KABUL: The Taliban have banned United Nations-appointed special rapporteur Richard Bennett from entering Afghanistan, the administration spokesman told a local broadcaster. Toloaccusing the human rights watchdog of “spreading propaganda.”
Bennett was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in 2022 to oversee the human rights situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power the previous year.
Bennett, who has previously said the Taliban's treatment of women and girls could amount to a crime against humanity, is based outside Afghanistan but has visited the country several times to investigate the situation.
The UN Human Rights Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bennett could not immediately be reached for comment.
Taliban administration Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said: Reuters that Bennett “had been unable to obtain a visa to travel to Afghanistan.”
“Even after repeatedly asking Mr. Bennett to maintain his professionalism during his work… it was decided that… his reports are based on bias and anecdotes detrimental to the interests of Afghanistan and the Afghan people,” Balkhi said.
Taliban administration spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid previously said the Taliban respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs. Tolo that Bennett would not be allowed to come to Afghanistan, a rare public ban by a foreign official.
“Mr Bennett has been banned from travelling to Afghanistan because he was assigned to spread propaganda in Afghanistan… He used to exaggerate minor issues and propagate them,” Mujahid was quoted as saying. Tolo.
Three years after coming to power following the withdrawal of foreign forces, the Taliban have not been formally recognised by any foreign government.
Foreign officials, including Washington, have said the path to recognition is stalled until the Taliban change course on women's rights, having excluded most girls over 12 from schools and universities, barred women from parks and halted most long-distance travel by women without a male guardian.
The assets of Afghanistan's central bank have been frozen and many senior Taliban officials are subject to UN travel restrictions that require them to apply for exemptions to enter other countries.
The UN has been trying to find a unified international approach to dealing with the Taliban. In June, senior UN officials and envoys from up to 25 countries met with the Taliban in Qatar, drawing criticism from human rights groups for failing to include Afghan women and civil society representatives in the meeting.
The UN mission in Afghanistan also operates from Kabul and monitors and reports on human rights issues.
