Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, has said that only a small portion of human rights violations and restrictions in Afghanistan are reported in the media, and that the true scale of the situation is likely far more extensive than what is documented.
In an interview on Friday, Bennett expressed concern over the increasing violations of the rights of women, girls, minorities, and human rights defenders, and called on the Taliban to be accountable for these abuses.
According to him, the human rights situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, with women and girls being the most affected. He added that journalists and human rights activists also face severe restrictions, while ethnic minorities suffer from discrimination and deprivation.
Richard Bennett also noted that he has been barred from visiting Afghanistan for more than two years, and that the strict censorship imposed by the Taliban has made it extremely difficult to document and record human rights violations.
He emphasized that current reports on human rights abuses may represent only “the tip of the iceberg,” with a large portion of the situation still hidden from the international community.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
