UN calls on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to reverse crackdown on women

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Monday calling on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to swiftly reverse their crackdown on women and to combat militant groups inside Afghanistan that Pakistan accuses of carrying out cross-border attacks.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong, whose country sponsored the resolution, said the hope is that the Afghan government will “take more proactive measures to protect human rights, especially the rights of women, and project an image of openness, inclusivity and responsibility.”

The resolution extends the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan until June 17, 2027, and authorizes it to support humanitarian aid deliveries “without discrimination” and to promote national and local governance “without any discrimination based on sex, religion or ethnicity, with the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women, … minorities, youth and persons with disabilities.”

The resolution’s adoption follows the arrest of at least 30 women in the western city of Herat this month for allegedly violating the Taliban’s strict dress code. A rare protest sparked by the arrests was violently dispersed by Taliban police, who shot and killed one person and injured several others, according to the U.N. mission known as UNAMA.

The Taliban have run Afghanistan since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, including draconian restrictions on women and girls, such as bans on education beyond primary school and on many jobs. Minorities have also been impacted.

The resolution authorizes the U.N. mission to facilitate talks between the Taliban and regional countries and the wider international community,

“For that political process to succeed, the Taliban must act,” U.S. deputy ambassador Jennifer Locetta said. “The Taliban must meet their counterterrorism commitments, respect Afghanistan’s international obligations, end hostage diplomacy, and cease their unconscionable abuses of the human rights of women and girls.”

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, which the Taliban denies. Hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between the two countries since February, when Afghanistan attacked Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Asim Ahmad said the “resolution expresses the council’s serious concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, which continue to constitute a threat to international peace and security.”

The new resolution also authorizes UNAMA to advance Afghanistan’s economic development, including by facilitating commercial and financial activity and supporting efforts to return assets belonging to the Central Bank “for the benefit of the Afghan people.”