The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed deep alarm over Afghanistan’s recent decision to revoke the licenses of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that continue to employ Afghan women in the country.
The measure, issued by the de facto Ministry of Economy on 26 December, enforces a two-year-old decree prohibiting women from working with both national and international NGOs.
In his statement, Mr. Türk emphasised the devastating impact on the delivery of critical humanitarian aid in Afghanistan the decree will have, where more than half the population lives in poverty.
NGOs, he noted, are essential to the survival of millions of Afghans, offering life-saving support to women, men and children alike.
“This is absolutely the wrong path,” Mr. Türk said, urging the de facto authorities to reconsider what he described as a “deeply discriminatory decree.”
