PRESS STATEMENT - STATEMENT FROM SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The de facto authorities announced this week the ratification of a “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice”, with 35 articles detailing significant restrictions on the Afghan population with arbitrary and potentially severe enforcement mechanisms. [...] “It extends the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation,” she said. [...] Dari UNAMA is studying the newly ratified law and its implications for the Afghan people, as well as its potential impact on United Nations and other vital humanitarian assistance for the country, and is seeking clarification from the de. [...] Security Council Resolution 2681 (2023) also called on the Taliban to swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. [...] This mandate tasks UNAMA with the promotion and support of humanitarian assistance in line with humanitarian principles, human rights, equality for women and girls, inclusive governance, resilience, and economic stability, and using our good offices for principled and constructive engagement with all national, regional and global stakeholders in the pursuit of Afghanistan’s peace and stability.