Afghanistan: UN will ‘continue to engage’ with Taliban, following threat to withdraw cooperation

According to media reports, the Taliban “morality police” said earlier in the day that they would no longer cooperate with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) because of criticism of the law adopted last week.

UNAMA – alongside other parts of the UN system – denounced the new law, describing it a “distressing vision” for the country’s future.

“I think we have been very vocal on the decision to further make women’s presence almost disappear in Afghanistan,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, responding to a question at the regular press briefing in New York.

Will continue to engage

He added that the Organization “will continue to engage with all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the Taliban,” and that it will continue its work, as mandated by the Security Council.

“We have always done so following our mandate and I would say impartially and in good faith, always upholding the norms of the UN, pushing the messages of human rights and equality,” he said.

He further urged the Taliban de facto authorities “to, in fact, open more avenues for diplomatic engagement”.

Repressive provisions

The law, formally titled “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice”, was adopted last week.

It imposes a lengthy list of repressive provisions on women, including mandates that they wear clothing covering their entire bodies, bans on their voices being heard in public, and further restrictions on their movement without a male relative.

Even the sound of a female voice outside the home is apparently deemed a moral violation.

It also requires men to grow beards, bans drivers from playing music, and restricts the media from publishing images of people. State officials are granted broad powers to detain individuals and impose punishments.

Rights experts condemn measures

The law’s enactment, UN independent human rights experts stressed, marked a significant regression in human rights in Afghanistan, echoing the oppressive regime of the Taliban’s rule in the 1990s.

“These measures are disturbingly similar to the Taliban’s draconian rule in the 1990s and provide further evidence that the group has not moderated its approach since its return to power,” the experts said.

The experts also voiced concern over the Taliban’s morality inspectors’ extensive authority to arbitrarily detain and physically punish individuals for alleged moral crimes, often based on mere suspicion without any requirement for evidence or due process.

They urged international actors, particularly UN Member States, to formulate a robust, principled, and coordinated strategy on Afghanistan that prioritizes human rights, with a strong emphasis on women’s rights and gender equality.

Appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific human rights situations, both thematic and country-specific.

Independent of governments and the United Nations, they are not UN staff nor do they receive a salary.