STATEMENT
UPR 46 Session of the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, as delivered by Mr Tormod C. ENDRESEN.
Ambassador - Permanent Representative to the UN and other International Organizations.The Permanent Mission of Norway in Geneva.
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29 April 2024
President,
Norway welcomes the improved security situation in Afghanistan, but we remain deeply concerned about discriminatory policies and practices that significantly impede gender equality, civic space, and access to justice.
Norway recommends that Afghanistan:
- revokes all discriminatory restrictions on girls’ schooling and ensures equal and equitable access to quality education.
- takes concrete steps to protect and ensure women’s participation in economic, social and political life in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.
- respects the right to freedom of expression, movement and peaceful assembly and ensures that journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society can work without risk of reprisals.
- ensures access to justice for all Afghans by allowing judges and lawyers to work unhindered.
Thank you.