2nd Meeting - 60th Session of Human Rights Council

Good afternoon. Dear colleagues, excellencies, distinguished colleagues, I hereby declare open the second meeting of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, we will now resume the interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka. It is my honor to welcome back the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Welcome back, sir. We shall now continue with the list of speakers. The next speaker on our list is the representative of Ethiopia. Please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Ethiopia reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. We emphasize that this must be pursued through constructive dialogue, cooperation, and full respect for the principles of sovereignty, non-selectivity, and impartiality. In this regard, we commend the government of Sri Lanka for its continued engagement with the UN system, including the High Commissioner's visit in June 2025, and its cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms. These steps reflect a positive and forward-looking approach to human rights and reconciliation. Ethiopia reiterates its principled position in favor of nationally owned, inclusive, and context-sensitive approaches to transitional justice and accountability. We believe such efforts must be grounded in the specific historical, legal, and cultural context of each country and reflect the aspiration of its people. External mechanisms imposed without the consent of the state, undermining national progress. We therefore encourage the continued support for Sri Lanka's domestic process and reaffirm the importance of technical assistance and capacity building. In conclusion, Ethiopia expresses its solidarity with Sri Lanka and supports its effort towards reconciliation, development and human rights. I thank you.

I now give the floor to the representative of Cote d'Ivoire.

Thank you, President. Cote d'Ivoire thanks the High Commissioner for the report. It assesses the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. The country deplores the ongoing and pernicious effects of the multifaceted crises that we see around the world and the vulnerable factors that have led to that. Many countries, in particular developing countries, continue to see their economies and their sociopolitical stability severely by these crises. This includes Sri Lanka. Cote d'Ivoire hails the progress made by the Sri Lankan Government in the area of promoting the reconciliation of human rights, this since the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2024. We also welcome the implementation of an inclusive parliament. It is marked by a record representation of women in diverse communities. My country encourages the ongoing efforts to bring about national unity and the economic empowerment of vulnerable groups, while maintaining a constructive dialogue with the Human Rights Council. My delegation calls upon the international community to support the Sri Lankan authorities in this dynamic through the sharing of best practices, technical assistance, and capacity building. To conclude, Cote d'Ivoire would like to invite the Council to remain true to its principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity in the assessment of human rights matters in order to thus avoid the politicization of debates. And this includes the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Much obliged.

I thank you. I now invite the delegation of North Macedonia to take the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We thank the High Commissioner for the presentation of the report, and we welcome the renewed engagement of Sri Lanka with his office. We take note of the stated commitments of the new government in Colombo to address longstanding issues and challenges. However, meaningful reform cannot succeed without dealing with the past and advancing accountability. While we recognize the government's pledge to establish an independent public prosecutorial body, It is essential that all institutional and legislative reforms are undertaken through an inclusive, transparent and consultative process. Such an approach is fundamental for advancing the full enjoyment of human rights by all members of its population. High Commissioner, North Macedonia supports the extension of the mandate of your Office. We encourage Sri Lanka to fully comply with international human rights obligations. This moment presents indeed a historic opportunity to foster sustainable peace and advance transformative justice for all communities in Sri Lanka. I thank you.

Hi, thank you. Now I invite the representative of the Philippines.

Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President. We acknowledge Sri Lanka's longstanding cooperation with human rights mechanisms, its consistent participation in the Universal Periodic Review, and various CTD processes, including its forthcoming constructive dialogue with the Committee on Enforced Disappearances this month. We also positively note Sri Lanka's extensive cooperation during the visit of the High Commissioner last June. We recognize that conciliation and reform are complex and sensitive processes deeply to Sri Lanka's social, political, and cultural public. In this context, we emphasize the importance of providing Sri Lanka with the necessary policy space to lead its national processes. Sustainable and durable solutions will emerge when they are deeply rooted in the trust of the people and are genuinely owned and led by national institutions. Constructive dialogue, technical assistance, and capacity building should remain the cornerstones of the Council's engagement with Sri Lanka, grounded in a spirit of partnership and full respect for state sovereignty and the agency of the people they represent. Given the ongoing liquidity challenges and the legitimacy concerns facing multilateral institutions, it is imperative to critically reassess existing conventions and transition towards more responsive and cost-effective approaches to promoting human rights. Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of Japan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Japan takes note of the High Commission's report and appreciates Sri Lanka's engagement in its preparation.

Japan welcomes the strong political commitment of the new government of Sri.

Lanka to taking concrete actions towards national reconciliation, including the recent efforts to develop a national action plan and strengthen.

The capacities of domestic institutions that could contribute to confidence building among different ethnic communities. We also acknowledge various government initiatives for promoting socioeconomic development of the conflict-affected areas in the North and East.

And social protection measures for the vulnerable communities affected by the economic crisis. Japan encourages the government of Sri Lanka, which is primarily responsible for the promotion and protection of human.

Rights in the country, to continue those efforts and take effective measures to achieve a meaningful reconciliation and a better human rights situation through dialogue and cooperation with the relevant domestic and international stakeholders. In this regard, Japan welcomes Sri Lanka's cooperative and constructive approach in working with the international community to address human rights challenges, including its acceptance of the High Commissioner's visit to the country in June this year. Japan reaffirms its willingness and determination to continue to assist Sri Lanka's efforts in this respect. I thank you, Mr. Vice President.

I thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. High Commissioner, the UK thanks you for your report on Sri Lanka and your recent visit. We welcome the Sri Lankan government's commitments on human rights and accountability, while also stressing the importance of tangible and sustained progress. Action by the Sri Lankan authorities to exhume and investigate mass grave sites is vital. They should be carried out in line with international standards. We share your concerns, High Commissioner, around arbitrary detention, custodial deaths, intimidation of human rights defenders and targeting of minority communities. We remain deeply concerned about the continued use of legislation such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1994 to restrict fundamental freedoms, despite public commitments to abolish it. We also encourage the Government to reinvigorate the work of domestic institutions focused on reparations and missing persons. It is crucial that any reconciliation and accountability process is inclusive and comprehensive, has the support of affected communities, builds on past recommendations and meets international standards. High Commissioner, we encourage you to take forward your Office's important work on conflict-related sexual violence and stress the need for this issue to be addressed as a matter of priority in Sri Lanka. We reaffirm our willingness to work constructively with the Government on these issues. Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the Distinguished Representative of Lao PDR.

Mr. Vice-President, my delegation thanks the High Commissioner for the report. The Lao PDR commends Sri Lanka's commitment to promote and protect human rights in the country, by among others, strengthening the frameworks for women's rights in order to follow up action on the recommendations made by the CEDAW's Committee. We also welcome Sri Lanka's constructive engagement with the human rights mechanism by inviting High Commissioners to visit the country in June 2025. We encourage Sri Lanka to further enhance its efforts in national reconciliation and legal accountability through relevant mechanisms. My delegation reiterates that the engagement in human rights mechanisms in all countries should be based on genuine dialogue and cooperation, mutual understanding, and guided by the principles of impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity, and non-politicization, taking into account the national needs and priorities in the concerned country. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of Pakistan.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. My delegation takes note of the High Commissioner's report. We welcome His Excellency, the Honorable Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka and his government's observations on the report. At a time when vital mandates risk being unfulfilled due to resource constraints, the funds being poured into this project could no doubt be put to better use. As Sri Lanka's observations make amply clear, and parts of the report even acknowledge, comprehensive national efforts are underway to address the country's socioeconomic challenges and recover from the combined effects of conflict, debt, and uncertainty at all levels. Mr. Vice President, Sri Lanka's demonstrable success in protecting the people from the pernicious human rights risk posed by terrorism merit appreciation. Continuing progress in missing persons and reparation cases are additional bright spots. Pakistan supports the government and people of Sri Lanka in finding their path forward.

