UNSC in standstill on whether or not to renew travel ban waiver for Taliban officials
Aug 19, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], August 19 : As the Taliban continue their atrocities on Afghan people, especially the women of the country by curtailing their rights, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is reportedly caught in a standstill over whether or not to renew travel exemptions for Taliban officials, which are due to expire on August 19.
Two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia and China suggested renewing the travel exemption of 13 Taliban officials for another 90 days, however, the request was turned down by Britain, France, Albania, and Ireland, Khaama Press reported citing Security Council diplomats.
Moreover, Ireland has also resisted a 30-day rollover, Ned Price tweeted late on Wednesday.
Notably, two Taliban education officials had their travel privileges cancelled because the Taliban restricted access of women and girls to education, even though 13 others had their travel ban waivers renewed earlier for at least two months, to expire on August 19, according to Khaama Press.
Earlier, the UN Security Council (UNSC) gave leaders of the Islamic Emirate exemptions to travel bans to facilitate their negotiations with the US despite its long-standing international travel ban on the Taliban leaders.
Since the Taliban seized power in Kabul last year, the human rights situation has been exacerbated by a nationwide economic, financial and humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale.
Acts of terror, killings, blasts and attacks have become a regular affair with unabated human rights violations involving ceaseless murder of civilians, destroying mosques and temples, assaulting women, and fueling terror in the region.
The Taliban dismantled the system to respond to gender-based violence, created new barriers to women accessing health care, blocked women's aid workers from doing their jobs, and attacked women's rights protesters.
With the US troops' withdrawal from the country, large-scale violence has been unleashed creating political uncertainty in different parts of the country. At least 59 per cent of the population is now in need of humanitarian assistance - an increase of 6 million people compared with the beginning of 2021, according to UNAMA.
