European Union: We Will Not Tolerate the Taliban’s Moral Policing Law

بیان نیوزAugust 27, 2024

Bayan News – As international reactions intensify regarding the Taliban’s moral policing law, the EU’s foreign policy chief condemned this law, emphasizing that it is intolerable for the European Union.

On Tuesday (August 27), Josep Borrell issued a statement noting that the EU has been “horrified” by this law. Borrell clarified that this law expands the power of the Taliban’s Ministry of Virtue and Vice beyond an advisory role, providing clear directives for the ministry to enforce it.

According to Borrell, this law and other restrictions imposed by the Taliban violate Afghanistan’s treaties under international law and undermine the rights of the Afghan people to fair judicial processes.

The EU official explicitly urged the Taliban to end the systematic abuse of Afghan women and girls, which could escalate into sexual violence, classified as a crime against humanity according to the Rome Statute, of which Afghanistan is also a member.

The EU’s foreign policy chief stated that this law also creates another obstacle for the normalization of relations and the recognition of the Taliban by the international community, something the Taliban openly desires.

He emphasized that, as noted in the “Independent Assessment of Afghanistan,” and confirmed by the UN Security Council, any potential recognition is conditional upon the Taliban’s adherence to their obligations toward Afghan citizens and their full respect for Afghanistan’s international commitments.

Mr. Borrell stated that “the European Union stands firmly with the women and girls of Afghanistan and all those threatened by the Taliban in Afghanistan.”

The Taliban’s moral policing law, recently endorsed by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, imposes extensive restrictions on citizens, particularly women. Under this law, women are required to cover their entire bodies, and a woman’s voice is deemed to be “awrah” (a part of the body that must be covered).