Taliban bans UN human rights special rapporteur from entering Afghanistan

The Taliban has banned the UN special rapporteur for human rights, Richard Bennett, from entering Afghanistan, a government spokesman has told local broadcaster Tolo. Bennett was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 to monitor Afghanistan’s human rights situation after the Taliban took over in the previous year. The movement accuses the human rights watchdog of “spreading propaganda”.

Bennett has previously said that the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls could amount to a crime against humanity. He is based outside Afghanistan but has visited several times to research the situation in the country.

The UNHRC did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for a comment. Bennett could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Taliban administration’s foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi told Reuters, however, that Bennett “had been unable to acquire a travel visa” to Afghanistan.

“Even after repeatedly requesting Mr Bennett to adhere to professionalism during work… it was decided that… his reports are based on prejudices and anecdotes detrimental to the interests of Afghanistan and the Afghan people,” added Balkhi.

Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has previously said that the Taliban respects women’s rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and local customs. He told Tolo that Bennett would not be allowed to come to Afghanistan, a rare public banning of an individual foreign official.

“Mr Bennett’s travel to Afghanistan has been prohibited because he was assigned to spread propaganda in Afghanistan… He used to exaggerate minor issues and propagate them,” Mujahid was quoted as saying by Tolo.

Three years into its rule after foreign occupation forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban has not been formally recognised by any foreign government. Foreign officials, including those in Washington, have said that the path towards recognition is stuck until the Taliban changes course on women’s rights, having barred most girls over the age of 12 from schools and universities, banned women from parks, and stopped most long-distance travel by women without a male guardian.

Afghanistan’s central bank assets have been frozen and many senior Taliban officials are subject to UN travel restrictions that require them to seek exemptions to enter other countries.

The UN has been trying to find a unified international approach to dealing with the Taliban. In June, top UN officials and envoys from up to 25 countries met the Taliban in Qatar, and were criticised by human rights groups for not including Afghan women and civil society representatives at the meeting. The UN mission to Afghanistan also operates from Kabul and monitors and reports on human rights issues.

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