And stands with them in abiding solidarity.

Sri Lanka's sustained and constructive engagement with UN human rights mechanisms deserves recognition. In fact, no country should suffer for its choice to engage constructively and transparently. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of Thailand.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thailand welcomes the significant development in Sri Lanka following the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2024, which include the appointment of the first female prime minister in over two decades and the doubling of women's representation in parliament. Thailand also recognizes Sri Lanka's constructive engagement with international human rights mechanisms, as evidenced by the High Commissioner's visit to Sri Lanka in June and its dialogue with the CEDAW Committee in February this year. We encourage Sri Lanka to continue aligning its reforms and policies with the international human rights obligations. Priorities should be given to strengthening social protection for persons in vulnerable situations, addressing inequalities, and fostering long-term economic and social stability and reconciliation. We also encourage Sri Lanka to continue its constructive cooperation with the Council and relevant mechanisms. Thailand supports Sri Lanka in its efforts during its transition to build confidence and restore trust by bringing more positive changes and strengthening national institutions and mechanisms, including the judicial system. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of the Republic of Korea.

Vice President, the Republic of Korea thanks the High Commissioner for his comprehensive report. We welcome the new government's pledges to introduce transformative reforms and address longstanding human rights concerns. Notable initiatives include plans to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, tackle corruption, and ensure accountability for emblematic cases. We are also encouraged by Sri Lanka's commitment to ethical governance, equality, rule of law, and democracy. The shift in the government's discourse towards a more inclusive vision is notable. While we recognize Sri Lanka's commitment and initiatives, we take note also of the concern and recommendations highlighted in the report. We encourage Sri Lanka to expedite its efforts towards advancing accountability, reconciliation, and human rights. We look forward to further concrete steps in order to yield tangible results. In this regard, we welcome the High Commissioner's visit to Sri Lanka in June and anticipate continued cooperation with the OHCHR and relevant UN mechanisms. As a nation that has traveled its own challenging path of democratization and reconciliation, we remain steadfast in our support for Sri Lanka's path towards reconciliation and prosperity. Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of Vanuatu.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Vanuatu expresses gratitude to the Office of the High Commissioner for the report and appreciates Sri Lanka's continued engagement with the UN Human Rights Council. Vanuatu welcomes Sri Lanka's progress in stabilizing its economy following the country's acute economic crisis. Vanuatu therefore acknowledges the country's effort through its domestic mechanisms, namely the economic reform measures and the tangible progress on accountability, reconciliation, and human rights for all to uphold the basic economic, social, and cultural rights of the Sri Lankans. We stress that sustainable peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka must be grounded in nationally owned process. In this regard, we commend the renewed efforts of the government of Sri Lanka to advance reconciliation and accountability to domestic institutions, including reforms aimed at strengthening the rule of law, protecting human rights, and protecting intercommunal trust. We encourage continued constructive engagement between Sri Lanka and OCHR in the spirit of cooperation and respect of sovereignty. International support should aim at empowering national mechanisms, institutions, rather than supplanting them. Mr. President, Vanuatu remains convinced that genuine reconciliation can take root through an inclusive and locally led approach. We therefore call upon this Council to recognize and support Sri Lanka's ongoing domestic initiatives to avoid reliance on parallel process, the risk of polarizing rather than healing. I thank you.

I thank you. Now I invite the distinguished representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Vice President, the DPRK delegation commends Government of Sri Lanka for its sincere efforts to promote and protect human rights by maintaining the security and stability it has restored, and for ensuring sustainable progress despite many challenges. We also appreciate Sri Lanka's clear commitment to remain constructively engaged with the United Nations system, including the Human Rights Council. We fully commend Sri Lanka's determination to strengthen its domestic mechanisms in line with its vision for a unified and transformed society. At the same time, despite Sri Lanka's active participation in the human rights framework, we remain concerned about the existence, credibility, and evidence gathering mechanism of the so-called OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project. We reiterate our principles, position of opposing and rejecting country specific initiatives and resolutions that are confrontational in nature and that lack the consent of the country concerned. We therefore urge the HRC and OHCHR to engage in genuine dialogue and cooperation with the States to carry out their work in an objective and impartial manner, and to firmly stand against politicization, selectivity and double standards in the field of human rights. Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of Australia.

Thank you, Vice-President. Australia thanks the High Commissioner for his report. Australia remains a longstanding and consistent partner to Sri Lanka. We are committed to supporting Sri Lanka to implement its human rights obligations and advance reconciliation, accountability, and transitional justice. We welcome the High Commissioner's June visit to Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan government's support for the visit, including to the mass grave site in Chamani. We recognise the High Commissioner's concerns, including continued surveillance, intimidation and harassment of civil society and minority groups, and the ineffectiveness and insufficient resourcing of the Office for Missing Persons.

We welcome steps taken to rebuild trust with conflict-affected.

Communities in the north and east, including reopening roads and promoting development and infrastructure, and we encourage further measures. Australia acknowledges the Sri Lankan Government's commitments to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which continues to be used to detain individuals arbitrarily, and to amend the Online Safety Act. We would welcome the High Commissioner's views on the Sri Lankan Government's planning for practical reconciliation initiatives with conflict-affected communities.

