GENEVA (HRNW): UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has issued a stark warning during the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, stating that Afghanistan is rapidly becoming a “graveyard for human rights.” Addressing the council in Geneva, Türk condemned the “cascade of edicts and laws” implemented by the Taliban since 2021, which he described as having a crushing impact on the population, particularly women and girls. He highlighted a new decree signed last month that expands the use of the death penalty and legitimizes corporal punishment even within homes, effectively legalizing violence against women and children.
The High Commissioner emphasized that the systematic exclusion of women from education, employment, and public life amounts to a system of “gender apartheid.” He noted that recent laws on the “Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” have further tightened control over daily life, enforcing strict dress codes, prohibiting music, and requiring male guardians for women’s travel. Türk urged the international community to move beyond the current state of “appeasement” and demand a reversal of these discriminatory policies. Additionally, he expressed grave concern over the sharp increase in civilian casualties resulting from recent cross-border clashes and airstrikes along the Afghan-Pakistan border, calling for urgent political dialogue to prevent further escalation.
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