Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has released a statement on behalf of the EU on the latest regulations imposed by the Taliban on the people.
What Are the EU’s Concerns Regarding the Taliban’s Latest Decree on Afghan Women?
As per the statement, the European Union is disgusted by the decree recently issued by the Taliban, the so-called Law on Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The decree establishes and extends severe constraints on the lives of Afghans imposed by the Taliban, including charged dress codes, notably ordering women to conceal their bodies and faces in public. The decree also sets that the voices of women must not be attended in public, which effectively denies Afghan women their fundamental right to freedom of expression.
How Does the EU View the Taliban’s New “Virtue and Vice” Law in Afghanistan?
The decree additionally extends the power of the so-called Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice beyond an advisory function as it is now being given a precise mandate to enforce the decree. This, together with the conditions imposed, punishable under Taliban law, violates legal duties and Treaties to which Afghanistan is a State Party, including by damaging Afghan people’s right to due process.
Why Is the EU Calling the Taliban’s New Regulations a Violation of Human Rights?
According to an EU statement, this latest decision is another heavy blow sabotaging the rights of Afghan women and girls, which we cannot tolerate. “We urge the Taliban to put an end to these systematic and systemic abuses against Afghan women and girls, which may amount to gender persecution, which is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to which Afghanistan is a State Party.” statement reads.
The decree also makes yet another self-imposed obstacle to normalised connections and recognition by the international community, which the Taliban publicly desire. Such possible recognition, as expressed in the UN’s independent assessment, of which the UNSC Resolution 2721 (2023) took optimistic note, would require the Taliban to fully appreciate both their obligations towards the citizens of Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s international commitments.
The EU persists in standing by the women and girls of Afghanistan and by all those in Afghanistan intimidated by the Taliban.