I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of Albania.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Albania welcome the comprehensive report presented today on the situation in Sri Lanka. We commend High Commissioner and his office for their continued dedication to advancing accountability, reconciliation, and the protection of human rights in Sri Lanka. We believe that the new government has a historic opportunity to break with a legacy of impunity and to take a new path grounded in justice, truth, and reconciliation. The clear political mandate and public expectation for reform provide a unique moment to address the root cause of past conflict, acknowledge the suffering of the victims, and ensure the serious human rights violations are investigated and prosecuted. Despite the pledge made by the government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, establishing an independent public prosecutor office and investigated and remedied cases, we remain deeply concerned by the persistent patterns of arbitrary detention, custodial deaths, intimidation of civil society, and the continued use of repressive legislation. We strongly support the recommendation of the report and call for the swift implementation by the authorities. Albania stand in solidarity with the victim and survivors of the past violence, its support for an inclusive, peaceful future for all community in the country. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of Eritrea.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. The case of Sri Lanka, along with the report presented by the High Commissioner, is yet another example of why countries that are under constant scrutiny by the Council remain apprehensive about inviting the OHCHR and other mandates into their countries. Despite its strong opposition to Resolution 57/1 and to the preceding resolutions, the government of Sri Lanka made the decision to invite the High Commissioner for a visit. We commend Sri Lanka for taking this constructive step. It is disappointing to observe that the OHCHR appears to align more closely with the agendas of the pen holders of these resolutions, while acknowledging that the office is mandated to implement the decision of the council, the high commissioner plays a critical role in guiding how that mandate is carried out. We are not asking the office to paint an unrealistically positive picture or to suggest that everything is flawless, rather we expect a constructive approach, one that provides a contextualized analysis, offers realistic and locally relevant recommendations and fosters the spirit of partnership through the sharing of expertise in areas of genuine concern. Over the course of three mandates, nearly 13 million have been allocated to the OHCHR's accountability project in Sri Lanka. The Council must reflect on what tangible outcome it expects to achieve, especially in the absence of the consent of the concerned state. We commend the government of Sri Lanka for the recent positive steps taken to promote stability and build trust within the country. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Thank you, Mr. President. My delegation comments the government of Sri Lanka for its continued commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and related international cooperations reached to a significant milestone by the High Commissioner's visit to Sri Lanka in June. Iran reiterates its principled position in rejecting any initiative that undermines, distorts, or overshadows national efforts. In this context, we express our deep concern over the continued extension of the so-called Sri Lanka Accountability Project, which risks politicizing the human rights discourse and disregards the Tangible progress achieved on the ground. Mr. President, despite being a relatively new administration, the government of Sri Lanka has demonstrated a sincere commitment in advancing human rights. This is evidenced by strengthening domestic coordination, domestic reconciliation mechanisms, ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, intensified anti-corruption initiatives, and progress aimed at poverty alleviation. These actions reflect a genuine homegrown approach to human rights, which deserves constructive support through technical cooperation and capacity building, not external imposition. Mr. High Commissioner, as Sri Lanka navigates the complex social, economic, and developmental challenges, it is imperative that the international community, including OAS-CHR adopts a cooperative, non-confrontational, and mutually respectful approach.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of Montenegro.

Vice President, we acknowledge the High Commissioner's insights on the significant momentum for change in Sri Lankan society. The leadership's pledge to embark on a transformative journey to tackle longstanding issues and implement comprehensive reforms is both encouraging and essential. We strongly support the reopening of investigations into emblematic cases of human rights violations, including the Easter Sunday bombings. Delivering truth and justice is essential for public trust and genuine reconciliation. We also recognize the government's pledge to uphold the rule of law and eradicate ethnic discrimination and divisive politics, yet these commitments need to be transformed into tangible sustained actions that dismantle the entrenched impunity and address the deep rooted conditions that have historically fueled past violations. While we comprehend the government's request for time to pursue its objective through domestic processes, especially since it has only been in office for 10 months, we urge prompt and meaningful action to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations, particularly in relation to alleged misconduct by security forces. Accountability is fundamental to building an equitable and just society. The government of Sri Lanka bears the primary responsibility for investigating crimes under international law and ensuring accountability. However, collaboration with international mechanisms such as the OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project can significantly strengthen these efforts and help restore trust in the justice system. We welcome the government's continued cooperation with the UN human rights system. Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of New Zealand.

New Zealand thanks the High Commissioner for his report and welcomes the continued attention on and support offered to Sri Lanka. New Zealand welcomes Sri Lanka's openness in engaging with the High Commissioner's Office, the international community and civil society on issues related to human rights and reconciliation, including during the High Commissioner's recent visit. Sri Lanka's confidence-building efforts and anti-corruption efforts are important, and we note progress on increasing diversity and inclusivity in Sri Lanka's Parliament. New Zealand welcomes Sri Lanka's commitments towards truth, reconciliation, and unity. New Zealand encourages Sri Lanka to continue its work towards its inclusive vision through transparent and consultative policies and legislative reforms to protect and advance fundamental human rights. New Zealand remains concerned by ongoing threats to human rights and fundamental freedoms outlined in the High Commissioner's report, including the continued use of regressive laws and the ongoing surveillance and harassment of families of the disappeared and human rights defenders. We encourage Sri Lanka to advance accountability for human rights violations, noting that this is critical for the full realisation of human rights in Sri Lanka and to ongoing peace and prosperity. Mr. High Commissioner, how can the international community also support effective accountability and reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka? Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of Switzerland.

Minister, Vice President, Switzerland thanks the High Commissioner for the detailed report. We hail the commitments of the government to bring reform, and we hail certain progress made in the area of human rights. We encourage the implementation of the promised reform. We hail the welcome also of the High Commissioner during his June visit. Switzerland, however, remains concerned over the ongoing existence and use of the Law on the Prevention of Terrorism, the PTA, and the Law on Online Security, OSA. These laws place disproportionate restrictions on free speech. and lead to arbitrary arrests. We call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to harmonize their laws with international standards. We are alarmed with ongoing allegations of torture, as well as the intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders and disappeared family members. Six years after the end of the conflict, it remains essential that there are assurances for truth and justice and reparation for all victims. Switzerland is willing to provide technical assistance in this process. Further, we urge the authorities in Sri Lanka to cooperate with the Sri Lanka Accountability Project. We support the prolongation of that mandate. Mr. High Commissioner, how can the Council best support the efforts to ensure truth and accountability in order to consolidate a lasting peace in Sri Lanka? I thank you kindly.

I thank you.

I now invite Nepal to take the floor.

Mr. Vice President, Nepal thanks the High Commissioner for presenting the annual report on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka and takes note of it. We appreciate Sri Lanka's constructive engagement with human rights mechanism and take positive note of the visit of the High Commissioner in June 2025. We welcome Honorable Foreign Minister's participation in this interactive dialogue and commend Sri Lanka for the legislative reform and its place to respect diversity and promote civil society engagement. As a friendly neighbor, Nepal has been closely following the progress made by Sri Lanka in promoting reconciliation in the country. We stand ready to share our own experience in transitional justice process and support Sri Lanka in its effort towards protecting and promoting human rights through advancing accountability. I thank you.

Thank you. India, please, you have the floor.

Mr. Vice President, we have taken note of the High Commissioner's report. As a close friend of Sri Lanka and an immediate neighbor with deep-rooted ties to it, India has remained steadfast in its support of the relief, rehabilitation, resettlement, and reconstruction process in Sri Lanka since 2009. India and Sri Lanka share deep historical, cultural, and civilizational ties. Today, these bonds have evolved into a strong, multidimensional partnership. Sri Lanka holds a special place in India's neighborhood first policy and Vision Mahasagar. India extended vital financial and technical support to ensure Sri Lanka's economic recovery and long-term stability after the unprecedented economic crisis in 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025 and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Desanayaka's state visit to India in December 2024 are significant milestones in our bilateral relations. India's approach has always been to support the aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, dignity, and peace.

Within the overall unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

In this regard, India has consistently called for the full and effective implementation of the Sri Lankan constitution, early conduct of provincial council elections, and meaningful devolution of powers. India believes that meaningful devolution and genuine reconciliation through an inclusive approach would contribute to nation building and a durable peace. Progress in these areas will not only benefit all communities in Sri Lanka, but also reinforce the strong foundation of friendship and trust between our two countries. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite Zimbabwe.

Vice President, Zimbabwe takes note of the High Commissioner's report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

We commend Sri Lanka for its consistent and continuous engagement with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms. as well as for facilitating the High Commissioner's visit to Sri Lanka in June this year.

We recognize the efforts by the government of Sri Lanka in strengthening domestic mechanisms towards fulfilling its human rights obligations and its vision for a unified society.

