NEW YORK (AFP) – The 11 members of the UN Security Council have again called on the Taliban to end “all repressive acts” against women. Japan’s UN Ambassador Ishikane Kimihiro made the call on the sidelines of a council meeting on the situation in Afghanistan.

Japan made the statement on behalf of Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Countries demand that the Taliban respect women’s rights. For example, women in Afghanistan must be able to participate and contribute in all aspects of social, political and economic life.

The statement specifically referred to the ban on women working for non-governmental organizations and the exclusion of women and girls from schools and universities. Permanent members Russia and China offered no support, nor did Mozambique and Ghana.

International response

Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said ahead of the meeting that the Security Council would discuss “an international response to the actions of the Taliban”. “We want women to be able to return to work and vulnerable families and children to receive humanitarian assistance again.”

Taliban extremists have returned to power in the country with the fall of the capital Kabul in 2021. Since then, the Taliban have increasingly banned women from public life.

UN aid agencies warned in late December that they would have to halt humanitarian projects in Afghanistan if the Taliban stuck to their work ban on women. Several UN aid initiatives in the country have been halted after losing female employees.