The UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan on Thursday emphasized prioritizing human rights, particularly women’s rights, in engagement with the Taliban.

Richard Bennett painted a grim picture of human rights in Afghanistan, criticizing widespread torture and discrimination against women and minorities.

Presenting his six-month report at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, Bennett labeled the human rights situation in Afghanistan as “dire.”

He stressed the importance of prioritizing the Afghan people and ensuring their inclusion in decision-making processes.

Concerns are raised about countries normalizing relations with the Taliban without significant improvements in Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation.

Regarding women’s rights violations, he urged the world to pursue legal avenues for gender, ethnic, and religious justice in Afghanistan.

Bennett highlighted the Taliban’s systematic suppression and expulsion of women and girls, constituting “crimes against humanity.”

Despite refraining from terming the situation as “gender apartheid,” Bennett condemned the Taliban’s discriminatory actions against Afghan women.

Bennett underscored the Taliban’s “systematic discrimination” against Afghan women and girls in their quest for complete control.

The UN special rapporteur called for accountability from the Taliban for their policies and actions, urging the world to find ways to support Afghan women and girls promptly.

Suicide rates, depression, especially among youth, women, and girls, and the imposition of Taliban-prescribed dress codes on women were among the concerns Bennett addressed.

His report shed light on the increased pressure on ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan, particularly the Hazara community, due to targeted ISIS attacks.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennet, Thursday, called on countries to initiate a case against Afghanistan at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the violation of women’s rights.

His call, made during the 55th regular session of the Human Rights Council, targeted the Taliban’s persistent violation of women’s rights.

“States parties to the convention on the elimination of discrimination against women possess the authority to initiate a case against Afghanistan at the International Court of Justice for non-compliance with the convention and encourage state parties to consider this legal pathway to challenge these violations.”

According to Bennet, Afghanistan’s current state of affairs paints a grim picture, with women and girls facing erasure from public life. He noted a lack of tolerance for peaceful dissent, accompanied by pervasive violence and threats used to control and instil fear among the population.

The dire situation in Afghanistan is further exacerbated by economic and humanitarian crises, resulting in the denial of essential economic, social, and cultural rights. Bennet underscored the urgency of addressing these systemic issues to ensure the well-being and rights of women and girls.

Bennet emphasized the crucial role of the international community in demanding substantial improvements in human rights, particularly concerning the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. He warned against complacency, stating that failure to prioritize these improvements would send a troubling message about global commitment to women’s rights.

Echoing Bennet’s concerns, representatives from various countries expressed solidarity and voiced their apprehension regarding the deteriorating state of women’s rights in Afghanistan. They called upon Afghan authorities to lift restrictions and prioritize the protection of women’s rights.

In response to these international calls for action, the Taliban rebuked accusations of human rights violations, labeling them as Western manipulation. Zabullah Mujahid dismissed the focus on Afghanistan’s human rights record and redirected attention to what they perceived as the oppression and brutality of Israel, signaling a contentious stance on the issue.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center reports that the Minister of Virtue and Vice for the Taliban has issued a warning that if female reporters do not cover their faces on television, women’s work in the media may be prohibited.

Expressing concern, the center has called for the cancellation of this Taliban decree.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center stated on Wednesday that Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s Minister of Virtue and Vice, raised this issue in a meeting with media representatives in Kabul.

Hanafi warned that if women do not cover their faces when appearing on television or in visual interviews, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban supreme leader may completely ban women’s activities in the media.

The Journalists Center said that this meeting took place on Tuesday with the presence of officials and media representatives at a hotel in Kabul.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center, while warning of the possibility of issuing a directive banning women’s work in the media, urged the Taliban to cancel its new media guidelines and allow journalists and media outlets to continue their activities by public media laws.

This comes that some media representatives informed this center that Abdul Ghafoor Farooq, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Virtue and vice, recommended to media representatives to observe employees, especially women, wearing a “black covering with only their eyes visible.”

He also urged media officials to refrain from interviewing women whose faces are visible or who are not wearing masks.

Lisa Curtis, a former White House official, says Washington should set aside the Doha agreement and pursue new avenues of “conditional engagement” with the Taliban.

Curtis, who was a senior policy advisor in the Trump administration at the time of the Doha agreement signing in February 2020, played a role in U.S. policy towards Afghanistan.

In an interview with Afghanistan International, she described the Doha agreement as “very weak,” arguing that it favored the Taliban.

She stated that the Doha agreement had been “very much in favor of the Taliban,” even refraining from asking the group to sever its ties with terrorist organizations.

According to her, the Doha agreement merely required the Taliban to refrain from allowing terrorists to attack against U.S. interests.

She asserts that this agreement has emboldened the Taliban, labeling it as “very weak.”

Lisa Curtis stated: “On the fourth anniversary of the Doha agreement, I believe it’s time to set it aside and find new ways to engage with the Taliban, conditional engagement that puts pressure on them to respect the rights of women and girls.”

This former White House official emphasized that the Doha agreement did not secure U.S. security interests in Afghanistan and the region, and terrorist threats in Afghanistan have intensified.

Ms. Curtis said that the ISIS-Khorasan branch is a global threat, as well as the resurgence of the Taliban in Pakistan and some Middle Eastern terrorist groups in Afghanistan, are becoming stronger.

This former White House official stated that America is “not safer” after signing the Doha agreement and is not in a better position.

She emphasized that the international community is not taking sufficient actions to hold the Taliban accountable for their behaviors.

The Doha agreement was signed between the U.S. and the Taliban on February 29, 2020.

This agreement was reached after eighteen months of negotiations between the U.S. delegation led by Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban delegation led by Mullah Baradar.

The spokesperson for the US State Department stated that the detention of American citizens in Afghanistan has hindered positive engagement between Washington and the Taliban.

Matthew Miller emphasized on Wednesday that US officials have underscored the immediate and unconditional release of these citizens in meetings with Taliban representatives.

Regarding the fate of Ryan Corbett, an American citizen held by the Taliban since 2022, Mr. Miller stated, “The US government has consistently and persistently pressed for the immediate and unconditional release of detained Americans in Afghanistan, including in meetings with Taliban representatives.” He added, “The detention of American citizens is a significant barrier to positive interaction between the US and the Taliban.”

Previously, Morgan McGraw, a member of the US House of Representatives, also called for the immediate release of Ryan Corbett from Taliban detention. Ryan Corbett had been residing in Kabul with his wife and three children since 2010 and left Afghanistan in August 2021.

Mr. Corbett’s family stated that the Taliban detained him during a business trip to Kabul with a German colleague and two Afghan colleagues on August 10, 2022.

This comes when on Sunday, February 25^th, an 84-year-old Australian citizen was released from Taliban captivity with the mediation of Qatar. He had travelled to Afghanistan last year and was detained by the Taliban on charges of espionage.

In the past, the Taliban has used detained Americans as leverage for exchanges with their imprisoned members in the United States.