UN calls on Taliban to reverse crackdown on women in Afghanistan

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday calling on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to swiftly reverse their crackdown on women and to combat militant groups inside Afghanistan that Pakistan accuses of carrying out cross-border attacks.

China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong, whose country sponsored the resolution, said the hope is that the Afghan Government will “take more proactive measures to protect human rights, especially the rights of women, and project an image of openness, inclusivity and responsibility”.

The resolution extends the UN political mission in Afghanistan until June 17, 2027, and authorises it to support humanitarian aid deliveries “without discrimination” and to promote national and local governance “without any discrimination based on sex, religion or ethnicity, with the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women... minorities, youth and persons with disabilities”.

The resolution’s adoption follows the arrest of at least 30 women in the western city of Herat this month for allegedly violating the Taliban’s strict dress code.