The UN said on Tuesday it was faced with a “terrible choice” over whether to continue operations in Afghanistan, following the Taliban regime’s decision to ban Afghan women from working for the international organization.
Last December, the Taliban regime in power in Afghanistan announced that the 1,260 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) present in the country were prohibited from working with Afghan women, due to allegations of non-compliance with the use of the hijab. , clothing that forces women to completely cover their bodies and faces.
On April 4, the United Nations (UN) announced that the Taliban authorities were beginning to prohibit their Afghan employees – until now free from the restrictive measures applied to NGOs – from working for the organization throughout the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua) said the ban is “illegal under international law, including the UN Charter, and for this reason the UN cannot enforce it.” “.
“With this ban, the Taliban authorities are trying to force the United Nations to make a terrible choice, between staying and helping the Afghan people or respecting the norms and principles for which we are responsible,” Manua explained.
Manua’s leader, Rosa Otunbayeva, recommended a review of the operation of the mission in Afghanistan, which will run until May 5, 2023.
“During this period, the UN in Afghanistan will carry out all the necessary consultations, make the necessary operational adjustments and speed up the preparation of alternatives for all possible outcomes,” the structure said.
Some 3,900 people work for the UN in Afghanistan, including 3,300 nationals, according to the organization, including about 600 women, 400 of Afghan origin.
The United Nations considers these women essential for its operations in the country, which is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and where some 23 million men, women and children need assistance.
Given the restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime, the UN asked its employees, both women and men, not to appear at work offices, except those in charge of essential tasks.
“It is absolutely clear that no authority can instruct the United Nations, whether on the basis of gender or any other principle, who can work,” said UN humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov.
Source: TSF
