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UN Secretary-General says Taliban must restore freedom of speech, stop corporal punishment before admission to global community – JURIST

In the UN Security Council’s latest quarterly report regarding life in Afghanistan, released last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that Taliban authorities must ensure “inclusive governance,” allow freedom of speech and stop handing out corporal punishment in order to enter the global community. Guterres’ comments come as the Taliban remain under intense scrutiny for their treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.As described in the report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented the killing and maiming of children and extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and ill-treatment of former government officials and military members. Civilian casualties were also documented, most often caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Additionally, the rights afforded to women and girls continued to erode. The report reads:…the recent edicts banning women and girls from all education beyond the primary level, access to parks, gyms and public baths and working for non-governmental organizations and the United Nations deepen existing flagrant violations of women’s human rights, already among the most draconian in the world. The violations of the rights of women and girls, in their totality, ar e increasing their risk of exposure to violence and abuse and have serious physical and mental health implications, in addition to having a negative impact on the economy and the delivery of vital humanitarian services.According to the report, Afghanistan’s de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued severe restrictions on Afghan female staff working for UNAMA with exemptions applying only to the healthcare and primary education sectors. As a result, the UN requested that both female and male employees refrain from reporting to their offices unless specifically arranged.The report suggests that security in Afghanistan is improving as armed opposition attacks, border incidents and conflict-related security incidents decreased compared with the same period last year.The report was made available by UNAMA, a UN Special Political Mission established by Resolution 1401 in 2002 to assist the people of Afghanistan. Regular updates are provided quarterly to ensure UNAMA’s progress toward its mission of a “stable and prosperous Afghanistan.”A day after the report was completed, Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan briefed the UN Security Council. In addition to condemning the restrictions placed on Afghan women working for the UN, Otunbayeva communicated that UNAMA will remain steadfast in refusing to replace female staff with male staff.Another recent UN report found that the level of bias against women worldwide has remained unchanged over the last decade.