Ávarp Katrínar Jakobsdóttur forsætisráðherra á viðburði um stöðu kvenna í Afganistan sem fram fór í New York 18. september 2023

Dear all,

I warmly welcome you all to this important event that the Icelandic government has the honour of convening here today, together with UN Women.

I am very pleased and grateful to see the interest in this event, which is a testament to the commitment of the international community to the rights and well-being of Afghan women and girls – and to our collective will to find ways to improve their lives.

When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, they wasted no time before starting the most severe crackdown on women´s right in recent history. Women and girls have been denied their rights and access to secondary and higher education, to work, to movement and to assembly. Opponents of the regime have been attacked; even tortured and murdered. They have also severely restricted the freedom of the media and expression.

The Afghan people are living a humanitarian and human rights ordeal under Taliban rule. More than 28 millions of people – two-thirds of the population – are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The Taliban´s  response to the country´s overwhelming humanitarian emergency has been to restrict women´s significant contribution to alleviating the urgent needs of their people – as women can no longer work for UN Agencies and important humanitarian organizations in the country. The crisis has for this reason disproportionately harmed women and girls directly, they have more difficulties getting access to food, health care and housing. Their livelihood and their family’s food security is thrown up in the air.

This whole situation in Afghanistan has become the most critical and severe gender crisis in the world right now. The Special Rapporteur´s report from earlier this year finds that practices constitute gender persecution and an institutionalized framework of gender apartheid. The international community, therefore, faces a clear dilemma; How can we address the serious humanitarian crises without validating the Taliban, who are guilty of such grave human rights violations?

Dear all,

The purpose of this event today is to have a solution-oriented discussion, with the participation of Afghan women and high-level representatives from the international community. As responsible members of the United Nations, we all have a duty and a responsibility.

Duty to seek a path towards a solution to this situation or at least to find ways to minimize the crisis. And a responsibility to act. All states, big and small, can use their voice, means and experience to contribute to address this critical situation. Iceland has had gender equality and promotion and protection of human rights as a key priority for the last years. Therefore, Iceland has repeatedly called global attention to the devastating situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, in the United Nations General Assembly, at the United Nations Human Rights Council, and other high-level meetings. We have also increased funding for humanitarian assistance aimed at women and girls in Afghanistan.

Dear all,

We all know that the situation in Afghanistan is complex and that here are many different views on the “right“ responses. But we must not forget the goal which is to give women and girls and the people in Afghanistan hope for a better life than they are living today. 

I look forward to hearing your interventions today and hope for a fruitful and responsible discussion.

Thank you.