KABUL: A coalition of 82 Afghanistan-focused organizations and 13 international groups has called on the international community to condemn the Taliban’s newly issued penal code for courts and to avoid normalizing relations with the group. In a joint statement released Tuesday, the rights organization Rawadari said the new code would deepen Afghanistan’s human rights crisis. The statement was prepared for presentation at the annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. According to the statement, the Taliban issued the penal code for courts on January 4 and ordered its immediate implementation nationwide. The signatories described the move as an effort to institutionalize repression and warned of serious consequences for fundamental rights. The groups argued that the code lacks legal legitimacy, violates fair trial standards, and creates grounds for discrimination. They also warned it could further restrict freedom of expression, intensify violence against women and children, and expand the use of the death penalty. The statement said women and girls have been structurally excluded from public life through sweeping bans on education, employment, and social participation. Human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists continue to face arbitrary detention and other forms of pressure, it added. The signatories urged governments and U.N.-affiliated bodies to refrain from normalizing ties with the Taliban and to strengthen international accountability mechanisms, including investigations by the International Criminal Court. They also called for an end to the forced return of Afghan refugees.
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