Vice President, we reiterate that no country has a perfect human rights record. Imposition of country-specific mechanisms on targeted countries therefore undermines the Human Rights Council's core principles of objectivity, non-selectivity, and constructive dialogue. We urge the Human Rights Council to acknowledge and support Sri Lanka's effort in fulfilling the needs of its population through dialogue and cooperation. That is focused on developing the capacities of the government as duty bearer to meet its obligations. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite Vietnam, please.

Mr. Vice President, Vietnam appreciates Sri Lanka's continued constructive engagement with the UN human rights mechanism. We commend the new government's efforts to foster national unity, rebuild trust in institutions, uphold the rule of law, safeguard democracy, advance economic stabilization, reduce poverty, and strengthen social protection networks. We welcome encouraging progress in promoting and protecting human rights and advancing domestic reconciliation processes, supported by significant legislative and policy reforms. We also recognize Sri Lanka's resilience in confronting unprecedented challenges, including a severe economic crisis, while preserving democratic governance and maintaining essential public services. Vietnam calls on the Council and international partners to strengthen constructive dialogue, technical cooperation, and capacity building in support of Sri Lanka's effort to achieve the SDG, guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity. I thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you. Now, I invite China, please.

President, China takes note of the OHCHR's report on human rights in Sri Lanka. China commends Sri Lanka's efforts of promoting and protecting human rights, including launching Clean Sri Lanka project, combating corruption, establishing an independent public prosecutor's office, and ensuring accountability for the 2019 Easter Sunday attack and other emblematic cases. As always, China will firmly support Sri Lanka maintaining its political stability, focusing on economic construction and achieving its autonomous and sustainable development so as to create enabling conditions for socioeconomic development and improvement of its people's living standard. China always advocates dialogue and cooperation as the means to settle disputes in human rights field, advocates impartial and objective work in the Council. and opposes politicization and instrumentalization of human rights issues. Any external effort should play a constructive role in helping the country concerned addressing human rights issues rather than intervening into its internal affairs. China urges relevant countries to respect the Sri Lankan people's own choice of the human rights development path, abandon the intervention in the internal affairs and the political pressure, and come back to the right track of dialogue and cooperation. Thank you, Vice President.

Thank you. Azerbaijan, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We take note of the report submitted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

For the current interactive dialogue and information provided by Sri Lanka as a concerned country.

We would like to emphasize that all matters falling within the domestic jurisdiction of UN member states, including that of Sri Lanka, must be addressed through dialogue and cooperation based on the respect.

For the rule of law, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of international borders of states.

We believe that.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should favor constructive dialogue and cooperation with the government of Sri Lanka and provided with necessary assistance upon its request to support the government's actions and programs in ensuring human rights in Sri Lanka.

I thank you.

Thank you. Romania, please.

Mr. Vice President, Romania aligns with the EU statement. We want to thank the High Commissioner and his office for their report. We welcome the commitment expressed by the new Sri Lankan authorities towards meaningful progress on truth and justice and engagement to undertake transformative social, political, and economic reforms. We hope Sri Lanka will overcome its difficult economic context, advance good governance, and lay the foundations for sustainable peace. The assurances given with the Clean Sri Lanka Project are very promising. Romania encourages Sri Lanka to cooperate with the Office of the High Commissioner and the Accountability Project and demonstrate its commitment towards all victims and survivors who have been waiting for justice and accountability for the serious human rights violations committed during Sri Lanka's armed conflict. Ensuring accountability and addressing root causes of the conflict are indispensable to realizing the government's vision for national unity. We would like to ask the Office what are the tools at its disposal to assist Sri Lanka in its path to the realization of human rights through accountability. I thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you. Indonesia, you have the floor, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Indonesia recognizes Sri Lanka's continued engagement with this Council and its stated commitment to far-reaching reforms.

We share the optimism expressed by the High.

Commissioner during his visit last June regarding Sri Lanka's current trajectory of change. Indeed, the government has initiated transformative process. With consistency and international support, these efforts can take root. We take note with appreciation the Clean Sri Lanka Project, the pledge to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and constitutional reforms aimed at fostering a more inclusive national identity. We also support national efforts to strengthen accountability institution rather than externally imposed project that the government itself has rejected. This aligns with Indonesia's longstanding principle that human rights cooperation must be based on the consent of the country concerned, avoid double standards, and not risk undermining ongoing domestic reconciliation process. Indonesia calls on Sri Lanka to further enhance its cooperation and invite the Council to strengthening constructive dialogue, technical cooperation, and capacity building in support of Sri Lanka's national efforts.

I thank you.

Thank you. Turkey, please.

Mr. Vice President, we take note of the report of the High Commissioner and acknowledge both the progress achieved and the challenges that remain. We are closely following the significant progress made on the way to stabilize the economy, as well as governance and social reforms aimed at addressing the root causes of sociopolitical and economic vulnerabilities. We commend these steps as a part of a positive trajectory, while recognizing that this is very much a work in progress. We acknowledge the process in the country, with three successful elections, illustrated Sri Lanka's commitment to democratic.

Values.

We note the measures taken to strengthen human rights framework and the social programs responding to pressing societal needs while safeguarding the security and freedoms of its people. We believe that the High Commissioner's visit provided an opportunity for an open and constructive dialogue.

We note Sri Lanka's sincere.

Efforts to continue its engagement with the UN and international community in line with its international commitments.

We firmly believe that Sri Lanka should be supported in developing national solutions to its.

Challenges, solutions that are inclusive and acceptable to all segments of society.

I thank you.

I thank you. France has the floor.

Thank you, Vice President. High Commissioner, France would like to thank you for your report and aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union. France commends the efforts made by Sri Lanka to meet the longstanding concerns. The new government has shown its clear intention to undertake structural reforms in order to improve the human rights situation on the ground. The report by the High Commissioner shows notable progress in terms of combating corruption. France encourages Sri Lanka to continue its work and to build on it in terms of combating impunity, transitional justice, and public freedoms by establishing a credible and inclusive justice system. The new government's commitment to repeal the Act on the Prevention of Terrorism is a positive signal. France encourages Sri Lanka to fully leverage the assistance of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was established by the Human Rights Council, in order to support it in the national reconciliation process and the fight against impunity. Thank you.

Thank you. I now call on Ireland.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Ireland aligns with the statement of the EU and welcomes the High Commissioner's report.

Ireland recognizes the efforts being made by Sri Lanka's government to address several long-standing issues.

However, we note a number of ongoing human rights concerns. While we note the commitments made by the Sri Lankan Government to amend the Prevention

of Terrorism Act and the Online Safety Act, Ireland remains concerned by the potential for misuse of the acts to arrest and detain individuals for exercising the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.

We note with concern reports of the continued use of torture and ill-treatment in places of detention.

Any ongoing restriction of rights must be addressed, and we urge the Government to apply a moratorium on the use of these acts

until they are in full compliance with international human rights law.

Ireland also recognises the cumulative impact of the ongoing economic crisis on the people of Sri Lanka,

leading to food insecurity, in particular in female-headed households.

We encourage the Government to embark on an inclusive national dialogue to address long-standing grievances

in order to secure a durable peace and prosperity, to build confidence with minority communities

and to fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

I thank you.

