Foreign ministers at Munich conference express concern over women’s rights in Afghanistan

At the Munich Security Conference 2024, foreign ministers from 12 countries expressed concerns that human rights of women and girls are being violated in Afghanistan.

They stressed that adherence to human rights obligations is a key prerequisite for Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.

Representatives from Albania, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, the Netherlands, and Romania issued a joint statement urging the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to put an end to what they described as “systematic gender persecution, which could amount to crimes against humanity.”

The ministers highlighted the IEA’s recent wave of detentions of women and girls, demanding their immediate release and reaffirming an unwavering commitment to the fundamental rights of Afghan women and girls.

Since last year’s Munich conference, the IEA has shown no progress in protecting human rights, with the situation for women and girls worsening, the statement noted.

By eliminating half of the Afghan population from public life and political decision-making, IEA puts the very future of Afghanistan into jeopardy, the ministers said.

They cited the bans on education and employment for women and girls, restrictions on their freedom of movement, arbitrary detentions, and forced marriages as blatant denial of basic rights of women and girls.

The ministers called on the IEA to adhere to international human rights law and revoke all decisions that restrict the fundamental rights of women and girls. They particularly emphasized the need for girls to access secondary education in line with international standards.

Recognizing the broader challenges facing Afghanistan, including terrorism and drug trafficking, the ministers stressed that adherence to human rights obligations is a key prerequisite for Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.

“We underline the international community’s joint understanding that the adherence to Afghanistan’s international obligations by the de facto authorities (IEA), especially pertaining to human rights, remains one of the central pre-requisites for the reintegration of the State of Afghanistan into the international system,” the statement said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to ensuring women’s rights according to Sharia law and that the issue of women’s rights is a domestic issue.