Embassy and Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN Office - Geneva

Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to UNOG
53rd Session of the Human Rights Council
Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Afghanistan
(With SR and WG on discrimination against women and girls)

19 June 2023


Thank you, Mr. President,

We welcome the joint report and appreciate the efforts made by the Special Rapporteur and the Working Group. For Taliban’s leadership, it appears their war against the women of Afghanistan and to the extension against the women rights normative frameworks is coming to a victorious conclusion in less than two years since the military takeover of the country.

At local level, with heavy-handed tactics the Taliban violently supressed Afghanistan’s women protester.

At the global level, the latest edict banning women from working in the UN and NGO’s and a recent directive to stop any NGOs from offering education to out-of-school children, has sat a new record. UN-SRSG for Afghanistan acknowledged the fact I quote “in the history of the United Nations, no other regime has ever tried to ban women from working for the Organization just because they are women. This decision represents an assault against women, the fundamental principles of the UN, and international law.”

Mr. President,

However, this is not only about Afghanistan, not a local challenge.

The Taliban are openly challenging the very fundamentals of the international normative system which was built over the past 75 years through dedicated work of the UN member states, including the state of Afghanistan as one of the earliest members, and the civil society organizations around the word.

A series of other incredibly shocking reports on the situation of human rights, fundamental liberties indicates that the Taliban are pushing a country already on brink further into a deep abyss.

Mr. President
I want to repeat, this challenge is not only about Afghanistan, neither about Islam,

Afghan women attained the right to education and suffrage in the early 20th century. 1919 and 1927. While years of conflict, impede the progress of women’s rights, majority of incumbent governments remained committed to protection of the basic rights.

In the last two decades women achieved greater access to education, employment, and participation in social, political and economic affairs of the state and society. Over 3 million girls were going to school and universities. Women, were serving as ministers, judges, members of the parliament, senior civil servants and governors.

Mr. President
Afghanistan’s exhausted civil society continue to improvise and resist. On a rare positive note, the struggle for protection of fundamental rights under immense pressure has moulded the Afghan women groups into a strong, resilient and historically unique women solidarity movement. Although women’s activist and human rights defenders were accused of connection with the West and promoting western values, their struggle remains a manifestation of desire for protecting their basic rights and dignity as equal human beings.

On the international level, despite competing demands, the efforts for protection of human rights, prevention of further atrocities and establishment of an accountability mechanism is ongoing.

The action however falls way short of addressing the challenges and expectations.

Given depth and breadth of the practical and normative challenge the Taliban rule imposes, majority of the discussions are narrow and often cosmetic.


As the world prepares to celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) a landmark achievement in the human history, a violent extremist group which taken-over strategically located mid-sized, UN member state—the group entirely discards the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, the UDHR and almost all other major international treaties and conventions.

Mr. President
The challenges are indeed unprecedented; discussions and solutions need to move beyond routine and rhetoric. Going forward we recommend.

1- The mandate of Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan could be strengthened encompassing an investigative mechanism, to monitor and regularly report, investigate and collect evidence of, human rights violations and abuses
2- The situation of human rights in Afghanistan should be highlighted at summit level at the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the UDHR
3- Efforts toward real and sustainable solution that is establishment of an inclusive and representative government in Afghanistan should be redoubled.

Mr. President, I thank you.

نوروز باستاني به همه هموطنان مباركباد.

كشورهاي حوزه فرهنگي نوروز(افغانستان،تاجیکستان،ازبکستان،ترکمنستان، تركيه،آذربایجان،ایران،قزاقستان،قرغزستان، عراق، هند و پاكستان) در روز اول حمل ١٤٠٢، مطابق ٢١ مارچ ٢٠٢٣، در مقر سازمان بين المللي ملكيت هاي معنوي جهان( WIPO) طي محفل با شكوهي نوروز را تجليل نمودند.
نوروز در سال ٢٠٠٩ ميلادي بحيث ميراث فرهنگي و معنوي بشري در سازمان آموزشی، علمی و فرهنگی سازمان ملل، یونسکو، به ثبت رسیده و سازمان ملل متحد در ماه فبروري ٢٠١٠، تاريخ ٢١ مارچ، مصادف با اول حمل را بعنوان روز جهاني نوروز برسميت
شناخت.
در برنامه تجليل از نوروز سفراي كشورهاي عضو نوروز بيانيه ايراد نمودند، متن بيانيه و ويديوي سخنراني جناب دوكتور نصير احمد انديشه، سفير و نماينده دايمي افغانستان در سازمان ملل متحد و سازمان هاي بين المللي مقيم ژنيو- سويس.

Remarks of Dr. Nasir Andisha PR of Afghanistan to UNOG

WIPO 21 March 2023

Nawroz is the manifestation of the revival of nature and the ancient Festival of live and revitalization. It has been held all over Afghanistan, particularly in Northern Province of Balkh in a special way for over 1500 years. The celebration has been passed down from generation to generation throughout our history and has reached us as a precious cultural and common civilizational heritage.
Nowruz is the reed of our civilization, which sung the song of harmony to the ears of time; from the height of Persepolis to the plains of Herat, the tulip gardens of Balkh and across the Amu river to Samarkand. Nowruz is the voice of nature that ties the splendours of Khojnd to Almaty, the glories of Tashkent to Delhi, the culture of Lahore to Baghdad, and beauties of Kabul to Istanbul. It connects the melodies of Bishkek to Ashgabat, Baku to Erbil through the common bond Khurasani music and traditional Dutar.
Only the forces of hatred and repression, such as the Taliban extremist group in Afghanistan could try to block this civilizational festival. But they never succeed in the past and will not last longer this time.
In the word of the renowned Persian mathematician, and Sufi poet, Omar Khayyam of Nishapour, Spring and Nauroz are love sans frontier, love without border which can transcends hatred, envoy and vengeance.
Ah Love! could you and I with Fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,
Would not we shatter it to bits -- and then
Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!
Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring
The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly -- and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.
Happy Nowruz

سخنراني دوكتور نصيراحمد انديشه در كنفرانس امنيتي هرات، منعقد شهر دوشنبه تاجكستان ٢٩-٣٠ نوامبر ٢٠٢٢
جلسه ششم: از حرف تا عمل: نقش سازمان ملل؛ بی‌طرفی افغانستان؛ ضمانت جهانی