The Fort Worth Press - UN chief calls on Taliban to uphold women's rights

USD -
AED 3.672974
AFN 68.425216
ALL 93.007834
AMD 390.01331
ANG 1.81621
AOA 911.999957
ARS 998.249996
AUD 1.54345
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.699887
BAM 1.852776
BBD 2.034663
BDT 120.423833
BGN 1.85313
BHD 0.376872
BIF 2975.829027
BMD 1
BND 1.346811
BOB 6.963779
BRL 5.806301
BSD 1.007759
BTN 84.987093
BWP 13.673805
BYN 3.297919
BYR 19600
BZD 2.031252
CAD 1.40043
CDF 2864.99997
CHF 0.887045
CLF 0.035513
CLP 979.910444
CNY 7.243099
CNH 7.255902
COP 4479
CRC 514.586422
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 104.456686
CZK 23.962998
DJF 179.450744
DKK 7.067675
DOP 60.695052
DZD 134.182994
EGP 49.321298
ERN 15
ETB 122.993165
EUR 0.94762
FJD 2.27485
FKP 0.788387
GBP 0.78809
GEL 2.730243
GGP 0.788387
GHS 16.275027
GIP 0.788387
GMD 70.999767
GNF 8626.906515
GTQ 7.732614
GYD 209.363849
HKD 7.78093
HNL 25.442281
HRK 7.133336
HTG 132.50221
HUF 386.750254
IDR 15875.4431
ILS 3.748965
IMP 0.788387
INR 84.433209
IQD 1320.093319
IRR 42092.498493
ISK 139.630035
JEP 0.788387
JMD 159.538871
JOD 0.709102
JPY 155.900501
KES 129.500052
KGS 86.201845
KHR 4082.940274
KMF 466.349913
KPW 900.000286
KRW 1408.14273
KWD 0.307714
KYD 0.833937
KZT 496.700918
LAK 22131.335237
LBP 89600.701953
LKR 294.541861
LRD 189.957415
LSL 18.103174
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.882485
MAD 10.020131
MDL 18.159255
MGA 4702.502532
MKD 58.284107
MMK 2097.999867
MNT 3397.99984
MOP 8.017648
MRU 40.117279
MUR 46.889905
MVR 15.449622
MWK 1747.434509
MXN 20.571925
MYR 4.482016
MZN 63.899993
NAD 18.103174
NGN 1684.119587
NIO 37.087736
NOK 11.152585
NPR 135.978578
NZD 1.70394
OMR 0.385031
PAB 1
PEN 3.819421
PGK 4.022654
PHP 58.849994
PKR 278.051027
PLN 4.116289
PYG 7864.722013
QAR 3.674102
RON 4.717298
RSD 110.890999
RUB 98.500922
RWF 1383.186748
SAR 3.757416
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.620275
SDG 601.497717
SEK 10.996295
SGD 1.345889
SHP 0.788387
SLE 22.814988
SLL 20969.502481
SOS 575.878195
SRD 35.279754
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.756103
SYP 2512.530181
SZL 18.108875
THB 35.04298
TJS 10.662352
TMT 3.51
TND 3.147935
TOP 2.38999
TRY 34.356195
TTD 6.800372
TWD 32.57475
TZS 2680.545109
UAH 41.343768
UGX 3672.512403
UYU 42.486895
UZS 12811.433733
VES 44.996696
VND 25374.272123
VUV 118.722041
WST 2.798776
XAF 621.79325
XAG 0.033135
XAU 0.00039
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.753908
XOF 621.79325
XPF 113.11667
YER 249.774976
ZAR 18.27157
ZMK 9001.193302
ZMW 27.374927
ZWL 321.999592
  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • RBGPF

    59.2500

    59.25

    +100%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0400

    7.07

    -0.57%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

UN chief calls on Taliban to uphold women's rights
UN chief calls on Taliban to uphold women's rights

UN chief calls on Taliban to uphold women's rights

The Taliban must uphold the fundamental human rights of women and children, the United Nations chief said Wednesday, urging the international community to release frozen Afghan aid to prevent families from selling their babies to buy food.

Text size:

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned that "Afghanistan is hanging by a thread" as millions of impoverished citizens struggle to survive amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

"We urge the Taliban to seize this moment and garner international trust and goodwill by recognizing -- and upholding -- the basic human rights that belong to every girl and woman," Guterres told a UN Security Council meeting.

He expressed concern about recent reports of arbitrary arrests and abductions of women activists, saying: "I strongly appeal for their release."

At the same time, he added, "I appeal to the international community to step up support for the people of Afghanistan," including by releasing aid funds in Washington that remain frozen by the World Bank and the US government.

Over half of all Afghans face "extreme levels of hunger," Guterres told the council, and "some families are selling their babies to purchase food."

China's UN ambassador Zhang Jun mentioned the case of one woman who "sold her two daughters and a kidney" to feed her family.

"This is a human tragedy," he said, implicitly urging Washington to lift "unilateral sanctions" and ease the freeze on Afghan assets.

The United Nations continues to call for "a relaxation of those sanctions" which squeeze the economy and prevent the full delivery of essential services, UN envoy to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons told the council via videolink.

Guterres said international aid agencies and donors "need to jump-start Afghanistan's economy through increased liquidity," including $1.2 billion from a World Bank-managed fund for Afghanistan's reconstruction that has been frozen since the fundamentalist Taliban took over last August as US forces exited.

"Without action, lives will be lost, and despair and extremism will grow," he said.

Naseer Ahmad Faiq, charge d'affaires of Afghanistan's mission, also weighed in at the meeting, stressing he was speaking "on behalf of the people of Afghanistan" to condemn actions by the country's new rulers.

"I call on the Taliban to put an end to these human rights violations, honor their general amnesty, allow women to work and open the doors of schools and universities for girls," said Faiq.

No country has recognized the Taliban government.

Taliban officials recently held talks with Western powers in Oslo to address the humanitarian crisis, with Western diplomats linking humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights.

Wednesday's session of the 15-member Security Council sought to clarify the mandate of the UN political mission in Afghanistan.

The mandate expires March 17 and must be reviewed to account for the Taliban's return to power.

M.Delgado--TFWP