UN Security Council unanimously condemns Taliban’s treatment of women

NEW YORK – In a rare show of unity, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Thursday condemning the Taliban’s discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan, and called for the country’s leadership to swiftly reverse policies banning education, employment and equal public participation of women and girls.

The resolution, which called for the “full, equal, meaningful and safe participation” of women and girls in Afghanistan, also addressed the Taliban’s April 4 edict prohibiting the UN from employing Afghan women. That stance – unprecedented in UN history – “undermines human rights and humanitarian principles”.

The 15-member Security Council has been sharply divided since Russia invaded Ukraine, unable to find a consensus position on many of the world’s most pressing problems. While the council was able to finally come together over the Taliban’s treatment of women, the negotiations over the resolution’s final wording were complex and lengthy, according to diplomats involved in the talks.

The resolution, legally binding under international law, does not specify what consequences the Taliban administration in Afghanistan will face if it violates the demands. But generally, the Security Council can impose sanctions on countries or governments that do not comply with its resolutions.

The continued discrimination against women and girls has been a major obstacle in the Taliban’s attempt to gain recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the United States’ withdrawal in 2021 and the collapse of the Western-backed government.

Despite the Taliban’s ban on employing Afghan women, the UN has said it is not yet planning to pull out of the country because of the grave humanitarian needs of the Afghan people.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said in a statement in April that it cannot comply with the ban because it is against international law and the principles of the UN Charter. It has ordered its Afghan employees, both women and men, to stay home, and has launched a full review of its operations in Afghanistan that is due on May 5.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is organising a meeting in Doha next week with envoys from various countries to “reinvigorate the international engagement around the common objectives for a durable way forward on the situation in Afghanistan”.

Since the

Taliban’s return to power in August 2021,

it has reverted to its austere interpretation of Islam that marked its first period in power from 1996 to 2001. A slew of restrictions on Afghan women have included banning them from higher education and many government jobs.

NYTIMES, AFP