NEW YORK: The United Nations is being forced to make an “appalling choice” about whether to continue operations in Afghanistan while the Taliban government bans wom-en from working for the organisation.
Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government jobs. In December, they banned Afghan women from working for domestic and foreign non-governmental organisations, and on April 4 extended that to UN offices across the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said the ban was “unlawful under international law, including the UN Charter, and for that rea-son, the United Nations cannot comply”. “Through this ban, the Taliban de facto authorities seek to force the United Na-tions into having to make an appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold,” it said.
The increasing curbs are reminiscent of the Taliban’s first takeover of Afghani-stan between 1996 and 2001, when the UN said they were responsible for re-peated human rights violations – particularly against girls and women.
“It should be clear that any negative consequences of this crisis for the Afghan people will be the responsibility of the de facto authorities,” the statement said.
The UN employs approximately 400 Afghan women in the country, with local employees making up the bulk of that figure. Earlier this month, UN humanitar-ian coordinator in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said that the decree violated the world body’s charter. –Agencies
