10.03.2025 Joint Media Stakeout: Women, Peace and Security (Afghanistan) 

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We, Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, also Security Council signatories of the Statement of Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), reiterate our strong condemnation of the Taliban’s continued and systemic gender discrimination and increased gender-based violence, which may amount to gender persecution.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325, which established the women, peace and security agenda. In keeping with the ten UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security, Member States have long pledged to uphold all women’s rights as human rights, and women’s participation in all efforts to maintain peace and security.

Yet today, the women and girls of Afghanistan are erased from public life, and their voices are silenced. The Taliban has issued more than 80 decrees and directives specifically targeting the autonomy, rights, and daily lives of women and girls.

In August 2024, the Taliban issued the so-called “Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”. In December 2024, the Taliban suspended women and girls' access to education in both private and public medical institutions. This came on the heels of the Taliban’s decision banning women from working for the United Nations and non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan, and severe restrictions on women’s freedom of movement and freedom of expression.

Together, these unacceptable and unjustifiable measures aim to institutionalize a system of gender-based discrimination, persecution, and oppression.

We condemn, in the strongest terms, these policies and we call on the Taliban to immediately cease and reverse their ongoing systematic violations of human rights, particularly the discriminatory policies and practices that violate the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women and girls. We further reject any attempts to silence or threaten Afghan civil society representatives and women human rights defenders.

The Taliban must respect Afghanistan’s international obligations and commitments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

We welcome steps to hold the Taliban accountable for the widespread and institutionalized violations of women’s and girls’ human rights. We note, among other initiatives, the application of the International Criminal Court prosecutor for arrest warrants against two senior Taliban leaders, and the commitment to pursue accountability for gender-based crimes, including gender persecution.

The Security Council has made clear, including through resolutions 2593 (2021) and 2681 (2023), that the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of all Afghan women and girls, in all spheres of life, is essential to peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan. We call for their full participation in Afghanistan’s future and long-term development, and in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, as well as in all diplomatic efforts such as the UN-led Doha process and the recently established Working Groups, and the Central Asian Women Leader’s Caucus.

We reaffirm our support for the continued presence of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and other UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes across Afghanistan in support of the Afghan people, including women and girls. We underline that all Member States and UN agencies, including UNAMA, must work to promote a coherent approach to upholding and advocating for women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan. We further express our support for renewing UNAMA’s mandate in full.