal procedure regulation for courts and Decree No. 18 on the law on separation of couples, as a cause of serious concern and a factor worsening the situation further.
According to the EU, the decrees severely undermine fundamental principles such as equality before the law, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion or belief, and protection for women and children.
Another part of the statement, referring to Afghanistan’s membership of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, said the Taliban’s treatment of women could be prosecuted as a crime against humanity.
The European Union called on the Taliban to immediately revoke all its restrictive policies and align its laws with Afghanistan’s international obligations, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The statement emphasised that victims and survivors of human rights violations in Afghanistan deserve justice, describing the funding and activation of an “independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan” as a decisive process in this regard.
The independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan is a transnational body responsible for collecting, documenting and preserving evidence related to war crimes and human rights violations for future international courts.
Support for Minorities
In the statement, the European Union stressed the need to protect the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, particularly the Hazara community. The international body called for respect for the rule of law, freedom of expression and media freedom in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
At the end of the statement, the EU underlined the need for unhindered access to humanitarian assistance across the country, saying women must be allowed to work and deliver aid to people without any restrictions.
The European Union once again said lasting peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan would only be achieved when an Afghan-led political process takes shape with the participation of all sections of society and the meaningful involvement of women.
This is not the first time Western countries have called on the Taliban to form an inclusive government and respect human rights. The Taliban has rejected both demands, describing them as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and contrary to its interpretation of Islamic rules.
European countries have repeatedly criticised the Taliban’s human rights record at meetings of the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council. By contrast, some of the Taliban’s regional partners, including Russia and China, have defended the group against some of these criticisms and emphasised engagement with the Taliban.
