MONITORING (SW) – Women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education, work, public participation and health, said a group of 25 rights organization in a letter to the UN.
It said the Taliban has also imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls. The world’s worst women’s rights crisis demands an urgent and proportionate response from the UN Human Rights Council, says a coalition of 25 leading NGOs from all world regions.
It stressed that consistent with the mandate conferred under General Assembly resolution 60/251 that the Human Rights Council address situations of gross and systematic human rights violations, it is imperative that the Council consider and take action on the women’s rights crisis in Afghanistan in a manner reflecting the gravity and urgency of the situation.
The letter noted that the purposes of an urgent debate could include:
- To unequivocally condemn the huge regression in the recognition, protection and realisation of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan;
- To express solidarity and support for women and girls in and from Afghanistan, including women human rights defenders who continue to advocate for equality and non-discrimination despite the threats and risks;
- To provide a platform and opportunity for women human rights defenders from Afghanistan, together with other independent civil society actors, to share their experiences, expertise, recommendations and demands;
- To provide a platform and opportunity for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan to brief the Council on the preliminary findings and recommendations from his country visit of 15 to 26 May; and
- To request that the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan and the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls prepare a report on the situation to be presented and discussed at the Council and ensure that they are adequately resourced to do this.
It said recognition and protection of gender equality is both a human rights obligation and essential to achieve peace, justice and sustainable development in Afghanistan.
These grave and systematic violations of women’s rights demand an urgent and proportionate response. It would be unacceptable for the June session of the Council, traditionally the session focused on gender-related issues, to pass without dedicated attention and action on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. We consider that an urgent debate and substantive resolution are part of an appropriate response and urge you to take and support action in this regard, it noted.
The letter was written on behalf of the Afghan Women’s Educational Center, Aid Afghanistan for Education, Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Center for Reproductive Rights, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Civic Participation, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights Defenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project), Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Freedom Now
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Global Justice Center, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Malala Fund
OutRight Action International, Social Association for Development of Afghanistan, Women & Children Legal Research Foundation, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Women’s Refugee Commission and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).
ENDS
