Afghanistan: Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell in the EP Plenary on gender-based discrimination and violence against Afghan women and girls

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Afghanistan: Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell in the EP Plenary on gender-based discrimination and violence against Afghan women and girls

13.03.2024 EEAS Press Team

Subtitle: Speech delivered by European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell

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Dear President [Othmar Karas], Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

Like in the previous point, I'm speaking on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell who is in the United States in a mission.

The European Union is deeply concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, in particular the systematic gender-based discrimination and violence by the Taliban against women and girls.

In addition to restricting women's and girls' freedom of movement and access to employment and to education, women are also being arbitrarily arrested and detained for violations of the Taliban imposed dress code.

The restrictions imposed on women and girls heighten their vulnerability to gender-based violence, in public and in private. Domestic violence has increased, especially as women and girls are confined inside their homes.

The lack of clarity in the legal framework on gender-based violence discourages women from reporting the incidents to the de facto authorities, preferring instead traditional dispute resolution mechanisms, which are also often not in line with international human rights law.

The Taliban de facto authorities continue to implement the death penalty, with five known cases of public execution reported since 2021, the three most recent ones in February this year.

The European Union always condemns in the strongest terms all public executions. They are degrading and contradictory to human dignity. The European Union strongly opposes the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances.

The European Union is committed to support the empowerment of women and girls, and their equal access to work and quality education, as well as their full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership in all spheres of society.

Through statements, through our delegation in Kabul and by our Special Envoy to Afghanistan, the European Union continuously calls on the Taliban to respect the human rights of the Afghan people. The European Union reminds the Taliban and Afghanistan that Afghanistan is bound by international human rights law and international humanitarian law. This means that they have an obligation to uphold human rights, and that they are accountable for human rights abuses.

The European Union supports strong monitoring and accountability mechanisms, including the Human Rights component of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett. As the largest donor to the International Criminal Court, the European Union acknowledges that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the Afghanistan situation can be an important addition to ensure accountability.

The European Union will continue to support Afghan human rights defenders and civil society in Afghanistan and abroad with €8.9 million as they courageously struggle to defend the rights of the Afghan people, in particular women and girls. European Union actions include preserving and safeguarding documentation related to grievances, strengthening the resilience of Afghan human rights defenders or contributing to maintained access to relevant and reliable information among the Afghan population, with an emphasis, exactly, on women and youth.

Thank you very much to all of you. Thank you.

• Link to video (from 23:14): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-254329