UN chief condemns Taliban ban on Afghan women working for them

United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres has condemned a ban by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities on Afghan women working for the UN, calling it "an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights" that should be immediately revoked.

The UN has told some 3,300 Afghan staff - of which about 400 are female - not to report to their offices until further notice for security reasons. Some 600 international staff in the country are not affected by the ban.

"Banning Afghan women from working with the UN in Afghanistan is an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights," Guterres posted on Twitter. "I call on the Taliban to immediately revoke this decision."

Taliban administration spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

Top UN officials in Kabul met with the Acting Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities signalled on Tuesday that they would enforce a ban on Afghan women working for the world body.

Deputy UN envoy in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, who is also the humanitarian aid coordinator, said Muttaqi told them the ban was an expansion of an order issued in December that stopped Afghan women from working for aid groups.

When asked if it was worth the United Nations staying to work under these restrictions, he said: "Even if it will save the life of one child, even if we will build one house, even if it will change the life of one person, it is worth it."

"The people of Afghanistan cannot be abandoned," Alakbarov told reporters in New York via video on Wednesday.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who traveled to Afghanistan in January to meet with the Taliban authorities, told reporters on Wednesday that Afghan female UN staff would continue to be paid and would not be replaced by men.

The UN Security Council is due to discuss the situation in Afghanistan behind closed doors on Friday, diplomats said.

Meanwhile, Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations has discussed the situation with US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West and Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternate Representative of the United States for Special Political Affairs in the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

In a tweet, the UAE Mission to the UN said "Now, more than ever, we must build momentum towards an integrated international approach that protects the fundamental rights of Afghan women and girls and ensures their full inclusion across all aspects of public life."

Today, Amb Nusseibeh met with US Special Representative Thomas West @US4AfghanPeace and Amb Wood to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, including the Taliban’s reported decision to ban Afghan women from working with the UN.

Now, more than ever, we must build momentum towards… pic.twitter.com/iZGIuqC34q

— UAE Mission to the UN (@UAEMissionToUN) April 5, 2023