cover image: Afghanistan: UN Security Council Must Reinstate Travel Bans on the Taliban

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Afghanistan: UN Security Council Must Reinstate Travel Bans on the Taliban

20 Jun 2022

Afghanistan: UN Security Council Must Reinstate Travel Bans on the Taliban (Bangkok/Kathmandu, 20 June 2022) — The United Nations Security Council must impose comprehensive targeted sanctions on the leadership and representatives of the Taliban, including the reinstatement of travel bans against Taliban leaders, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM- ASIA). [...] It is imperative for the Council to reinstate travel bans on Taliban and hold them accountable for the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan.’ The Security Council first imposed travel restrictions on the Taliban leadership in 1999 as a part of UN’s response to ‘violent and terrorist activities’ committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. [...] The Council then lifted the ban on senior Taliban officials in April 2019 to allow them to attend negotiations in Doha and travel elsewhere to participate in ‘peace and stability discussions.’1 However, the Taliban used their freedom to build relationships to reinforce their quasi-governmental status while refusing to negotiate with the Afghan government. [...] In March 2022, the Council extended the travel ban exemption on senior members of the de facto Taliban authorities for 90 days.2 In less than a year since the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has plunged into a deep socioeconomic and humanitarian crisis, rescinding 20 years of hard-won rights of the people of Afghanistan, especially of women and girls who have lost thei. [...] FORUM-ASIA is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the complete erasure of women and girls from public life, and the intensifying attacks on fundamental freedoms.

Authors

FORUM-ASIA

Pages
2
Published in
Thailand