Consultative Meeting with Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan

On October 21, 2024, the Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network hosted a consultative meeting in Toronto, Canada, bringing together Richard Bennett and several Afghanistan citizens residing in Toronto. This event featured women’s rights activists, former Afghanistan members of parliament, university professors, journalists, civil society activists, and politicians.

Mr. Bennett opened his remarks by stating that the purpose of his visit to Canada was to meet with Canadian officials and Afghanistan citizens and discuss the human rights crisis in Afghanistan. He emphasized that the prevailing human rights crisis in Afghanistan is concerning and requires serious attention.

Mr. Bennett then spoke about the extension of his mandate as the UN special rapporteur and added that two reports are expected to be prepared and published, on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, by June of next year. The insights and perspectives gathered from Afghanistan citizens both inside the country and abroad, will greatly support the development process of these reports.

Expressing his gratitude to WCRAN members for organizing this event, Mr. Bennett stated: “Various faces from Afghanistan—including parliament members, women’s rights activists, journalists, and youth—have come together here, whose views are important and constructive for me.”

Zarqa Yaftali, CEO of WCRAN, acknowledged Mr. Bennett’s efforts and his reports, stressing that the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly the situation of women, is extremely alarming. She highlighted the gender apartheid implemented in Afghanistan emphasizing that: “The world must take decisive and rapid decisions regarding the gender apartheid in Afghanistan and its codification. What is happening to women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule is oppressive and horrifying; the world is responsible and must take action to address it.”

After that, Dr. Mohiuddin Mahdi, a historian and former member of parliament, discussed the deprivation of citizens’ rights and freedoms, the erasure of identity and language, and the torture and forced displacement of citizens, by the Taliban, due to their ethnic and religious affiliations. He concluded that the change in political structure and dialogue among ethnic groups in Afghanistan is the fundamental solution to end the current crisis.

Subsequently, Jamila Afghani, a women’s rights activist, shed light on the situation of women’s rights in Afghanistan and expressed her concern over increasing restrictions on women’s work and life and active women’s organizations.

Qazi Rahila Salim and Dr. Khadija Ilham, former members of parliament, addressed violations of citizens’ rights and crimes committed by the Taliban against the people. They urged Richard Bennett to explicitly document these atrocities in his reports on the human rights situation in Afghanistan emphasizing that the world should no longer remain silent against the crimes committed by an extremist and a terrorist group.

In the second part of the conversation with Richard Bennett, participants gathered into four working groups to gather insights and recommendations and present them in writing to Mr. Bennett and his team.

This event was successfully moderated by Marwa Dashti and Siar Habibi.