I thank you. Belarus, please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Vice-President. Once again, we'd like to express our concern at the practice of putting pressure on the Sri Lankan authorities through the imposition of a mechanism that does not enjoy consensus. Moreover, the work of this expensive mechanism does not just have a positive, not have a positive impact on the ground, but it also sets a dangerous precedent, which is counterproductive for ongoing reconciliation processes. We consider that the OHCHR's recommendation regarding external judicial proceedings against the sovereign government to be unnecessary. Sri Lanka is cooperating in good faith with the human rights system of the United Nations, including undergoing its UPR and several country reviews and the visit of the High Commissioner. We believe that the positive results of this cooperation and the constructive efforts and results of the government to stabilize the situation should be objectively reflected in reports. We note the efforts made by the Government of Sri Lanka to restore the economy and strengthen democratic institutions and carry out specific measures to support vulnerable groups and to ensure inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue. Objectivity and a balanced assessment in OHCHR's reports, as well as an appropriate taking into account of the Sri Lankan authorities' position, should benefit the trustworthiness of the dialogue. Thank you.

Thank you. Egypt, please.

Thank you, Vice-President. The delegation of Egypt takes note of the report by the High Commissioner on Sri Lanka, and we underscore the importance of respecting the principles of universality, objectivity, and non-selectivity when considering issues relating to human rights in Sri Lanka, and in order to prevent the politicization of human rights and their instrumentalization for the sake of interfering in domestic affairs, and in order to strengthen national institutions, capacities and technical cooperation. We'd like to reiterate the importance for the Council and the High Commission's Office to continue to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with Sri Lanka in order to reach constructive results and to foster development in respect of Sri Lanka's sovereignty. Thank you.

Thank you. Venezuela, please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Vice-President. Venezuela would like to reiterate its principled position against the imposition of resolutions driven by a group of hegemonic states, which use the cause of human rights and mechanisms established by this Council to hound sovereign states. Despite these mandates that do not contribute to the promotion, protection or enjoyment of human rights, Sri Lanka has shown its commitment and has cooperated with the treaty bodies, the Office of the High Commissioner and the special procedure mandate holders. Therefore, it is regrettable that the progress made in the country on human rights since peace was restored in 2009 are not given due credit. Once again, we call on this Council to cease its interfering approach and to develop cooperation mechanisms with the country through genuine dialogue, with the sole goal of safeguarding the human rights of the people of Sri Lanka. Thank you.

I thank you. Now I invite the Maldives.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. The Maldives takes note of the High Commissioner's report and comments Sri Lanka's commitment to remain engaged constructively with the Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner's

Office, as well as with the regular human rights mechanisms of HRC.

This commitment is further demonstrated by the presence of the Honorable Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka in this meeting. We also acknowledge the Government of Sri Lanka for facilitating visit by High Commissioner for Human Rights in June this year. Mr. Vice President, the Maldives recognizes the progress made by the new government of Sri Lanka and commends their pledges to restore

rule of law, advance reconciliation, and strengthen accountability.

In this regard, the Maldives acclaimed Sri Lanka's accomplishment of free, fair, and peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections. held in September and November 2024, respectively. We welcome Sri Lanka's active engagement in the review of the ninth periodic report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Maldives reiterates its solidarity with the government and people of Sri Lanka and remain confident that the national reforms are consistent with the will of its people and its international obligations to bring stability and development for all its citizens. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the representative of Cuba.

Thank you, Vice President. Cuba would like to extend a greeting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, who is present for this dialogue. Vice-President, the report presented about the Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka is a reflect of the politicized and selective practices which, regrettably, this Council has imposed against countries of the Global South. Cuba reiterates its firm rejectment of punitive mandates which are biased and which are established against the will of the state concerned. This mechanism, in addition to being intrusive and undermining the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, has proven itself to be completely irrelevant. The only effective way to promote and strengthen human rights is through constructive dialogue and genuine cooperation based on impartiality, non-interference and mutual respect. Vice-President, no country is free from challenges and no country has the authority to consider itself to be an example in terms of human rights. and even less use human rights in order to stigmatize sovereign states. It is inadmissible to manipulate human rights for political purposes. The peoples of the world require less interference and more cooperation and greater solidarity. Cuba would like to reiterate its firm rejection of interfering actions which undermine Sri Lanka's sovereignty and which in no way contribute to improving the situation of human rights. Thank you.

Thank you. South Sudan, please.

Thank you, Vice-President. South Sudan has taken note of the report on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka. We commend Sri Lanka's continuous engagement with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in line with the spirit of constructive and open engagement that Sri Lanka continues with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms. South Sudan reiterates its call for creation of an enabling environment for promotion and protection of human rights globally through objective cooperation and constructive dialogue with the consent of the concerned states, as shown through some of the encouraging observations made before this Council today by the High Commissioner for Human Rights following his grand visit to Sri Lanka. We commend and appreciate Sri Lanka's domestic efforts aimed at fostering social cohesion and building of sustainable peace and urge for the recognition by this Council in particular of the significant progress made by Sri Lanka's government of the day in the areas of elections, economic empowerment, and strengthening of domestic reconciliation processes. We thank you.

I thank you. Now I invite Colombia.

Thank you, Vice President. We would like to welcome the report presented by the High Commissioner, as well as the additional information shared by the Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva. We welcome cooperation between the Office and the Sri Lankan authorities, and we encourage the furthering of this technical assistance in favour of a sustained agenda for the protection and promotion of human rights. In light of our own national experience, which is marked by the suffering of millions of victims, we encourage Sri Lanka to move ahead on establishing mechanisms that, in keeping with international standards, ensure the right to truth, justice, comprehensive reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, especially as regards enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. We'd like to reaffirm the importance of having a victim-centred approach, which recognises their dignity and contributes to genuine reconciliation and peace building processes. Thank you.

Thank you. Sudan, please, you have the floor.

Mr. Vice President, we have taken note of the report of the High Commissioner. We commend keenness to build peace after stopping the war. We also commend the legislative reform to promote the rule of law and protect human rights. We commend holding presidential and parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka. We renew our confidence in Sri Lanka to address political and socio-economic issues through constitutional and institutional reforms. It is trying to build confidence and seek truth and reconciliation through transitional justice and reparations. Addressing the effects of wars is neither easy nor a short-term commitment, but with the cooperation of everyone, we can make progress on the short and long run. We commend Sri Lanka's engagement with the OHCHR over the past period, including the visit of the High Commissioner last June, and we call on the OHCHR to continue to provide capacity building and technical support to protect and promote human rights. We call on the international community to support Sri Lanka and to allow it to address the ramifications of the economic crisis. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

I thank you. Russian Federation, you have the floor.

Mr. President.

President, we see no reason to raise the alarm about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, whose authorities have shown themselves to be ready to engage in mutually respective cooperation with human rights mechanisms. A prime example is the recent visit of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to the country. We note the efforts to bring national legislation into line with international human rights obligations, and there are measures underway to enhance the governance, and there has been progress on national In this context, we welcome the decision taken in August this year by the government to start developing a new national policy and action plan in this sphere. In Sri Lanka, there is a relevant bureau as well as a presidential commission on investigating human rights violations. Against this backdrop, we are concerned by ongoing attempts to put political pressure on this sovereign state under far-fetched human rights pretexts. It is in this context that we consider the Human Rights Council resolutions that do not enjoy the support of the national countries and which give the OHCHR powers to collect and analyze information on alleged human rights violations for some future legal proceedings. Such an approach undermines the universal principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state, and we are convinced that investigations and any prosecuting should be the prerogative of Sri Lanka. Thank you.

