Amnesty Intl Comments on UNAMA Report Criticizing Vice and Virtue Ministry

July 12, 2024 Current News Articles

Hadia Ziaei

Tolo News

12 July 2024

Political analysts and women’s rights activists have various views on the publication of the UNAMA report and Amnesty International’s statement.

Amnesty International said that the report from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) highlights the role of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue of the Islamic Emirate in human rights violations and fundamental freedoms in Afghanistan.

Amnesty International has also called on the United Nations to establish an independent international accountability mechanism to investigate crimes under international law and other serious violations in Afghanistan.

In a statement, Amnesty International wrote: “They must also ensure that gender justice is prioritized, and the involvement of women human rights defenders and civil society stakeholders remains central in all engagements with the Taliban on the future of Afghanistan. To fail to do so would be to turn our backs on the victims and their rights to truth, justice and reparation.”

Zaman Sultani, regional researcher for South Asia at Amnesty International, told TOLOnews: “What the so-called Ministry of Vice and Virtue of the Taliban is doing is widespread and systematic human rights violations.”

Earlier, in response to the UNAMA report, the Islamic Emirate said that the reporters of this institution are trying to examine Afghanistan from a Western perspective, which is not correct.

Abdul Ghafar Farooq, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, has also previously dismissed the claims made in the UNAMA report, stating that the Sharia rights of women and men in the country are upheld and everyone is treated according to Sharia.

Abdul Ghafar Farooq said: “With the rule of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, the Sharia rights of all citizens, both men and women, are upheld, and everyone is treated according to Sharia.”

Additionally, Mohammad Sadiq Akif, a member of the Islamic Emirate, in a TOLOnews program in response to the UNAMA report on the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, added that the rights of all individuals in society are upheld according to Sharia, and the Islamic Emirate is obliged to implement Sharia rulings, not the demands of the world.

Mohammad Sadiq Akif said: “We are bound to Sharia. We are not bound to their [the world] demands that they impose on us. They should pay attention to themselves.”

At the same time, some political analysts and women’s rights activists have various views on the publication of the UNAMA report and Amnesty International’s statement.

“We do not want the world to stand by us in mere slogans, but to the extent that we see at least one result for the people of Afghanistan, especially women,” said Tafsir Siyahposh, a women’s rights activist.

“The esteemed Ministry of Vice and Virtue should clearly state its position regarding this report through a press conference and should explain and clarify its stance,” said Fazl Rahman Oria, a political analyst.

This comes as UNAMA, in a report, criticized the activities of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, adding that this ministry has violated some of the rights of Afghan citizens.

haheen: Sanctions on Islamic Emirate Officials Should Be Lifted

July 12, 2024 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

12 July 2024

Head of the political office of the Islamic Emirate in Qatar told TOLOnews that the sanctions have not been effective and should be lifted as soon as possible.

Suhail Shaheen, head of the political office of the Islamic Emirate in Qatar, has called for the lifting of UN Security Council sanctions on the officials of the Islamic Emirate following the imposition of these sanctions.

The head of the political office of the Islamic Emirate in Qatar told TOLOnews that the sanctions have not been effective and should be lifted as soon as possible.

Shaheen told TOLOnews: “All these restrictions that hinder interaction between the international community and the Islamic Emirate must be lifted to pave the way for positive interaction.”

Recently, the UN sanctions monitoring team said that 61 senior “Taliban” officials are on the global sanctions list, of which 35 are members of the cabinet and leadership of the Islamic Emirate.

The list includes senior officials of the Islamic Emirate, including Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate; Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs; Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs; Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, political deputy of the Prime Minister; Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting Foreign Minister; Sirajuddin Haqqani, Acting Interior Minister; Abdul Haq Wasiq, Director of the General Directorate of Intelligence; and several other members of the Islamic Emirate.

Moreover, some political analysts believe that the imposition of these sanctions will negatively affect the relationship between the Islamic Emirate and the international community.

“The imposition of sanctions on senior members of the Islamic Emirate creates a lack of coordination between Afghanistan and the United Nations, and the more these sanctions persist, the greater the distance between Afghanistan and the UN General Assembly,” Jannat Faheem Chakari, a political analyst, told TOLOnews.

“In this case, we need to see what reforms should be introduced in Afghanistan to release these individuals from sanctions, which would also benefit Afghanistan’s economy,” said Tariq Farhadi, an analyst.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, told TOLOnews that the names of 24 Islamic Emirate officials are still on the UN and EU blacklist. Mujahid described the failure to remove the names of Islamic Emirate officials from the blacklist as contrary to the Doha agreement.

