Taliban's treatment of women under scrutiny at UN rights meeting

29/4/2024 18:55

        Afghanistan's Taliban face criticism over their human rights record at a U.N. meeting on Monday, with Washington accusing them of systematically depriving women and girls of their human rights.
        
        However, in an awkward first for the U.N. Human Rights Council, the concerned country's current rulers will not be present because they are not recognised by the global body.
        
        Afghanistan will instead be represented by an ambassador appointed by the previous U.S.-backed government, which the Taliban ousted in 2021.
        
        In a series of questions compiled in a U.N. document ahead of the review, the United States asked how authorities would hold perpetrators to account for abuses against civilians, "particularly women and girls who are being systematically deprived of their human rights"?
        
        It also called for the promotion of the rights of LGBTQ persons, noting an "escalation of threats and abuse" since the Taliban takeover.