Thank you. Burundi, please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Vice President. My delegation takes note of the report presented by the High Commissioner. We note with interest recent developments in Sri Lanka and the efforts that are underway in order to enhance social well-being, reduce poverty and reduce food insecurity. And we note the particular attention that has been given to the populations of conflict-affected areas. We encourage the national reconciliation mechanisms that have been set up by the government, as well as the process underway to establish a truth and reconciliation commission in favor of genuine national unity and social cohesion. Any attempt at external interference will only hamper the efforts that have already been made along this long path by the Sri Lankan people towards genuine dialogue for lasting reconciliation. Support from the international community in a way that matches the priorities of the state concerned is highly preferable. Moreover, respect for the national sovereignty of states is entrenched in the UN Charter, and every country has the right and authority to to its own domestic affairs. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its full support for Sri Lanka. Thank you.

Thank you. Dear colleagues, we have exhausted the list of speakers. And let's quickly proceed with the list of speakers from the non-governmental organizations. First, it's a joint statement presented by Human Rights Watch, please.

Thank you. During Sri Lankan President Dissanayake's first year in office, there were many promises of reform and some steps to combat corruption, but no measurable progress on core human rights concerns. Emblematic cases are stalled, while security forces threaten rights defenders and victims' families. Sri Lanka has among the highest cases of enforced disappearances. At least 20 mass graves have been discovered. A fresh investigation at Chemmanai has recovered remains of over 200 people, including children, but none have yet been identified. Sri Lanka needs the support of independent experts to help provide answers. Despite pledges to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the number of people detained without any evident involvement in terrorism has increased. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka told Human Rights Watch that it received 736 torture complaints last year. The High Commissioner in his report noted entrenched and systematic rights violations, stating that the structural conditions that led to past violations persist,

and that Human Rights Council engagement remains essential.

He found that surveillance apparatus has largely remained intact, leading to continued intimidation and harassment. Many victims have braved possible government retaliation to share evidence with the UN Sri Lanka Accountability Project. To uphold the principle of accountability for grave international crimes and to protect the rights of all Sri Lankans, the Council should renew the mandates for evidence gathering and for ongoing reporting on Sri Lanka for two more years. Thank you.

Thank you. We now have a joint statement from the Cultural Association of Tamils in France.

Thank you, Mr Vice-President. We wish to draw urgent attention of this Council to a glaring omission in the High Commissioner's report on Sri Lanka. Out of nearly 8,000 words, the word "Tamil" appears only seven times, and even then mostly in passing or in reference to Malay

Tamils or Tamils and Muslims.

Nowhere does the report truly recognise the Tamil people as the primary victims of systematic violations, past and present. For years, this Council has adopted resolutions after resolutions on Sri Lanka. Yet these texts too have consistently failed to name or address the Tamils, falling instead into Sri Lanka's diplomacy, which seeks to deflect attention and conceal its genocidal intent. We know that these resolutions, drafted by the core group led by the United Kingdom, reflect colonial attitudes and raise doubts about whether their aim is justice for Tamils or geopolitical interests. This silence is not accidental. It reflects a consistent pattern within this Council, avoiding any acknowledgement of the Tamil people, their suffering, and their right to truth, justice, and self-determination. By erasing the very identity of the victims, this Council fails its mandate to give voice to those most affected. Ignoring the Tamils in reports and debates is not neutrality.

It is complicity in their continued marginalization.

We urge the High Commissioner, this Council, and the CoGroup to explicitly recognize the Tamil people, their homeland, and their right to accountability. the right right to accountability without naming the victims there can be no genuine Justice we therefore call for the establishment of an international accountability mechanism to address the genocide and ongoing violations against Tamil people thank you

thank you minority rights group please you have the floor

Thank you, Mr. President. We thank the High Commissioner for his report on Sri Lanka. While we welcome the government's pledges on reform and ensuring justice for victims of human rights violations, these commitments have yet to result in concrete actions and meaningful

protections on the ground.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act continues to be used, with 49 arrests this year disproportionately targeting Tamils and Muslims. Surveillance and harassment of survivors, journalists, and civil society persist. We remain concerned by the appropriation of religious and cultural sites by state institutions, undermining freedom of religion or belief. We urge the mass grave exhumations in Jaffna, Mannar and Colombo be conducted transparently, with international expertise, supported by a forensic inquiry.

We further call on

government to immediately repeal the PTA, involve civil society, survivors and affected communities in a participatory process to review laws and policies that discriminate against Tamils and Muslims, with a view to ending long-standing systematic discrimination. Sri Lanka and third states must ensure independent and impartial investigations into grave human rights violations and crimes under international law, and support the OHCHR's monitoring and accountability work in the country.

Now, uh, I invite, we have a joint statement from the International Commission of Jurists.

High Commissioner, while we welcome the broad scope of your report, we remain greatly concerned that the minimal measures taken and announced by the government are not tailored to meet the human rights challenge. They will not be effective in the absence of concrete progress towards effective accountability for allegations of serious IHL and human rights violations and abuses that may amount to crimes under international law, committing during the armed conflict. A clear example of the discrepancy between announcements and reality concerns the expanded application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act that continues to be misused against the legitimate work of human rights defenders and journalists. The northeast of the country remains heavily militarized, with families of victims, journalists, and human rights defenders being subjected to systematic surveillance and reprisals, as in the case of journalist Kumanan. Sixteen years after the end of the conflict, there have been no credible steps taken towards accountability. This year at Chemani, the exhumation of over 240 skeletal remains, including infants, is stark evidence of potential atrocity crimes that require independent international investigation. We urge States to meet the need for continued international scrutiny, renew in full the mandate of the OHCHR accountability project for a minimum of two years, and encourage progress towards accountability options including through universal jurisdiction and robust international mechanisms. I thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the Global Sri Lankan Forum, United Kingdom.

Mr. Vice President, I speak today on behalf of Independent Organization Committed to Justice, Reconciliation, and Constitutional Democracy in Sri Lanka. We note with concern that High Commissioner report fails to acknowledge key development and domestic effort that have taken root since 2024. The report omits the growing role of Sri Lankan's legal institutions, the strengthening of judicial independence, and the active engagement of civil society in advancing accountability through conditional means. It overlooks the refill of regressive legislation the expansion of legal aid and the increasing use of the democracy… domestic remedies to challenge unlawful detention, land disputes, and discrimination. This silence risk distorting the narrative that undermines the credibility of those working within Sri Lankan's legal framework to deliver justice through the foreign invention, but through constitutional fidelity and institutional reform. We urge the Council to adopt a more balanced and evidence-based approach. Recognizing domestic progress in denial, it is essential to building trust and sustaining reform. Sri Lanka's path to justice must be shaped by its people. truth mechanism they own and understand. Let us not ignore.

Thank you. Sorry, thank you. The next I invite people for equality and relief in Sri Lanka, INC.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We would like to remind the Council that only international accountability can break the systematic cycle of.

