10.12.2025 Danish statement at quarterly meeting on Afghanistan

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Thank you, Madam President, and let me also thank Deputy SRSG Gagnon, and Ms. Yari for their important and alarming briefings.

As we mark International Human Rights Day, the situation in Afghanistan stands as a painful reminder of the gap between global commitments and lived realities.

Four years since the Taliban violently seized power, Afghanistan now represents one of the most extreme and systematic assaults on human rights in the world.

Madam President, allow me to raise three points.

First,

The human rights of all Afghans must be upheld. This is a matter of peace and security, of human dignity and of urgency.

Denmark condemns in the strongest terms the Taliban’s denial of women’s right to higher education and employment. These restrictions are not only cruel, they undermine the country’s own prospects for development and economic growth.

Afghanistan will not attain stability, prosperity, nor peace while such violations continue.

We welcome the adoption of an International Investigative Mechanism by the Human Rights Council to ensure that serious violations are documented, evidence is preserved, and that perpetrators in the future will be held to account.

Women must also be empowered to participate fully in decision-making, including on Afghanistan’s future.

Afghan women’s rights and participation must remain central in international engagement with the Taliban. We urge that the rights of Afghan women, and their full, equal, meaningful and safe participation, to be placed at the centre of the UN-convened Doha political process.

Second, Madam President,

We strongly condemn the Taliban’s continued obstructions to humanitarian operations in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally, marked by rising food insecurity, widespread malnutrition, economic collapse, and repeated natural disasters, including two major earthquakes this year.

The return of more than 2,5 million Afghans has further strained an already overstretched humanitarian system. 

At such a critical moment, it is deeply alarming that the Taliban is expanding its restrictions on Afghan female UN and NGO staff. As we heard so clearly from Ms. Yari excluding women is not only discriminatory - it is operationally devastating. It weakens the reach and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance and impedes women’s and girls’ access to essential support.

We strongly urge the Taliban to immediately reverse all of these policies including the directive banning Afghan women personal to UN premises. 

The Taliban must facilitate the rapid, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Afghanistan.

Third, Madam President,

The recent escalation in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan is deeply worrying.

The developments risk destabilising an already fragile region and diverting attention from urgent humanitarian and human rights challenges.

We join the Secretary-General in welcoming the ceasefire and commend ongoing regional mediation efforts to pursue a lasting solution.

The Taliban must play a constructive role in eliminating terrorism, including ISIL-K, Al-Qaeda, TTP and other groups, from Afghan soil and ensuring that peace benefits the entire region.

In closing,

The Security Council cannot and must not allow the normalisation of the most severe women’s rights crisis in the world.

Denmark will continue to support the rights, voices and agency of Afghan women and girls. Their rights are non-negotiable. Their participation is essential. And their future must remain at the heart of this Council’s work.

We continue to support the work of UNAMA and look forward to working with Security Council members towards a timely renewal of the mission’s mandate.

I thank you.