The United States Special Representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, said that Washington will place the issue of human rights at the center of its engagement with the Islamic Emirate and all Afghans.
“We must keep human rights at the very center of our engagement with the Taliban, with all Afghans, and as we approach programming and diplomacy,” West tweeted.
West said on Twitter that Afghan women and girls face restrictions in various sectors such as education, employment, movement.
“We are reminded that Afghan women and girls face indefensible restrictions – in education, employment, movement, and political life. Space for free expression has shrunken for vital media and citizens,” West tweeted.
“I think that if Afghanistan and the US discuss any political issues, human rights is one of the topics that is the linking point between the US, the world, and Afghanistan,” said Najibullah Jami, a political expert.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy for women, girls and human rights in Afghanistan, Rina Amiri, said that the US will continue to support Afghan citizens.
“Afghans are seeing their human rights systematically chipped away. We stand with the brave human rights defenders who are valiantly defending these rights in increasingly difficult conditions,” Amiri tweeted.
“Women and girls currently make about half of Afghanistan’s population. We want our fundamental and human rights in the current context of the twenty-first century,” said Manizha Sediqi, women’s rights activist.
“I’m in my eleventh grade. When school reopens, I want to attend my class every day,” said Malian, a student.
However, the Islamic Emirate denies human rights violations in Afghanistan, saying the US should interact with Kabul based on world norms and diplomatic principles.
“They should base their relations with the Afghan people and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on the basis of international norms and diplomatic principles in the world and have relations with each other on the same basis, as the human rights issues have different definitions in different countries,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
According to some political experts, respect for human rights, the right to an education and employment are necessary preconditions for the international community to recognize Afghanistan. However, the Islamic Emirate has always said that Afghanistan respects human rights more than ever before.
