BERLIN: Around 26 countries have thrown their support behind a legal step led by Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and Canada to hold the Afghan Taliban accountable for systematic human rights violations against women in Afghanistan.
In a joint statement issued by the German Foreign Office, these countries condemned the Taliban’s policies, which have harshly curtailed the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan since the group took control of Kabul in 2021.
The statement starts by outlining the dire situation facing women and girls under Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
“Since the seizure of power by the Taliban, the women Afghanistan have been subjected to the most severe systematic human rights violations,” the statement reads.
It defines how Afghan Taliban’s measures have deliberately banned women and girls from public life, enforcing systemic gender-based discrimination. These measures have led to the widespread marginalization of women across the war-hit country, stripping them of their basic human rights and confining women to lives of isolation.
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The joint declaration includes nations from across the world, such as Sweden, Spain, South Korea, Belgium, and Iceland, all of whom have denounced the Taliban’s measures. They condemned the gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan. It points out that despite repeated calls from the world for Afghan Taliban to honor their human rights obligations, the situation has not improved to the contrary it continues to worsen, the statement said.
The statement also notes that Afghanistan, as a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is legally bound to protect women’s rights. “Afghanistan is responsible under international law for its ongoing gross and systematic violation of numerous obligations under CEDAW,” the statement says, urging the Taliban to comply with its commitments under international human rights law.
The statement calls on Afghan Taliban to immediately cease its violations of women’s and girls’ rights and engage in dialogue with the international community to address these concerns.
