In a landmark resolution, the UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the de facto rulers of Afghanistan’s decision to ban women nationals from working for the United Nations, calling for Taliban leaders to “swiftly reverse” their decision.

The resolution passed unanimously by the 15-member body in New York, calls for the “full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan”, and urges all countries and organisations with influence on the fundamentalist rulers of the country, “to promote an urgent reversal” of policies which have in effect erased women from public life.

Since the Taliban takeover of July 2021, when its forces toppled the democratically-elected Government, it has rolled back a wide range of human rights of women and girls, including a ban on attending high school and university, restrictions on movement and work, and in December, a decree banning female nationals from working from most NGOs.

Earlier this month the Taliban extended their ban to women working for the United Nations.

Afghan girls arrive in Rwanda to continue their education.

The UN underlined its “unequivocal condemnation” of the move in early April, noting that it contravenes international law, including the UN Charter. All UN staff have been told not to report to the office, except for some critical tasks, while an operational review is carried out, concluding on 5 May.

A record 28.3 million people in Afghanistan are in need of assistance this year, making Afghanistan the world’s largest aid operation, with the UN asking for $4.6 billion to fully fund relief efforts this year. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator warned this month that Afghanistan was also the world’s least well-funded operation, with less than five per cent funding pledged so far.

‘Deep concern’

The Security Council resolution lays out ambassadors’ “deep concern” over the ban on women working at the UN, saying that – along with the other erosions of basic rights – “will negatively and severely impact” the UN aid operations throughout the country, “including the delivery of life-saving assistance and basic services to the most vulnerable”.

Security Council Meets on Situation in Afghanistan

It stresses that the UN Assistance Mission in the country, UNAMA, will also be unable to implement its humanitarian mandate until the ban ends. The resolution emphasizes that the ban “is unprecedented in the history of the United Nations.”

‘Dire’ economic and humanitarian conditions

The resolution also stresses the urgent need to keep addressing Afghanistan’s “dire economic and humanitarian situation” and help the country restore self-reliance, recognizing the importance of allowing the Central Bank to use assets which are currently frozen outside the country, “for the benefit of the Afghan people.”

The Council backed the continued work of UNAMA reiterating its “full support”, and called on all with a stake in Afghanistan, including Taliban authorities, “to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of the United Nations and associated personnel throughout the country.”

Source: UN News

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The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday calling on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to swiftly reverse their increasingly harsh restrictions on women and girls, which range from severely restricting education to banning women from most jobs, public spaces and gyms.

The council condemned the Taliban’s ban on women working for the U.N., a decision the resolution calls “unprecedented in the history of the United Nations.”

The unanimous 15-0 vote, with the United States, Russia and China all in favor, was a sign of the widespread global concerns over the Taliban’s actions. It was a rare moment of unity on a high-profile issue at a time of steep international divisions over the Ukraine war, although both Russia and China criticized the United States after the vote for its past role in Afghanistan and for refusing to return all $7 billion in frozen Afghan government funds.

The Security Council never considered sanctions against the Taliban but the strong rebuke by the U.N.’s most powerful body is a blow to the prestige of Afghanistan’s rulers, who are trying get credibility on the global stage – including formal recognition by the United Nations as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.

When the Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan after two decades of war, they initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. But there has been a growing international outcry as Taliban leaders have gradually re-imposed their severe interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, on women and girls.

During the 20 years after the Taliban were ousted in 2001 for harboring al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, schools and universities were opened for girls and women entered the workforce and politics, and became judges, ministers and professors.

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council after the vote, “Today, the Security Council has sent a clear. unanimous message to the Taliban and to the world: We will not stand for the Taliban’s repression of women and girls.”

In Kabul on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the Security Council’s condemnation of the decision to restrict Afghan women from working at the U.N. as an “internal social matter” that did not impact outside states.

“We remain committed to ensuring all rights of Afghan women while emphasizing that diversity must be respected and not politicized,” the ministry said in a statement.

Separately, a prominent figure in the Taliban denounced the Security Council’s “failed policy” of pressure. Anas Haqqani, brother of the Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, said in a tweet: “It would have been better if UNSC had assessed the removal of diplomatic & financial sanctions instead of such resolutions, which amounts to the collective punishment of Afghans.”

The resolution, co-sponsored by the United Arab Emirates and Japan, expresses “deep concern at the increasing erosion of respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban” and reaffirms their “indispensable role” in Afghan society.

It calls on the Taliban to swiftly restore their access to education, employment, freedom of movement and equal participation in public life. And it urges all other U.N. member nations to use their influence to promote “an urgent reversal” of the Taliban’s policies and practices toward women and girls.

Under Taliban rule, girls have been barred from school beyond the sixth grade and women are now virtually confined to their homes, unable to go out and travel without a male guardian. In late December, the Taliban banned national and international aid groups from employing Afghan women and on April 4 they extended that ban to Afghan women working for the United Nations.

UAE Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh said over 90 countries from around the world co-sponsored the resolution including many Muslim nations and some from Afghanistan’s neighborhood “which makes our fundamental message today even more significant: the world will not sit by silently as women in Afghanistan are erased from society.”

