A UN expert on Friday called on the international community to devise and implement a comprehensive, human rights-centered action plan to address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan.

“The absence of a unified, forceful response from the international community has emboldened the Taliban (IEA),” UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said.

In his latest report to the UN General Assembly, Bennett said that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is worsening, which includes systematic gender oppression, amounting to gender persecution and which many Afghans term “gender apartheid” with intergenerational implications.

Bennett expressed concern about the new “vice and virtue” law, announced in August, which he believes has institutionalized an expanding list of restrictions that “blatantly violate the rights of women and girls.”

He also expressed concern about the “shrinking civic space” in Afghanistan, the situation of minorities, journalists, and former government officials and security personnel.

“Justice, equality, and the rule of law are being systematically undermined,” he said.

The UN expert also called for increased funding and support for Afghan civil society and humanitarian efforts to mitigate the crisis.

Bennett urged the IEA to reverse its “repressive policies” and reinstate basic human rights. He pressed the international community to take a coordinated, multifaceted approach to support the Afghan people.

Bennett urged states not to normalize relations with the IEA until there are demonstrable human rights improvements and pathways to justice and accountability.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has said that it is committed to ensuring human rights, including the rights of women and girls, according to Sharia, and this is an internal issue of Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate has banned Richard Bennett from traveling to Afghanistan, saying that he exaggerates small issues.

Addressing an international forum in Beijing, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Sadr Azam Usmani, said on Thursday that if the world wants to reduce poverty, it is better to start from Afghanistan.

Usmani emphasized that Afghanistan is now a secure country and its agriculture, mining, industry, and trade are growing.

“Let's invest in Afghanistan so that we can help not only Afghanistan but also one billion people in the world who are currently living in poverty,” he said at the 2024 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum.

Usmani also pointed to the ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, saying that 20 years ago, Afghanistan was known as the largest producer of opium, but the Islamic Emirate reduced poppy cultivation to zero and now farmers are cultivating halal crops.

“If you want agriculture to grow, come invest in Afghanistan's agriculture sector and help Afghan farmers by implementing alternative livelihood programs, because poppy is a problem that affects not only Afghanistan but the whole world,” he said.

The High Commissioner of Maldives to Pakistan Mohamed Thoha in a meeting on Friday with Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, acting ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Islamabad, said that his country wants firm and close relations with Afghanistan, Afghan embassy said in a statement.  

At the meeting, bilateral relations between the two “brotherly” and Muslim countries, trade relations between Maldives and Central Asian Countries through Afghanistan and related issues were discussed.

Ahmad Shakeeb stated that Afghanistan seeks constructive relations with all countries and is striving through its economy-focused policies, to transform Afghanistan into a regional connectivity hub.