Impunity in Sri Lanka.

The Chamaney mass graves stand as a chilling reminder that, 16 years after the end of the war, there has been no justice or accountability for Sri Lanka's war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed against the Eelam Tamil people. Up to 169,796 Tamils remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead. While the current government has placed emphasis on addressing economic crimes, it has made no meaningful progress on accountability for Sri Lanka's mass atrocity crimes. It has failed to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and continues to repress dissent. Human rights defenders and journalists, such as Kumaran Kanabodipula, continue to face surveillance and intimidation, being subjected to hours of interrogation by the Counterterrorism Investigation Department. Moreover, militarization and the sinilization of the Northeast persist.

Like.

Previous governments, the current administration uses the term reconciliation while failing to take genuine steps to make it a reality. We urge the international community to employ universal jurisdiction, pursue legal accountability through the ICC and the ICJ, including through the Convention Against Torture, and to investigate and recognize genocide. These steps are vital to addressing the root causes of conflict. Without justice, accountability, and the recognition Ulm Tammo's demands, including the right to self-determination, the island's crisis will persist. Thank you.

Thank you. Now we have a video from Harm Reduction International.

Mr. President, We reiterate the broad range of human rights issues in Sri Lanka highlighted by the High Commissioner and raise concerns about the Government's failure to adopt a health and human rights-based approach to drug control and treatment. It is instead continuing some practices of previous Governments that violate human rights. We draw your attention to the use of the military in drug control operations, laws that allow compulsory drug treatment, the imprisonment of drug users resulting in prison overcrowding, in custody of persons arrested for drug offenses, the existence of the death penalty for drug offenses, and statements by government officials that they are exploring the implementation of the death penalty. Mr. President, we urge the Government of Sri Lanka to adopt a human rights and health-centered approach to drug laws and policies, which requires substantive legal, policy, and practice reforms based on consultations with experts and affected persons. We call upon the Office of the High Commissioner to conduct due diligence to ensure that the engagement of all UN agencies on this issue is in accordance with human rights principles. We also urge the High Commissioner to reiterate to donors who support programs in Sri Lanka to abide by the do no harm principle and adhere to human rights standards. Thank you.

I give the floor to Franciscans International.

Mr. Vice President. Franciscans International and the Centre for Society and Religion welcome the report of the High Commissioner. We commend the High Commissioner's recommendations on accountability. This is the moment for the Sri Lankan government to finally deliver results on investigations and prosecutions into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Actual casualty numbers are yet to be confirmed six years later. The victims and their family members are still waiting for justice to be delivered. The ongoing investigations have not succeeded in prosecuting the alleged masterminds, including the former director of the State Intelligence Service. Despite the promises of accountability, critical reports regarding the attacks remain undisclosed to the public, raising serious concerns about transparency and justice. Therefore, we urge the Government of Sri Lanka to make publicly available the full reports submitted by all committees investigating the Easter Sunday attacks; to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry report and the Parliamentary Select Committee report; to expedite all legal cases related to the Easter Sunday attacks; so that alleged criminals are held accountable and responsible for their actions. In conclusion, we call upon the Human Rights Council and Member States to continue their support of the OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project. Thank you.

Thank you. Now I invite the African Green Foundation International.

Mr. Vice President, I speak today as part of a coalition of independent organizations related to justice, reconciliation, and constitutional integrity in Sri Lanka. We acknowledge the High Commissioner's report, but caution against broad generalizations that risk obscuring the complexity of Sri Lanka's post-conflict landscape. Sri Lanka is not a monolith. Its communities, Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim, Burgher, have diverse experiences, aspirations, and grievances. Justice must be pursued with sensitivity to this plurality, not through one-size-fits-all prescriptions or externally imposed mechanisms. We reject all calls for international interventions that bypass Sri Lanka's constitutional safeguards. Domestic institutions, though imperfect, are evolving. Legal professionals, civil society actors, and community leaders continue to engage these mechanisms with courage and resolve. Their work deserves reinforcement and not replacement. We urge the Council to adopt a more calibrated approach, one that recognizes local agency, supports capacity building, and avoids politicizing transitional justice. Sri Lanka's path towards Sri Lanka's path forward lies in strengthening its own institutions, guided by its constitution and the will of its people. Let us not sacrifice nuance for narrative. Let us stand for justice that is locally rooted, contextually informed, and constitutionally sound.

Thank you. Thank you. Now we have a video with a joint statement from Association Culture Farm.

Thank you, Chair.

For the past 16 years, successive reports from the UNHRC Commissioner has consistently failed to recognize Tamils as victims of genocide. In the north and east of Sri Lanka, families of the forcibly disappeared are still waiting.

For answers about their loved ones.

Instead of seeking justice and solutions, this Council has allowed the continued militarization of these regions by the Sri Lankan military, including the IMF and the European Council through GSP+.

During the genocidal war against the Tamil.

People, 146,679 injured individuals went unaccounted for in the Vanni region alone, just from October 2008 to May 2009. To this date, Tamils living under the Sri Lankan military occupation continue to face harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, simply for protesting or raising their voices for fundamental rights. As long as the unitary state system prevails in Sri Lanka, it will continue to deny Tamils their nationhood, sovereignty, and right to self-determination. Given the grave war crimes and crimes of genocide committed against Tamil Eelam Tamils, we urge you to recognize the urgency of the situation and to recommend the following to member states. Appoint a country-specific procedures mandate holder for Sri Lanka.

Refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for accountability for war crimes and genocide.

Okay, dear colleagues, this was the last speaker we could accommodate for this dialogue. Now I will give the floor to the High Commissioner for Human Rights for his concluding remarks. Remarks, sir, please, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President, but also all the delegations that took the floor and the non-government organizations. And I would like to, in particular, to acknowledge the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, his continued openness and engagement with the human rights system. I appreciate very much that I had the opportunity to visit the country in June. It allowed me also to travel to the north and east, as well as to Kandy, and I had very open exchanges across the political spectrum, both with religious leaders, with the various religious communities, but also, of course, across the political spectrum. It is clear that achieving reconciliation and sustainable peace after so many decades of discrimination and conflict is a complex process, and I think some of you have referred to that in your interventions. I am greatly encouraged about the promises of the new government to a renewed approach, and its having embarked on important initiatives in this direction. I strongly encourage the government to consult widely with civil society stakeholders to develop a comprehensive, time-bound plan that will deliver quick results that build momentum and give confidence to victims. Trust-building measures include release of occupied land, expediting the consideration and trial of emblematic cases, strengthening the Office of Missing Persons, enhancing space for memorialization. I note the very important statements that the President has made, which recognize the suffering of victims from all communities. I think the time has come to acknowledge the widespread and serious violations, including international crimes, committed by all parties during the civil war. Taking forward reparation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction are important. However, reconciliation and healing also require justice and truth. Ending impunity is also essential to ensuring that such violations can never happen again. The primary responsibility for ensuring accountability lies with the Government of Sri Lanka. During my visit, I explored areas for the international community to support the government in its new initiatives, for instance, strengthening the role of the Office of Missing Persons, providing technical assistance to the investigation of mass graves, and the development of an independent prosecutor's office. At the same time, this can be complemented and supported by international means. There are several opportunities for states to act on accountability, individually and collectively, including by considering use of all potential forms of available jurisdiction, including under accepted principles of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, to investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed in Sri Lanka. This is why the accountability mandate that has been given to my office is important and valuable. It can preserve evidence, support victims, provide a resource that can be used in future accountability processes. I encourage states to continue to support and use this capacity in a complementary way. Some states have argued this is an intrusion of sovereignty. But when you meet victims who, after 30 years, are waiting for justice, where the domestic system has failed them, it is an international concern. I am encouraged that the government has begun to look outwards for international support, and I think that the Human Rights Council process can provide a good framework for engagement. My office has been engaged in Sri Lanka for many years with the deployment of a senior human rights advisor and a small local team that works within the UN country team to provide technical assistance and capacity building in many areas. Our field presence has worked with the government, with the society as a whole, on developing and strengthening the human rights issues within the country, but also, especially with the national institutions, to develop a national treaty and UPR reporting and follow-up system, working with the National Human Rights Commission, with civil society organizations and human rights defenders, and that work is incredibly invaluable. Many of the UN special procedures that have visited Sri Lanka have also offered advice and recommendations and are ready to play a supportive role. My office, together with the UN country team on the ground, continues to stand ready to assist Sri Lanka on this path. Thank you very much.

