What changed

B100048/2024

P10_TA(2024)0008

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on theThe deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”

(2024/2803(RSP))

PE762.608

European Parliament resolution of 19 September 2024 on the deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” (2024/2803(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150 of its Rulesprevious ofresolutions Procedure,on Afghanistan,

A. since the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent takeover by the Taliban, human rights and specifically women’s rights, have extremely deteriorated due to the Islamic fundamentalist nature of the Taliban regime;

– having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

B. whereas the Taliban regime, currently under EU & UN sanctions and embargoes, abolished all previously enforced laws, particularly those protecting women, enacting a new law sanctioning adultery, fornication, lesbianism, anal intercourse, gambling, the creation of images of living beings, shaving of beards and friendships with non-Muslims;

A. whereas the Taliban have broken international norms, resumed repression, particularly of women and girls, ethnic minorities, human rights defenders and LGBTIQ+ people, and isolated Afghanistan, increasing hunger and poverty;

C. whereas severe human rights violations occur daily while violators enjoy impunity; whereas women’s rights defenders and minority groups, such as the Hazara and Christian community, have been specifically targeted;

B. whereas the Taliban have implemented their extreme interpretation of Sharia and erased women from public life; whereas this includes barring women from work, access to healthcare without a male relative and education beyond the sixth grade, violently enforcing a dehumanising dress code, negating women’s presence in the public space and dismantling the support system for victims of violence; whereas restrictions on Afghan women’s rights hinder them from obtaining EU visas;

D. whereas since 1994, EU and Member States have collectively been the largest international donor to Afghanistan and its people;

C. whereas a recent Taliban decree, the so-called law on the ‘Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’, extends these restrictions by even requiring that female voices not be heard in public, thus further depriving Afghan women of their fundamental rights and freedoms, amounting to gender apartheid;

1. Resolutely condemns the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”, rendering it a heinous violation of human rights rooted in an Islamic fundamentalist doctrine.

1. Condemns the Taliban’s recent decree and interpretation and enforcement of Sharia law, the erasure of women and girls from public life, their being forced into unwanted and early marriages and exposed to sexual violence, and the reintroduction of the public flogging and stoning to death of women; commends the courage of Afghan women who, despite life-threatening risks, fight for their rights, and stands in solidarity with them;

2. Deplores the worsening situation of Afghan women and girls, denounces all forms of gender-based violence and the Taliban's efforts to erase women from public life, denying their basic human rights.

2. Urges Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to abolish their practices and laws discriminating against women; calls for the immediate restoration of women’s and girls’ full, equal, meaningful participation in public life;

3. Expresses grave concern that the Taliban leadership, currently under EU, US and UN sanctions are actively wanted for terrorist activities; strongly discourages any acts of recognition of a Taliban government, supports enforcement of sanctions against Taliban leaders and perpetrators of human rights abuses, including travel bans, asset freezes, and any measure dismantling the Taliban’s capacity to operate.

3. Urges Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to release arbitrarily imprisoned women and girls and reopen the support system for victims of violence, ensuring victims can seek shelter, medical care, legal recourse and reparation;

4. Is deeply concerned that Afghanistan under the Taliban remains a safe haven for terrorist groups; demands that the Taliban are stopped from threatening or violating the security of other countries;

4. Calls for Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to be held accountable, particularly through the ICC investigation and the establishment of a UN Independent Investigative Mechanism, and asks the VP/HR to initiate new EU sanctions against the Taliban;

5. Calls on the UNHRC to immediately establish a commission of inquiry into human rights violations committed by the Taliban delivering full accountability, including prosecution for crimes of aggression;

5. Urges the EU and its Member States to adhere strictly to the Council’s five benchmarks, currently unfulfilled, and support the renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur’s mandate;

6. Calls on the ICC to launch an investigation into the Mullahs comprising the Supreme Council of Afghanistan for crimes against peace and crimes against humanity;

6. Condemns governments that enable the Taliban by normalising relations; calls for the EU and the Member States to ensure Afghan women’s meaningful participation in international forums and negotiations;

7. Reiterates its unwavering solidarity and commitment towards the people of Afghanistan and calls on Afghanistan to immediately abolish this abhorrent law;

7. Calls for the EU to support the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity;

8. Calls on neighbouring partners to take diplomatic, intelligence and law enforcement measures to ensure that the Taliban’s culture of impunity for violence is eradicated;

8. Urges the EU, the Member States and other donor states to increase humanitarian aid and funding to support basic needs and livelihoods and Afghan civil society, ensure flexible funding for NGOs and their female aid workers and grant humanitarian visas and promised visas for the international coalition’s Afghan former employees; stresses the need for the international community to assess the recent decree’s impact on humanitarian operations;

9. Urges Member States to preserve and share the intelligence gathered through military and law enforcement operations in Afghanistan, in collaboration with Europol, with an emphasis on biometric data, assisting Member States and third countries in identifying returning Foreign Fighters;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, the Member States, the UN and the de facto Afghan authorities.

10. Calls on the European Commission to immediately appoint a new Special Envoy for the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief equipped with adequate resources;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EEAS, the Vice-President of the Commission/HRVP, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, Members of the Afghan National Assembly and the Taliban interim-government of Afghanistan.