According to media reports, the Taliban “morality police” had said earlier in the day that they would no longer cooperate with the UN relief mission in Afghanistan (UNAAM) due to criticism of the law that was passed last week.
UNAMA – together with other parts of the UN system – condemned the new lawand described it as a “disturbing vision” for the country’s future.
“I think we have been very vocal about the decision to virtually eliminate the presence of women in Afghanistan,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, responding to a question at the regular news conference in New York.
Will continue to engage
He added that the Organization “will continue to work with all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the Taliban,” and will continue its work as mandated by the Security Council.
“We have always done so within our mandate and I would say impartially and in good faith, always upholding the standards of the UN and bringing forward the messages of human rights and equality,” he said.
He further urged the de facto Taliban authorities to “, in fact opening up more opportunities for diplomatic engagement“.
Repressive provisions
The law, formally titled “Act for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Evil,” was passed last week.
A long list of repressive measures is imposed on women, including the requirement to wear clothing that covers their entire body, a ban on their voices being heard in public and further restrictions on their freedom of movement without a male relative.
Even the sound of a woman’s voice outside the home is apparently considered a moral violation.
Men must also grow beards, administrators are not allowed to play music, and the media are not allowed to publish images of people. State officials are given broad powers to detain people and impose penalties.
Human rights experts condemn measures
The law’s entry into force, say independent UN human rights experts stressedmarked a significant decline in human rights in Afghanistan, comparable to the oppressive Taliban regime of the 1990s.
“These measures bear a disturbing resemblance to the Taliban’s draconian regime of the 1990s. and provide further evidence that the group has not moderated its approach since returning to power,” the experts said.
The experts also expressed concern about the Taliban morality inspectors’ extensive authority to arbitrarily detain and physically punish individuals for alleged moral crimes, often on the basis of suspicion, without evidence or due process.
They urged international actors, particularly UN Member States, to formulate a robust, principled and coordinated strategy for Afghanistan that puts human rights first, with a strong emphasis on women’s rights and gender equality.
Appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights CouncilThe experts are tasked with monitoring and reporting on specific human rights situations, both thematically and country-specifically.
They are independent of governments and the United Nations, are not UN staff and receive no salary.
