PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 57 – UK Statement on Afghanistan [September 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 September 2024.

UK Statement for the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Afghanistan as delivered at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s longstanding commitment to shedding light on the human rights situation in Afghanistan. We are deeply disappointed by the Taliban’s decision to ban him from the country.

We have all watched in horror and sadness as the Taliban restrict the rights of women and girls across every sphere of their lives. The latest vice and virtue edicts are appalling. They extend the already severe restrictions and systematic oppression to which Afghan women and girls have been subjected. As our Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has said, these laws mark another tragic setback for the country.

Mr President, these restrictions are unjust. The sound of a woman’s voice is deemed a moral violation, their bare faces are banned in public, and they are forbidden to look at men to whom they are not related. The impact on women’s wellbeing and livelihoods is unimaginable.

The UK will not stop fighting for the rights of women and girls and will continue to find ways to support them in Afghanistan.

Special Rapporteur,

The Taliban must reverse this edict.

How can we support women and girls in Afghanistan now they are effectively banned from public spaces?

Thank you.