Taliban Violating UN Convention On Women’s Rights, Says German Foreign Ministry

The German Foreign Ministry said in a statement that in view of the serious violation of women's rights in Afghanistan, the country has decided to consider the Taliban responsible for the violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Women.

Germany, in cooperation with Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands, has taken this decision against the Taliban.

A statement issued by the German Foreign Ministry on Monday said that since the Taliban took power, "women and girls in Afghanistan have been subjected to severe human rights violations".

The statement went on to say that "various decrees, policies and other measures taken by the Taliban have seriously and systematically deprived women and girls of the public sphere".

The German Foreign Ministry said that women are subject to "systematic discrimination" under the Taliban's rule.

"We have repeatedly called on the Taliban government to comply with all of Afghanistan's obligations under international law and to lift any restrictions on the rights of women and girls," the German Foreign Ministry statement said.

Despite the special emphasis on women's right to education, "unfortunately, the situation has not improved, on the contrary, it is deteriorating in a very worrying way", it added.

Afghanistan is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The German Foreign Ministry said that "even after the Taliban came to power, the Afghan government is committed to the convention under international law and is responsible for violating the numerous obligations of the agreement under international law."

Germany said that it has decided to hold Afghanistan and the Taliban responsible for violating the UN Convention on the Rights of Women along with Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.

"Together, we called on Afghanistan to comply with the convention by relying on the dispute settlement process provided for in the convention," the ministry added.

The initiative was announced on September 25, 2024 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and has been supported by Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, Croatia, Finland, Honduras, Ireland, Iceland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Romania.