Pakistan Emphasizes Implementation of IFRP

July 12, 2024 Current News Articles

By Ebadullah Ebadi

Tolo News

12July 2024

Baloch also said that the fundamental basis of the UNHCR’s statement should be asked.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, speaking at a press briefing said that Pakistan has not given any indication to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that the Illegal Foreign Nationals Return Program (IFRP) has been suspended or will not be implemented in the future.

Pakistan Government to convene session on extending Afghan migrant’s PoR cards

July 10, 2024 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

July 10, 2024

Pakistani media have reported that the government is convening a session regarding the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ request to extend Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for Afghan migrants.

In a report released on Wednesday, July 10th, Dawn newspaper cites a government official stating that Afghan migrants’ residency cards may likely be extended for six to twelve months.

This session comes as Pakistan had earlier halted the expulsion of Afghan migrants, following an announcement by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) after the conclusion of a three-day visit by Filippo Grandi, the agency’s High Commissioner to Islamabad.

During his visit, Grandi urged Pakistani authorities to show hospitality towards Afghan migrants.

The UNHCR High Commissioner, who arrived in Pakistan earlier this week, continued discussions with senior Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, concerning Afghan migrants.

He emphasized the timely extension of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, essential identity documents held by over 1.3 million Afghan refugees.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is addressing the fate of Afghan migrants amid discussions prompted by the UNHCR’s advocacy for their hospitality and the extension of critical identification documents.

UN warns of budget shortfall for humanitarian activities in Afghanistan

July 10, 2024 Current News Articles

Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

July 10, 2024

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) states that the agency faces a shortage of funds to carry out humanitarian activities.

In its latest report released on Wednesday, July 10th, OCHA notes that sectors at high risk of disruption due to severe budget shortages include health care, shelter, food, education, and protection.

It adds that without timely assistance, humanitarian crises in Afghanistan will worsen.

According to OCHA’s report, poverty in Afghanistan has increased since August 15, 2021.

These warnings come amidst reduced and discontinued aid efforts, while Pakistan and Iran have been deporting over two thousand Afghan migrants daily, exacerbating the country’s humanitarian needs.

In response to these challenges, OCHA urges the international community to mobilize resources urgently to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

The organization emphasizes the critical need for sustained support to provide essential services and protection to vulnerable populations, ensuring their basic needs are met amid ongoing crises.

Furthermore, OCHA calls for renewed efforts to address the root causes of displacement and instability in Afghanistan, advocating for long-term solutions that prioritize human rights, stability, and sustainable development in the region.

The agency underscores the importance of international solidarity and cooperation to mitigate the impact of crises and build resilience among affected communities, fostering a path towards lasting peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and the broader region.

Kabulov: Removal Process of ‘Taliban’ Names From Terrorist List Ongoing

July 10, 2024 Current News Articles

Hadia Ziaei

Tolo News

10 July 2024

Russia has consistently emphasized global engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, told Russia’s TASS news outlet that the process of removing “Taliban” officials’ names from the terrorist list is ongoing.

In a report, TASS quoted Kabulov saying that this process is “going well.”

The report said: “Asked when the Taliban could be removed from the list, Kabulov, who is also director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department, replied, “When all procedures are completed. They are still going on.”

“The majority of Central Asian countries and other countries that follow Russia’s policies are doing the same, which will benefit the people of Afghanistan,” said Salim Paigir, a political analyst.

Russia has consistently emphasized global engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have previously emphasized the removal of “Taliban” officials’ names from the terrorist list, stating that they are the real power in Afghanistan.

Simultaneously, the Islamic Emirate also welcomed this decision by Russia, calling it the right of Afghanistan’s caretaker government.

Hamdullah Fetrat, deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, told TOLOnews: “It is the right of the Afghan people that their officials’ names be removed from the blacklist and all imposed restrictions on Afghanistan be lifted.”

Some political experts believe that removing the Islamic Emirate officials’ names from Russia’s prohibited list could have positive impacts on the Islamic Emirate’s relations with some countries around the world.

“Current Afghan officials must also take steps based on national interests, abandon confrontation, and focus on dialogue,” said Mohammad Zalmai Afghanyar, a political analyst.

After Russia’s Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs proposed to President Vladimir Putin the possibility of removing the “Taliban’s” name from the list of terrorist groups, Kazakhstan was the first country to remove the names of Islamic Emirate officials from the terrorist group list.

Blinken Advocates for Afghan Women’s Rights

July 10, 2024 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

10 July 2024

Afghanistan: Taliban ‘morality police’ crack down on women

July 10, 2024 Current News Articles

Shristi Mangal Pal

DW Deutsche Welle
July 10, 2024

According to a new report released by the UN, Taliban “morality police” squads in Afghanistan enforce bans on western haircuts, music and prohibit women from traveling without a male escort.

