Four American senators (Robert Menendez, James E. Risch, Jeanne Shaheen and Joni K. Ernst) voiced their concerns over human rights violations in Afghanistan in a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.
“We must not stand by as the Taliban seeks to erase the human rights of Afghan women and girls. In this moment, the United Nations has an opportunity to take meaningful actions that will send a clear, unequivocal message to the world that its member nations will defend the human rights of Afghans, particularly women and girls,” the letter reads.
They say that the Islamic Emirate’s leaders take advantage of the exemption for travel abroad to build diplomatic relations with other countries.
“The UN travel exemption has failed to produce meaningful dialogue with the Taliban nor spur them to take concrete actions to demonstrate their respect for the human rights and freedoms of the Afghan people. Moreover, Taliban leaders have misused the exemption, traveling to Beijing and Moscow in efforts to establish diplomatic ties,” the letter reads.
According to the letter, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted last month to once again roll over the travel ban exemptions for 13 Islamic Emirate leaders, only reinstating the travel ban on two Ministers of Education following the Islamic Emirate’s refusal to open secondary schools for girls.
These senators asked the United Nations not to give Afghanistan’s seat at the UN to the Islamic Emirate.
“We urge you to work to ensure the Taliban does not receive a seat at the United Nations when the UN Credentials Committee meets this September to determine diplomatic representation for Afghanistan,” the letter further added.
“The ruling leaders in Afghanistan should prepare a mechanism so that they are not questioned by the outside world, and they should focus on a political negotiation to address this problem,” said Javid Sangdil, political analyst.
“Afghanistan’s issues should be resolved specifically inside Afghanistan, and these difficulties should not provide the chance for the international world to criticize Afghanistan,” said Faiz Mohammad Zaland, university lecturer.
Earlier, the Islamic Emirate asked the international community to not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
This comes after a number of foreign organizations earlier voiced their concerns about the situation of Afghanistan’s human rights.
In a letter sent to the Department of Defense, 28 US representatives criticized the DOD over the delay in sending the report to Congress. It was scheduled for December 29, 2021.
“It is with gravest concern that even after a three-month window to produce the required information, the DOD still has not given Congress an accurate accounting of United States equipment still in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where terrorist groups are reconstituting,” the members stated in their letter.
The representatives said lack of information about the US military equipment makes it difficult for them to calculate the US’s investment and expenditure in Afghanistan. “This lack of information prevents Congress from being able to accurately and effectively conduct oversight over the tens of billions of dollars of equipment invested in Afghanistan over the past 20 years and creates vulnerabilities in our national security,” the letter reads.
The representatives in the letter on Friday also criticized the Biden Administration for the delay, which, they noted, was paid for by US taxpayers.—Tolonews
