Security Council condemns Taliban ban on Afghan women working for UN

The UN Security Council unanimously condemned on Thursday a Taliban administration ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and called on Taliban leaders to “swiftly reverse” a crackdown on the rights of women and girls,.

The resolution - drafted by the United Arab Emirates and Japan - describes the ban as “unprecedented in the history of the United Nations,” asserts “the indispensable role of women in Afghan society” and says the ban on Afghan women working for the UN “undermines human rights and humanitarian principles.”

UAE UN Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh said more than 90 countries co-sponsored the resolution “from Afghanistan’s immediate neighborhood, from the Muslim world and from all corners of the earth.”

“This ... support makes our fundamental message today even more significant - the world will not sit by silently as women in Afghanistan are erased from society,” she told the council.

The Security Council vote came days before a planned international meeting in Doha on May 1-2 on Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene behind closed doors special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries to work on a unified approach to dealing with the Taliban.

“We will not stand for the Taliban’s repression of women and girls,” Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, told the council. “These decisions are indefensible. They are not seen anywhere else in the world.”

“The Taliban edicts are causing irreparable damage to Afghanistan.”

Earlier this month the Taliban began enforcing the ban on Afghan women working for the UN after stopping most women working for humanitarian aid groups in December.