US special envoy for Afghan women and human rights, Rina Amiri said Saturday the general consensus of multiple countries was that the Taliban cannot expect to be part of the international community if it fails to respect the rights of women.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Amiri said she had several high-level meetings with officials from various countries on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly where the focus was on Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women and girls.
According to her, officials echoed a “clear message: the Taliban cannot expect to be a part of the international community if it does not respect the rights of the Afghan people and erases half of the population.”
Amiri also stated the she met with the first lady of Turkey Emine Erdoğan.
“Thank you, Excellency First Lady Erdoğan, for your solidarity in support of Afghanistan, particularly the situation of Afghan women and girls,” she said.
In a meeting with the representatives of Muslim majority countries on the sidelines of the UNGA, “there was consensus that the Taliban’s repressive policies, particularly against women and girls, are out of step with the world and devastating for Afghanistan.”
She noted that the participants agreed to maintain international solidarity in support of Afghanistan and that the women and girls of Afghanistan must be supported through “diplomatic and concrete efforts”.
Amiri also suggested that the international community must “collectively” explain to the Taliban that their engagement is aiming to improve the devastating situation and that there will be “no progress in normalization” of ties unless the rights of the people are respected.
“Approaches to improving the devastating situation in Afghanistan may differ, but those seeking to advance human rights must reflect the space for civic discourse & tolerance that they hope to engender in Afghanistan,” Amiri said.
She also stressed the need for meaningful representation of women and civil society: “We, the international community, must do better to this end.”
The US envoy urged the world to ensure concrete support to Afghanistan’s women in resources to “access education, scholarships, work and other means to counter the Taliban’s extreme and repressive measures.”
Amiri thanked the former UK prime minister, and current UN Envoy for Global Education and World Health Organization Ambassador for Global Health Financing, Gordon Brown, for his support of women and girls of Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan cannot emerge out of poverty and instability when half of the population is deprived of skills, income and opportunity,” she stated.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and the swift imposition of repressive policies towards women, the US State Department appointed Amiri as its special envoy for women and human rights’ affairs in Afghanistan in December 2021.
