Significant lapse in judgment: UN apologises for photo of its personnel in front of Taliban flag

United Nations : The UN has apologised for “a significant lapse in judgement” after photographs surfaced of some of its personnel in front of a Taliban flag in Afghanistan during a visit by deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed this week to the war-torn country when she met the de facto authorities and expressed alarm over women’s rights violations.

Mohammed, the highest-ranking woman in the United Nations, along with Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous and Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of Political, Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Khaled Khiari completed a four-day visit to Afghanistan on Friday.

“My message was very clear: while we recognise the important exemptions made, these restrictions present Afghan women and girls with a future that confines them in their own homes, violating their rights and depriving the communities of their services,” Mohammed said.

“Our collective ambition is for a prosperous Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbours, and on a path to sustainable development. But right now, Afghanistan is isolating itself, in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis and one of the most vulnerable nations on earth to climate change,” she said. “We must do everything we can to bridge this gap.” The Taliban have issued an order to close universities to female students across the country until further notice, barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses.

Mohammed and Bahous also met with affected communities, humanitarian workers, civil society and other key actors, in Kabul, Kandahar and Herat.

“What is happening in Afghanistan is a grave women’s rights crisis and a wake-up call for the international community. It shows how quickly decades of progress on women’s rights can be reversed in a matter of days,” Bahous said, expressing UN Women’s solidarity with Afghan women and girls and vowing to continue amplifying their voices to regain all their rights.

The need for a revitalised and realistic political pathway was consistently highlighted and all remained firm on the fundamental principles, including women’s and girls’ rights to education, work and public life in Afghanistan.

There was broad consensus that the region and the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation’s leadership on these issues was critical. The proposal of an international conference on women and girls in the Muslim World during the month of March 2023 was also considered and agreed in principle, the release said.