In reaction to the Doha meeting, where the UN and countries are talking about recognizing the Taliban, 21 Afghan civil society and women’s organizations have written a letter to world leaders titled “Talk to Me, Not About Me.”
On Sunday, April 30, they expressed their anger that the Taliban are being recognized while Afghan women, civil society members, and media groups are being deprived of their basic human rights.
The organizations stated that the Taliban have become the only regime in the world that supports a system of gender apartheid by depriving women and girls of their basic human rights. According to these women and civil society members, past experience shows that surrendering to the demands of such regimes, in exchange for human rights, only strengthens them and prolongs the suffering of the Afghan people.
The letter states, “We urge the UN to immediately cancel all its plans, even if they are small steps towards recognizing an illegitimate regime that systematically violates the human rights of all Afghans and its actions are crimes against humanity.”
They have emphasized that all necessary actions should be taken to prosecute the Taliban leaders for serious crimes against the people of Afghanistan, especially against women and girls. This should include cooperation with the International Criminal Court to bring the Taliban leaders and officials accused of crimes under international law to justice.
According to these organizations, the Taliban have been responsible for a series of human rights violations since seizing power in 2021.
It should be noted that the UN meeting with special representatives of countries in Afghanistan will be held on 1 May, behind closed doors in Doha, Qatar, to discuss how to interact with the Taliban.