Taliban walk past a sign calling for women to wear veils
Taliban vice squads have put up banners in Kabul, saying women to wear a hijab that fully covers their face and bodiesImage: Yaghobzadeh

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is carrying out stricter enforcement of religious law in Afghanistan through the deployment of “morality police,” according to a UN report published Tuesday.

The UN report said the Taliban has created a “climate of fear” since the Islamist militant group regained power in August 2021 and set up the so-called “Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.”

In its report covering the ministry’s activities, the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that the ministry is responsible for curtailing human rights and freedoms, particularly targeting women in a discriminatory and unfair way.

Since taking power, the Taliban have also barred girls and young women from receiving an education, while keeping women out of public jobs.

What does the report say?
The report says the ministry enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law that cracks down on personal freedoms for women and girls, while eliminating a free press and civil society.

Morality police squads have the power to scold, arrest, and punish citizens who participate in activities considered to be “un-Islamic,” including wearing “Western” hairstyles and listening to banned music.

The ministry rejected the UN report, and claimed its decrees were issued to “reform society,” and should have their “implementation ensured,” the Associated Press reported.

UN condemns Taliban crackdown on girls’ education

There is a “a climate of fear and intimidation” owing to the ministry’s invasion of Afghans’ private lives, ambiguity over its legal powers, and the “disproportionality of punishments,” the report said.

The Taliban government has overseen a ban on women travelling without male escorts, enforced a conservative dress code, barred women from public parks and shut women-run businesses, the report added.

The Taliban government defended the decision to enforce male escorts for women, saying they are “to safeguard her honor and chastity” while referring to Islamic dress as “a divine obligation.”

Women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan “face increasing restrictions” including on their movement, speech, assembly, right to work, education, and much more,” Political Sociologist Katja Mielke told DW.

Her research focuses on Afghanistan and other South and Central Asian countries.

“More than 100 restrictions concerning women’s rights have been introduced since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan,” she said.

However, these rules vary across the country, and women’s ability to work and hold important jobs depends on the industry.

It’s clear that women are still working, but the Taliban have discussed possible salary cuts.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International tweeted on Wednesday, there is an “urgent need for Taliban to roll back on moral policing.”

Ban on ‘Western haircuts’
The Taliban morality police also enforce “measures to reduce intermingling between men and women in daily life,” and instruct barbers to refuse “Western style” haircuts for men and arresting people playing music.

The vice ministry denied banning women from public places and said it only intervened in mixed-gender environments.

The UNAMA report is “trying to judge Afghanistan from a Western perspective”, when it is an Islamic society, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said late Tuesday.

“All the rights of Islamic law are guaranteed to citizens, men and women are treated in accordance with Sharia law, and there is no oppression,” Mujahid posted on social media.

sp/wmr (AFP, AP, dpa)

DW Akademie | Volontariat Jahrgang 2023 – 2024 | Shristi Pal
Shristi Mangal Pal Multimedia journalist and presenter

How The Emirate Wants to be Perceived: A closer look at the Accountability Programme

July 9, 2024 Current News Articles

Martine van Bijlert

Afghanistan Analysts Network

9 Jul 2024 print sharing button

As the third anniversary of its return to power approaches, the Islamic Emirate is presumably readying itself for another round of its Accountability Programme, as it has done in the past two summers. These televised sessions, held by ministers and other senior officials in front of journalists, provide a fairly detailed overview of the Emirate’s policies and preoccupations, in terms of what it wants the media, the nation and the world to know. Ahead of the next round, AAN’s Martine van Bijlert (with input from the AAN team) lays out what can be learned from last year’s programme, by drawing out the key themes and messages in the officials’ own words. In doing so, the report provides a basis for a clearer understanding of what the Emirate might choose to showcase in this year’s sessions, providing an indication of its evolving focus as it prepares to enter its fourth year in power.

You can preview the report online and download it by clicking here or the download button below.

The Emirate’s second round of accountability sessions since its return to power took place in the summer of 2023. Like all press conferences, the sessions were first and foremost an exercise in ‘impression management’. That is also, precisely, where their value lies. The depth and scope of the sessions, on their own and combined, provide important insights into what the Emirate cares about, how it wants to be perceived and by whom. To this end, the AAN team has watched, transcribed and analysed the televised presentations, identifying key themes and quotes to present a comprehensive perspective in the report.

Over the course of five weeks, from 23 July to 22 August, 42 government ministries and departments discussed their missions and aims, their place within the Emirate, the achievements of the previous year and their plans for the next. The Prime Minister’s Office chaired the introductory session but did not provide a report of its own. Conspicuously absent from the presentations were the Ministry of Finance, the General Directorate of Intelligence and the Office of the Supreme Leader – three key bodies when it comes to the economic, security and ideological shape of the Emirate.

