Acknowledging “relative peace” has returned to Afghanistan, UN human rights chief said Friday general amnesty granted by the Taliban for officials of the former administration is “significant”, Yeni Safak reports.
Michelle Bachelet, however, said Afghans “remain uncertain about the future of their country (and) also about where their next meal will come from.”
After her one-day visit to the war-torn country on Thursday, Bachelet said the Afghans are “toiling through desperate, intersecting crises and grappling with great uncertainty.”
“Basic human needs like food and health are severely underserved, and basic human rights like education, the right to work and the right to participate in decision-making processes are largely unfulfilled,” she said.
Her one-day trip marked the first high-level visit by any UN official of her stature to travel to Afghanistan after Taliban’s return to power last August.
Bachelet said she met representatives of the Taliban-led interim government besides civil society representatives, including women teachers, doctors, journalists, civil servants, and non-governmental organization workers.
“The women powerfully conveyed the urgency of the situation on the ground. And they pleaded for a seat at the table with the de facto authorities, as partners to help chart a way out of this economic, humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan,” said the UN rights chief.
“We want to speak to the Taliban ourselves. We know what our people need, not only in the city but also in the countryside, and we have authoritative information and solutions to raise with the Taliban ourselves,” Bachelet quoted the women leaders she met.