The Taliban, who have been known to brutally enforce Islamist Sharia law at the expense of women & girls, are “likely” to take a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a former UN ambassador has said.
Afghanistan is currently on the Commission, and now that the Taliban have seized control of the country, with President Ashraf Ghani fleeing to the United Arab Emirates, there is a question mark over whether the militant Islamist regime will inherit the seat – at least according to John Bolton, who served as U.N. ambassador under former US President George Bush and national security adviser to Donald Trump.
“You have a new crew that comes in, and the U.N. has to decide, ‘Do we accept the credentials of a new ambassador?'” Bolton told the Washington Examiner earlier this week.
“It’s certainly possible to challenge that and deny them a seat. You can say they’re not legitimate.”
However, according to Bolton, the UN has very rarely rejected incoming governments from other countries in the past, even if the governing body took power through undesirable methods.
“It’s unusual and hasn’t often been successful,” he said.
“I think the most likely outcome is the Taliban gets seated.”
According to the UN, the Commission for the Status of Women is “the “principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.”
The commission’s stated goal is to have UN member states “agree on further actions to accelerate progress and promote women’s enjoyment of their rights in political, economic, and social fields.”
This week, 21 governing bodies globally, including the EU, the US and the UK signed a statement asserting that “We are deeply worried about Afghan women and girls, their rights to education, work and freedom of movement.”
When the Taliban initially rose to power in 1996, women and girls were banned from working, receiving education, and forced to wear the burqa – a type of Islamic veil which covers the entire face and body. Women were also not permitted to leave the home without a male relative, as per Islamic law.
Additionally, women were publicly flogged, stoned, beaten and killed for violating Sharia.
While the group has made statements indicating a softer approach towards women’s rights this time around, local reports from Afghanistan seem to indicate Taliban controlled areas are subjecting women to forced marriages and executions.
There are reports of targeted killings and reprisals out in the provinces, away from international scrutiny. Some Taliban are going house to house looking especially for former Afghan army troops and summarily executing them.https://t.co/wlCx9NETXk
— Paul D. Miller (@PaulDMiller2) August 22, 2021