HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 53rd Session
Item 2 - Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan
This EU-led statement has been joined by more than 55 countries.
Mr President,
We are gravely concerned by the increasing and systematic erosion of respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls in Afghanistan by the de facto authorities, in particular women and girls’ lack of equal access to education, economic opportunities, including access to work, participation in public life, freedom of movement, justice, and basic services, the absence of which make peace, stability, and prosperity in the country unattainable.
Banning women from working for the United Nations, and national and international NGOs, is yet another alarming violation of Afghan women’s rights. These restrictions also undermine humanitarian principles, and severely impact the delivery of life-saving assistance and basic services to those most in need.
Mr President,
The realization of women’s and girls’ rights is indispensable for achieving sustainable development, in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, in peace -building, and in the humanitarian response.
We jointly call on de facto authorities to revisit their discriminatory policies. Women and girls have the right to live free from all forms of violence, to exercise all rights in accordance with international human rights law, and to contribute to the social and economic development of the Afghan society.