16-08-2021
(Call to the House of Representatives and the Dutch government, including its posts in Afghanistan and the region, for urgent action.)
This past weekend happened what we all feared: Kabul has been taken and the Taliban have their seat in the presidential palace.
As early as April this year, on behalf of our Afghan partners and colleagues, we called for better protection of the Afghan population, and specifically of women and girls. We also asked for protection for the women and young people, including peace activists and human rights defenders, fleeing Afghanistan as a result of targeted attacks and the curtailment of their freedoms.
We have no more time to lose. Under the Taliban regime, every right to self-determination and development of women and girls is structurally broken. Women and girls who, with the support of the Netherlands, among others, took back their rights and freedoms over the past two decades, find themselves completely alone again thanks to the current international military and political withdrawal.
We are already seeing that in areas recaptured by the Taliban, many of the freedoms and rights that have been acquired in recent years are disappearing. Women are no longer allowed to go out on the street without a male supervisor and girls are denied access to schooling. The female peace activists and human rights defenders with whom the Netherlands also collaborates are targeted and threatened.
We stand in solidarity with everyone, women, girls, men and boys, in Afghanistan whose security and freedoms are at stake. We call on the House of Representatives and the Dutch government, including its posts in Afghanistan and the region, to do the same. That is why we call for urgent action:
- Categorically protect women and girls fleeing Afghanistan as a result of (imminent) violence and the curtailment of their rights and security, both in the region and in the Netherlands. This also applies to the peace activists and human rights defenders who have collaborated with Dutch aid and development cooperation organisations. Provide consular, logistical and financial support. Provide emergency funds and resources for hiding places to enable women and their families to get to safety. Speed up visa procedures. Be generous in granting asylum to Afghans and their families who have worked with Dutch aid and development cooperation organizations.
- Use all possible means to protect the women and girls in Afghanistan from attacks and repression by the Taliban, and other conflict-related violence. Provide any diplomatic, political, humanitarian and civilian support necessary. Offer this support to women and girls in all parts of the country, and in particular to women's rights activists who are visibly committed - for example in strategic partnerships with the Netherlands - for the rights and safety of women and girls in the various provinces.
- Provide humanitarian support to the hundreds of thousands of displaced Afghan families in Afghanistan and the region. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled or lost their homes in the past year as a result of the advancing Taliban. They urgently need food, shelter and medical attention. The Humanitarian Response Plan 2021 Afghanistan, published early this year, is only 38% funded.[1] Also, the UNHCR 2021 appeal for the reception of refugees in the region has only been 43% funded.[2] Make a generous financial contribution to this.
- Continue international diplomatic pressure by all possible means to bring parties back to the negotiating table and continue to promote the equal, safe and meaningful participation of Afghan women and girls. Advocate for the inclusion of women at all stages of the process. Support and facilitate the participation of Afghan women in relevant forums. Discuss and amplify the demands of Afghan women where they cannot do it themselves.
- Continue financial support from local peace and women's rights organizations. Ensure that these organizations can safely continue their vital peace work, training of women and men, and other forms of support for local communities.
Sincerely,
The Gender, Peace & Security Working Group of WO=MEN, Dutch Gender Platform
