The Taliban authorities have systematically rejected criticism of their policies from the UN.
Kabul:
The UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan has been denied entry to the country, a diplomatic source told AFP on Tuesday.
“Richard Bennett was informed several months ago of the decision that he would not be welcome to return to Afghanistan,” a diplomatic source confirmed to AFP after local media reported the ban, citing a Taliban government spokesman.
Bennett marked two years in the role on May 1.
Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed rules based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Women have been hit hardest by restrictions that the United Nations has labeled “gender apartheid” and have driven them out of public life.
They are excluded from secondary and higher education, and are not allowed to work in many jobs, enter public parks and gyms, and travel without a male relative.
The Taliban government is not recognized by any other state, with restrictions on women being a major sticking point.
The Taliban authorities have systematically rejected criticism of their policies from the UN and the international community.
However, when the ban was apparently issued months ago, the Taliban government emphasized that their problem was not with human rights monitoring and reporting, but with Bennett personally, diplomatic sources said.
Earlier Tuesday, Afghanistan’s Tolo News quoted Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that Bennett was expelled “because he was appointed to Afghanistan to spread propaganda and he is not someone whose words we can trust.”
“He took small issues and exaggerated them for propaganda,” he said.
– Strong statements –
In recent months, Bennett has made strong statements about women’s rights in Afghanistan at times when the country has been in the international spotlight.
Last week, as Taliban authorities marked the third anniversary of their takeover of Afghanistan, Bennett joined 29 other UN experts in a statement urging the international community “not to condemn the de facto authorities and their abhorrent human rights abuses.” normalize,” he said on X.
In late June, Bennett condemned the decision to exclude rights issues from the agenda and keep representatives of Afghan women and civil society off the table during UN-hosted talks in Qatar – a prerequisite for the participation of Taliban representatives in the meetings with the international community.
“The costs are too high,” he wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times.
In New York, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, did not confirm or deny the ban on Tuesday, but said: “Special rapporteurs play a very crucial role in the global human rights architecture. We encourage full cooperation with them. “
Special rapporteurs such as Bennett are independent experts within the Special Procedures body of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) maintains a monitoring and reporting function on human rights in the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
