Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Friday reacted to a resolution of the United Nations Security Council that calls for the return of women to their jobs in UN offices in Afghanistan and strongly condemns the Taliban’s edicts on women and girls’ rights in the country.
In a landmark resolution, the UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the Taliban’s decision to ban women nationals from working for the United Nations, calling for Taliban leaders to “swiftly reverse” their decision.
The resolution passed unanimously by the 15-member body in New York, calls for the “full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan” and urges all countries and organizations with influence on the fundamentalist rulers of the country, “to promote an urgent reversal” of policies which have in effect erased women from public life.
Taliban’s statement says that they welcome part of the resolution about the UN’s commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of Afghanistan, support to the people of Afghanistan, a peaceful Afghanistan and an Afghan-led right to self-determination.
But the Taliban statement says that the only path towards post-conflict recovery requires unconditional removal of UN sanctions from Afghanistan.
It added that the current humanitarian crisis in the country is “due to economic restrictions on the country.”
It has reiterated that removing restrictions is the only way to address the current crisis.
Taliban has once again said in the statement that the ban on the UN female employees in Afghanistan is “an internal matter” for the country and “does not impact” other countries.
Taliban has claimed that it remains committed to ensuring “all rights” of women in Afghanistan and reiterates that diversity should be respected and should not be politicized.
Since the Taliban takeover of August 2021, when its forces toppled the democratically-elected government, it has rolled back a wide range of human rights of women and girls, including a ban on attending high school and university, restrictions on movement and work, and in December, a decree banning female nationals from working from most NGOs, the UN said in a statement.
Earlier this month the Taliban extended their ban to women working for the United Nations.
The UN underlined its “unequivocal condemnation” of the move in early April, noting that it contravenes international law, including the UN Charter. All UN staff have been told not to report to the office, except for some critical tasks, while an operational review is carried out, concluding on 5 May.
The Council backed the continued work of UNAMA reiterating its “full support”, and called on all with a stake in Afghanistan, including Taliban authorities, “to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of the United Nations and associated personnel throughout the country.”