Key themes in the sessions, and thus in this report, include the IEA’s consolidation of what it believes to be an Islamic system, the dual push towards self-sufficiency and connectedness, the expansion of a digitalised administration and the rooting out of what it sees as the ill effects of the last twenty years. The more technical and infrastructural departments often provided fairly extensive descriptions of their activities, but beyond that, actual overall figures on budgets, spending and revenues were scarce. A presentation by the Ministry of Finance was greatly missed. The pressing issue of women’s rights, including access to education featured heavily – not in the presentations, but very much so in the Q&A sessions with journalists afterwards, illustrating both how high on the agenda it remains and how seriously the media took its role.

In its discussion of the presentations, the report provides an in-depth and layered picture of how the Emirate spoke about itself and how it wanted to be perceived by the Afghan nation at the end of its second year in power. It notes how, during the last twelve months, as AAN continued to follow the Emirate’s media messaging, the themes that emerged in summer 2023 continued to be at the heart of Emirate communications in officials’ statements, speeches and interviews. In that respect, this report is both a snapshot of the state of play as it stood in the summer of 2023 and an illustration of the Emirate’s consistency in its messaging, across institutions and over time.

The IEA’s key speaking points – the ‘temporary nature’ of some of the restrictions on women and girls, the primacy of the Islamic system, the ongoing need to reform both the apparatus of state and the population, especially through the work of the Virtue and Vice Ministry, the insistence on wanting good relations with the outside world and the claims of remarkable progress with almost no outside funding –are likely to feature again in the forthcoming round of accountability sessions. If the previous schedule is maintained, they should take place this month and next.

Comparing how it presented itself in 2023 with what it chooses to showcase this year will be a good indicator of how the Emirate’s focus has evolved over the last twelve months. It will be particularly interesting to see how Emirate messaging uses the recent thaw in its relations with the outside world to its advantage, as illustrated by its participation in the United Nations-convened Special Envoys’ meeting in Doha on 30 June – 1 July. We look forward to seeing how the IEA frames its third year of rule and what may have changed or shifted.

Edited by Roxanna Shapour and Kate Clark

You can preview the report online and download it by clicking here or the download button below.

Accountability-Sessions-FINAL Download

Australia-based sprinter ‘honoured’ to represent oppressed women after making Afghan Olympic team

July 9, 2024 Current News Articles

Jack Snape

The Guardian

Afghanistan’s Olympic flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics has said she represents “the stolen dreams and aspirations” of women who have suffered under Taliban rule after winning selection for the Paris Games from her new home in Australia.

Sprinter Kimia Yousofi was one of five athletes and administrators who escaped from Afghanistan in 2022 and received safe passage to Australia after the Taliban took control of her homeland.

The 28-year-old has been selected to appear at her third Games by the Afghanistan Olympic Committee, which operates outside the country. She said it was “an honour” to represent the girls and women of Afghanistan “who have been deprived of basic rights, including education, which is the most important one”.

She said she hoped to represent those women “who don’t have the authority to make decisions as free human beings”.

“They don’t even have the permission to enter a park,” she said.

President of the Afghanistan Olympic Committee, Dr Yonus Popalzay, said the team will send three women to a Games for the first time, alongside three men. “We highly appreciate the Australian Olympics Committee for the support extended to Kimia Yousofi. On behalf of the Afghanistan Olympic Committee please convey our message of gratitude and appreciation to Australian nation and government for support to Afghanistan in a difficult time,” he said.

The Taliban has reportedly refused to recognise the team. “Only three athletes are representing Afghanistan,” Atal Mashwani, the spokesman of the Taliban government’s sports directorate, told AFP, referring to the male competitors.

Yousofi will race in the 100m in Paris. She is not expected to progress past the heats, but her Australian coach John Quinn says the sprinter has been an inspiration to her training partners. “On the track she has improved enormously technically since coming here and she has a great squad around her. But when you consider everything else she has had to juggle – training, a new language, getting her family here, all those things, she has been amazing.”

AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said Yousofi’s relocation to Australia and appearance in Paris has been made possible by bipartisan support in federal politics. “Her story is one of inspiration for women and girls in Afghanistan and anywhere in the world, who are denied basic rights, including the right to freely practice sport.”

a series against Afghanistan this year over concerns that conditions for women and girls in the country were deteriorating. A group of Afghan women’s cricketers based in Australia have been unsuccessful in lobbying the International Cricket Council to form a refugee team. The men’s Afghanistan team reached the semi-finals of last month’s T20 World Cup in North America.

The Paris Games will feature a 37-member Refugee Olympic Team representing more than 100 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.

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