The Special Rapporteur’s report highlights the Taliban’s systematic violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan, including their access to health services. The Taliban’s new criminal procedure code intensifies repression and discrimination, defining Muslims solely under the Hanafi school and labeling other religious groups, such as Shia, as heretics. The law enforces severe punishments to suppress dissent and restricts the definition of domestic violence to “excessive” beating, leaving survivors of other forms of abuse without legal protection or avenues for justice.
UN member states are urged to prioritize the voices of Afghan women and girls, strengthen protections for their rights, and advance accountability for gender-based persecution. The Council’s mechanism established last October is seen as a critical tool for holding perpetrators of grave abuses accountable, and it requires urgent operationalization and adequate resources to be effective.
States are also called upon to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, support the International Criminal Court in prosecuting those responsible for gender persecution and other serious crimes in Afghanistan, pursue accountability at the International Court of Justice for violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and use universal jurisdiction to bring criminal cases against perpetrators.
