Politicians and Human Rights Activists Call for Meaningful Global Support for the Fundamental Rights of Afghan People

In the letter, they call on the UN Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and UNAMA to take immediate and strong action to guarantee the rights of Afghan citizens in line with international human rights documents.

The letter specifically highlights the detention of political analyst Jawed Kohistani by the Taliban, describing it as a case of "forced disappearance" and a clear violation of international human rights law. The authors stress that Kohistani’s denial of access to medical care constitutes "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment."

The Taliban are accused in the letter of systematically violating the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Afghan people. The activists and politicians also call on UNAMA to pressure the Taliban to provide transparency regarding detentions and to ensure detainees' unconditional access to fair trials.

Other demands include launching an investigation by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women into the Taliban's policies and pressuring the group to lift the travel ban on Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan.

The letter is signed by figures such as Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Foreign Minister; Malik Setiz, researcher and human rights defender; Abdul Latif Pedram, politician; Shaharzad Akbar, former Chair of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission; Shukria Barakzai, former member of parliament; and Mujib Khelwatgar, journalist.

It is noteworthy that over the past three years, the Taliban have violated the rights of Afghan citizens, particularly women and girls. During this period, numerous human rights activists and journalists have been detained by the Taliban. In just the past few days, the group has arrested and imprisoned a political analyst and two journalists.