UN not to recognise Taliban unless it upholds human rights in Afghanistan

UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva has said that respect for human rights in Afghanistan remains key to breaking the deadlock between the Taliban that has seized power in the country, and the international community.

"Compliance with international norms and standards set out in the UN treaties ratified by Afghanistan will remain an indispensable condition for obtaining a seat at the United Nations," Otunbayeva told the Security Council meeting, Caliber.Az reports, citing the UN press service.

She assessed that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is characterised by systematic discrimination against women and girls, suppression of political dissent and freedom of expression, lack of meaningful representation of minorities in government, and extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and torture.

It indicated that Afghanistan's Shia community was disproportionately at risk, with 39 people killed in three attacks in recent months for which the ISIS group claimed responsibility. Nine people were killed in attacks on Shia clerics in Herat.

In addition, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is dire, with 29 million Afghans requiring assistance this year. That is one million more than in January and 340 per cent more than five years ago.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021 when the US, its allies and the government it backed hastily left the country after a 20-year presence. The Taliban, whose leaders are on UN sanctions lists, is still not officially recognised by any state in the world.