The AIG have barred United Nations-appointed special rapporteur Richard Bennett from entering Afghanistan. The administration’s spokesperson told local broadcaster Tolo. They accused the human rights watchdog of spreading propaganda.
The United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Richard Bennett in 2022. His role was to monitor Afghanistan’s human rights situation. This appointment followed the AIG taking over the previous year.
Bennett has previously said that the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls could amount to a crime against humanity. He is based outside Afghanistan. However, he has visited several times to research the situation.
The U.N. Human Rights Council did not immediately respond to request for comment. Bennett could not immediately be reached for comment.
The AIG administration’s foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi told Reuters Bennett “had been unable to acquire a travel visa to Afghanistan”.
“Even after repeatedly requesting Mr. Bennett to adhere to professionalism during work … it was decided that … his reports are based on prejudices and anecdotes detrimental to interests of Afghanistan and the Afghan people,” Balkhi said.
AIG administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has previously said that the Taliban respect women’s rights according to its interpretation of Islamic law and local customs. He told Tolo that the authorities would not allow Bennett to come to Afghanistan. This decision marks a rare public barring of an individual foreign official.
Ban From Afghanistan
“Mr. Bennett’s travel to Afghanistan has been prohibited because he was assigned to spread propaganda in Afghanistan… He used to exaggerate minor issues and propagate them,” Mujahid said, according to Tolo.
Three years into their rule after foreign forces withdrew, no foreign government has formally recognized the AIG.
Foreign officials, including Washington, have stated that they will not recognize the AIG until it changes its stance on women’s rights. The AIG has barred most girls over the age of 12 from schools and universities, banned women from parks, and stopped most long-distance travel by women without a male guardian.
The international community has frozen Afghanistan’s central bank assets, and the U.N. has imposed travel restrictions on many senior AIG officials, requiring them to seek exemptions to enter other countries.
The U.N. has been trying to find a unified international approach to dealing with the AIG. In June, top U.N. officials and envoys from up to 25 countries met the AIG in Qatar, receiving criticism from human rights groups for not including Afghan women and civil society representatives at the meeting.
The U.N. mission to Afghanistan also operates from Kabul and monitors and reports on human rights issues.
This news is sourced from [Reuters] and is for informational purposes only.