Pressure mounted for a legally binding Security Council resolution addressing the Taliban’s crackdown on women and girls after the U.N. ban.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Taliban ban “a violation of the inalienable fundamental human rights of women” and Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Female staff members are essential to executing life-saving U.N. operations on the ground, Dujarric said, stressing that out of Afghanistan’s population of about 40 million people, “we’re trying to reach 23 million men, women and children with humanitarian aid.”

The U.N. has warned that the ban could cripple desperately needed aid deliveries, and lead to a U.N. pullout from Afghanistan.

Since April 5, the 3,300 Afghans employed by the U.N. — 2,700 men and 600 women — have stayed home, but Dujarric has said they continue to work and will be paid. The U.N.’s 600-strong international staff, including 200 women, is not affected by the Taliban ban.

Roza Otunbayeva, a former president and foreign minister of the Kyrgyz Republic who heads the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan known as UNAMA, responded to the Taliban’s ban on Afghan women working for the 193-nation world body by ordering an operational review of the U.N.’s presence in the country, which will last until May 5.

Before the review is completed, secretary-general Guterres will host an international meeting on Afghanistan in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on May 1-2. U.N. spokesman Dujarric said last week that the closed meeting will be attended by envoys on Afghanistan from various countries with the aim of seeking a “durable way forward” for the country.

His announcement followed an April 17 speech at Princeton University by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who led a high-ranking U.N. delegation to meetings with Taliban ministers in January, previewing the Doha meeting.

“Out of that, we hope that we’ll find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition (of the Taliban), a principled recognition,” Mohammed said. “Is it possible? I don’t know. (But) that discussion has to happen. The Taliban clearly want recognition, and that’s the leverage we have.”

The UAE’s Nusseibeh said the resolution sends a clear signal to the Doha meeting from the international community and the Security Council: Women and girls play an essential role in every society, including Afghanistan, humanitarian access must not be gender-based, and political engagement and dialogue are the only way forward.

While the resolution focuses on the Taliban crackdown on women and girls, it also underscores that it is critical for all Afghan parties, the region and the wider international community to hold talks to reach a political settlement and restore peace and stability “in the country, the region and beyond.”

The resolution reaffirms the U.N.’s support for “a peaceful, stable, prosperous and inclusive Afghanistan” and for an “inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned determination of the country’s political future and development path.”

It also recognizes the many challenges Afghanistan faces, stresses the urgent need to address “the dire economic and humanitarian situation” in the country, and reiterates that women are essential to the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The Taliban have ignored numerous appeals from the U.N. and many countries, including the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to restore the rights of girls and women. But Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane said “we need to keep reaching out to them” so the message can start resonating.

Nusseibeh said at some point the Taliban will want to be part of the international community, and when they do “I think it’s clear what the conditions and the requirements are.”

This story was published on April 27, 2023. It is being republished to correct the U.N. Secretary-General’s reference to Taliban ban, instead of U.N. ban.

Source: AP News

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WARNING: This story contains distressing details

A Vancouver woman is coping with news she’s lost at least five relatives, who died after being trapped under the rubble following a catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Nural Sümbültepe is from from İskenderun, a Turkish city of about 1 million near the Syrian border. 

She had been waiting to hear about the well-being of extended family members missing in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday.

And on Tuesday, she received devastating news.

“My nephew, his wife and their nine-month-old baby, they were confirmed dead,” she said.

A brother-in-law and sister-in-law are also confirmed dead, still trapped.

“She was the best,” she said about her sister-in-law while fighting back tears. “If our country were full of women like her, our country would have been in better shape. I loved her.”

Sümbültepe’s eldest brother, aged 65, is still missing.

“It would be a miracle if they find [him],” she said.

In the four days since the earthquake, and powerful aftershocks, around 12,000 buildings in Turkey have either collapsed or sustained serious damage, according to Turkey’s Minister of Environment and Urban Planning, Murat Kurum.

Turkish officials have said that 13.5 million people have been affected by the earthquakes, and the number killed continues to climb over 20,000 as more bodies are pulled out of the rubble.

Still, there are glimmers of hope.

On Friday, rescuers shouted “God is great” and hugged each other after freeing a woman who was trapped for five days in the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in earthquake-ravaged Turkey.

On hand were members of the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team, volunteers who flew into Turkey on Tuesday after getting the green light from the Turkish consulate in Vancouver. The team — the only Canadian one allowed into the country — brought high-tech cameras and other equipment to help find survivors.

“It’s incredible,” member Brodie McKenzie said of the rescue. “It’s such a rare event that you have someone who can survive these conditions.”

B.C.’s Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma shared news of the rescue on Twitter on Friday and said the government is “incredibly proud,” and remains in daily contact with federal authorities to provide help.

A post on the Burnaby search team’s Facebook page says it is “getting reports of trapped people messaging on their phones for help” after what it said was a long day at work.

Back in B.C., people with connections to Syria and Turkey are doing what they can to help from abroad, collecting donations and holding fundraisers.

Alper Tasdrumaz, who owns Simit Bakery, is donating a portion of his sales to organizations in Turkey helping with rescue and recovery efforts — estimating he’ll be able to share about $10,000.

“We’re trying our best,” he said.

The Canadian government has pledged $10 million in aid, and will match up to $10 million in donations through the Canadian Red Cross.

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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