Richard Bennett: Meeting with the Taliban in Brussels Is an Insult to Afghan Women

Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, has described the invitation of a Taliban delegation to Brussels and meetings with officials from the group as an insult to the people of Afghanistan, particularly women. In a post on X on Monday June 22 Bennett wrote that meeting with the Taliban in Brussels would be “an insult to Afghans, especially women.” He also criticized the acceleration of deportations of Afghan migrants from Europe, stressing that respect for human rights and asylum laws is essential and that Afghans should not be returned to the unsafe conditions in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also criticized new European Union regulations aimed at speeding up migrant deportations and called for adherence to human rights standards and asylum laws. The remarks came after the European Commission confirmed that it had invited a Taliban delegation to Brussels for discussions on technical issues related to migrant deportations. The Belgian government has also said it is considering issuing visas to members of the delegation.