Joint press stakeout on behalf of the signatories to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Shared Commitments on Security Council meeting on Afghanistan

2023/9/26

 
We, the Security Council signatories of the Statement of Shared Commitments for the principles of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States have come together to express deepest concerns regarding the dire situation facing women and girls in Afghanistan.

We condemn in the strongest terms, the Taliban’s systematic discrimination, segregation, and exclusion of women and girls in Afghanistan. The drastic restrictions on the exercise of their human rights and the impact it is having on their lives are unparalleled worldwide and may amount to gender persecution.

We call on all international actors to take effective steps to end these abuses. Further, we reiterate our demand on the Taliban to swiftly reverse all policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms including those related to their access to education, employment, freedom of movement and expression, and women’s full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in public, political, economic, and social life. We also urge all States and organizations to use their influence, consistent with the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, to promote an urgent reversal of these policies and practices, in line also with Resolution 2681 (2023).

We recall Afghanistan’s obligation to implement the provisions of instruments concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms to which Afghanistan is a State party and by which it is bound, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. We also join calls for perpetrators of abuses against women and girls to be held accountable. 

We, the signatories of the Statement of Shared Commitments for the principles of Women, Peace, and Security, would like to use this opportunity to continue to create arenas for Afghan women to be heard. In this context, we would like to invite Karima Bennoune to share with us her expectations from today’s meeting.  The floor is yours!