What changed

B90185/2024

B90175/2024

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on theThe repressive environment in Afghanistan, including public executions and violence against women

(2024/2617(RSP))

The European Parliament,

having regard to Rule 144 of its rules ofrule procedure,144;

whereasWhereas since 2021, the Taliban has begun atheir devastatingtakeover destructionon of15 civicAugust life2021, inthe AfghanistanTaliban includinghave widespreadseverely repressionrestricted ofthe human rights and fundamental freedoms,freedoms restrictionsof onthe accessAfghan topeople, justice,particularly women and completegirls neglectwho tohave respectbeen internationalvirtually humanerased rightsfrom obligations;public life;

whereas the virtual elimination of rights for women and girls in the country is the most severe gender-based repression in modern times, and amounts to gender apartheid; whereas there is widespread concern that the Taliban is perpetrating the crime against humanity of gender persecution;

Whereas the Taliban have resumed judicial executions, including publicly;

whereas women and girls face severe restrictions on access to education, employment and the public sphere such as parks; whereas women protesting the lack of fundamental human rights have faced enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and torture; whereas women are facing severe punishment for violations of a national dress code;

Whereas dozens of activists and protestors have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in relation to their defence of human rights;

whereas the Taliban has resumed judicial executions, flogging and stoning, including holding such punishments in public; whereas five public executions have taken place since 2021, with thousands of people in attendance;

Whereas minorities, such as the Hazaras, face growing repression and marginalization;

whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Afghanistan has raised alarm at the lack of due process and lack of qualified, independent adjudicators overseeing execution cases;

Whereas over half of the Afghan population is in need of humanitarian need, while the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan continues to be grossly underfunded; whereas 6,3 million Afghans remain displaced;

Deplores the rapid and widespread dismantling of human rights and the rule of law in Afghanistan;

Reiterates its grave concern about the humanitarian and human rights crises that continue to unfold in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover;

Condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted erasure of women and girls from public life, and the state-sanctioned violence and oppression that women face on a daily basis at the hands of the Taliban; stands in solidarity with all Afghan women; condemns governments which are enabling the Taliban regime by normalising relations;

Expresses its continued outrage at the devastating policy of gender apartheid faced by Afghan women and girls; reiterates its demand that the Taliban immediately allow girls of all ages to attend school and receive education on an equal basis with boys, as well as stop subjecting women and their families to grave violations for merely exercising their rights;

Recalls the international human rights obligations to which Afghanistan remains bound; reminds the de-facto authorities of the regime’s commitment to upholding rights, including restoring access to education for women and girls, and urges them to immediately fulfil these commitments;

Denounces the relentless targeting of human rights defenders, journalists and other civil society actors, LGBTIQ+ people, dissidents, judges, as well as the brutal repression of peaceful protest and expressions of dissent across the country;

Insists that the de-factoCondemns, authoritiesonce endagain, the arbitrary arrestdetention andof human rights violationsdefenders, ofprotestors women;and callsartists forarbitrarily thearrested, immediateincluding andManizha unconditionalSeddiqi, releaseAhmad ofFahim womenAzimi, humanSeddiqullah rightsAfghan, defenders,Fardin andFedayee forand detentionEzatullah conditionsZwab and duecalls processfor totheir meetimmediate internationaland standards;unconditional release;

Reiterates the EU’s strong opposition to the death penalty, in all cases and without exception; urges the de-facto authorities to end the use of capital punishment, and to immediately cease any public executions, which amounts to cruel and unusual punishment;

Denounces the resumption of judicial executions, including publicly, under the Taliban; calls for the immediate halt on all executions and the abolition of the death penalty and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments;

Urges the EEAS and Member States to strengthen efforts for a UN-led process for coordinated and structured engagement by the international community on the future of Afghanistan; underlines that the full participation of Afghan women and civil society is vital in this process;

Urges the EU to step up its support to Afghan civil society groups, and to fund specific assistance and protection programmes for human rights defenders;

Underlines that collecting and preserving evidence of human rights abuses, in particular those against women and girls, should be a vital part of the UNAMA to ensure accountability and the restoration of due process;

Urges the EU to step up its support to Afghan groups working to defend the rights of women and girls, including alternative education options;

Instruct its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the HR/VP, the UN and the de-facto authorities in Afghanistan.

Calls on the VP/HR to help launch a global initiative for ensuring accountability in Afghanistan, including by expanding EU restrictive measures against all entities and individuals responsible for these violations, and by establishing an independent investigative mechanism under the UN Human Rights Council;

Calls on the EU and the Member States to help address the acute humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, within and outside the country;

Urges Member States to ensure the long overdue evacuation of local Afghan staff still left behind;

Deeply regrets the systematic pushbacks that Afghans face at the EU external borders;

Insists on maintaining a strict conditional engagement with the Taliban in accordance to the five benchmarks set by the Council for engagement with the de facto authorities;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the relevant parties.