Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has officially voiced his support for designating gender apartheid in Afghanistan as a crime against humanity. Speaking at the Human Rights Council, Türk emphasized that a clear legal definition is crucial to ending the systematic oppression of women in the country.
The High Commissioner’s statement reinforces the growing international call to hold the Taliban accountable for their restrictive policies. He argued that defining these actions as gender apartheid is a necessary step toward dismantling the structures that erase women from public life.
This move by the UN’s top human rights official signals a potential shift in how the international community addresses the crisis in Afghanistan. Activists hope this leads to concrete legal mechanisms to prosecute those responsible for these violations.
UN Rights Chief Calls for Criminalizing Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
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