The Taliban announced on Wednesday that they had banned the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, from entering the country.
The Taliban claimed Bennett was banned because he lacked “professionalism” and was spreading “propaganda”.
Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Kahar Barki said Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Taliban regime was unhappy with Bennett’s actions and that he “was unable to obtain a travel visa to Afghanistan.”
“Despite repeated calls for Mr Bennett to remain professional while on the job, his report was deemed to be based on bias and anecdotes that are harmful to the interests of Afghanistan and its people,” Barki told Reuters.
“Mr Bennett’s travel to Afghanistan was banned because he was tasked with spreading propaganda in Afghanistan,” another Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told Afghan media outlet Tolo News.
Mujahid alleged that Bennett had “taken a small issue and exaggerated it for propaganda purposes.”
Diplomatic sources said Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Tuesday that Bennett “was informed several months ago of the decision that he was not welcome back to Afghanistan.”
The Taliban spokesman was likely referring to Bennett’s criticism of the Taliban regime’s appalling human rights record, particularly for women.
Bennett issued The March 2023 report said the Taliban’s abuse of women and girls “may amount to gender persecution and crimes against humanity.”
“The Taliban’s deliberate and deliberate policy is to deny women and girls their human rights and eliminate them from public life,” Bennett said at the time.
Bennett was one of the critics of the UN’s decision in June to remove human rights and women’s rights from the agenda at its third session of the UN. UN-sponsored talks The future of Afghanistan was discussed in Qatar. The Taliban sat out the first two rounds of talks but said they would attend the third round if they were not harassed by their human rights record.
“If these exclusions are the price of the Taliban’s presence in Doha, then that price is too high,” Bennett said. Written In a June editorial The New York Times.
“The Taliban are not recognised as a government by the UN and should not be treated as such. They must not be allowed to dictate the terms of this conference or any future international process by threatening to withdraw from the talks,” he wrote.
Bennett Participated Other UN human rights experts Open Letter He urged the international community not to “normalize Taliban rule in Afghanistan.”
UN member states must not allow the current situation to become the “new normal,” but rather must launch a strong and concerted effort to challenge and dismantle the Taliban’s institutionalization of gender oppression and the dehumanization of women and girls, and find ways to use their power to prevent and halt human rights violations.
Following the Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have transformed the country into a terrifying and fearsome one. Repressive state Women were barred from secondary education and from many professions. Blocked Access to public facilities is restricted. Violence against women, including murder, is widespread, and women are routinely subjected to forced marriage and sexual slavery.
The Taliban Early promise The junta promised the United Nations that it would be less repressive than the regime toppled by the US invasion of 2001, but that promise was quickly forgotten. The junta now insists that its treatment of women is in line with Islamic law and rejects any criticism of its repressive tactics.
Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada Claimed In 2023, the Taliban regime is providing Afghan women with “a comfortable and prosperous life in accordance with Islamic law.”
Bennett recommended that the Taliban’s decision to ban him on Tuesday send a “message” to the UN Human Rights Council that “the appalling treatment of women and girls is unacceptable and cannot be justified on any grounds, including religion.”
“The cumulative effect of restrictions on women and girls has devastating long-term implications for entire populations, tantamount to gender apartheid,” he asserted.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ office did not confirm or criticize the Taliban’s ban on Bennett, instead his spokesman said only that all countries should cooperate fully with the special rapporteur because “the special rapporteur plays a vital role in the global human rights regime.”