I thank you, sir. Dear colleagues, this brings us to the end of the interactive dialogue. Once again, I thank the High Commissioner for his participation and kindness at the end of the meeting. We will now take a very short break before proceeding with the enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. Please.

Sorry.

It's okay.

Just discussing one of the final points.

Okay. Welcome back, dear colleagues, excellencies, distinguished colleagues. You know, the crisis and time is money, even at the UN now.

Especially at the UN.

So once again, excellencies, distinguished colleagues, we now begin the enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan pursuant to Council Resolution 57/3. It is my honor to welcome our distinguished participants. This is Nada Al-Nashif, on my right, the Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Further, Mr. Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. And after, Ms. Nalla Haidar, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. And also on my left, His Excellency, Mr. Nasir Ahmad Nadisha, the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva. Ms. Mariam Safi, the researcher, founder of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies. And finally, Ms. Zubaida Akbar, the Afghanistan Program Manager at FEMENA from the civil society. The list of speakers, dear colleagues, will close in 15 minutes. And now I invite the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights to make an opening statement for this enhanced interact, interactive dialogue, Madam, please, you have the floor.

Mr. Vice President, Your Excellencies, the report before you describes the deterioration of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, now exacerbated by the deep humanitarian crisis. And I take this opportunity to send my condolences to all those affected by the earthquake that hit Nangarhar and Kunar provinces last week. Since 2021, the de facto authorities have announced a plethora of edicts and laws that violate the human rights of the people of Afghanistan. Women and girls face extreme forms of gender-based discrimination and oppression that amount to systematic gender persecution. These impact every part of their lives, their education, with girls banned from secondary education since 2021, their employment, their health, and their access to civic space and the enjoyment of freedom of expression. The propagation of virtue and prevention of vice law passed last year targets the autonomy of women and girls by governing their appearance, their behavior, and their social conduct. It restricts women's mobility without a male guardian, controls their dress, and even authorizes the concealment of their voices. The law is enforced by some 3,300 male inspectors across the country, including through arrests and even physical violence. Enforcement has expanded to family members, religious leaders, and neighbors, deepening discrimination throughout society. Policies, decrees, and directives severely restrict women's employment, both in the public and the private sectors, and in non-governmental organizations. The ban on women's medical training is devastating to the right of Afghanistan's women and girls to health, including sexual and reproductive services, in a country with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. While women are the main focus of the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice law, more than half of arbitrary detentions by March 2025 also involved men, men's hairstyles, or non-attendance at prayers. Other policies and practices implemented since the de facto authorities seized power four years ago include public executions and the infliction of corporal punishment in public. They have imposed severe restrictions on civic space and media freedom through a system characterized by censorship, intimidation, and detention. By November 2024, our United Nations monitoring revealed 256 arrests and 130 cases of torture or ill-treatment of media professionals. Mr. Vice President, Your Excellencies, The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is compounded by the forced return of over 2 million Afghans from neighboring countries this year alone, particularly from Iran and Pakistan. Most returnees are practically destitute, with few assets or job prospects. As many key donor states have cut their humanitarian and development funding this year, support to returning families has fallen significantly, while sanctions and frozen state assets continue to cripple Afghanistan's economy. My office urges all countries to end the forced return of Afghan refugees and to protect those at risk against refoulement. In the meantime, the international community must step up its support and respond to chronically underfunded humanitarian appeals. This report also reflects on victims' and survivors' perspectives on justice and redress, building on last year's report that took stock of options for accountability. In interviews conducted in 2020 and 2021, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, found that little had been done to acknowledge harm or to provide victims and survivors with reparations. Many expressed a desire for criminal prosecutions, acknowledgement, and compensation. Other processes led by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission some 20 years ago, and more recently by the International Criminal Court, yielded similar results. Civil society initiatives on victim-centered justice have faced a challenging environment due to the complex nature of the past conflict, lack of awareness of atrocities, and fear of reprisals. It is important to listen to the voices of victims and survivors, to understand their expectations and priorities for truth, justice and reparations. The results of various consultation processes as set out in the report provide a solid starting point. What is clear is that accountability efforts must be multidimensional and pursued through a variety of different but complementary tracks, rather than limited to a single process or mechanism focused on criminal justice. They should apply the full array of transitional justice elements, including truth-seeking, justice, reparation, guarantees of non-recurrence, and memorialization. At the same time, The international community needs to support the independent investigation and prosecution of all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including those committed by foreign forces during decades of conflict. Your Excellencies, these ongoing violations require action by both the de facto authorities and the international community. The de facto authorities need to take urgent action to comply with international human rights law by rescinding discriminatory laws, edicts, decrees, and policies that deny human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Afghan people, especially women and girls. They need to enable women and girls to access healthcare, secondary and university education, and work, respecting their freedom of movement and ending interference in their daily lives. They need to implement a complete moratorium on executions with a view to the abolition of the death penalty, and they need to end corporal punishment. And they need to respect the right to freedom of expression and remove restrictions on the media. Mr. Vice President, the international community and all member states more generally need to find ways to engage with and influence the de facto authorities to meet Afghanistan's international human rights obligations. This will require sustained efforts of engagement through dialogue and incentives, as well as through the pursuit of accountability. It remains crucial to find ways to meet the basic needs and the aspirations of the Afghan people in an increasingly precarious humanitarian situation. It is only through a comprehensive approach rooted in both the immediate and the longer-term needs and expectations of Afghans that Afghanistan will achieve stability and sustainable development. Together, we must work for a future Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbors, and where the human rights of all Afghans are fully respected. Thank you.

Hi, thank you, Deputy High Commissioner. And now, uh, I will give the floor to our presenters for their introductory remarks. Ladies and gentlemen, I remind you that you have each of you five minutes. First, I invite Mr. Richard Bennett, please.

Mr. Vice President, Excellencies, colleagues, and friends. I begin by expressing my sorrow regarding the devastating earthquake. My deepest sympathies go to the families of those who lost their lives and best wishes for the recovery of those injured. I acknowledge the High Commissioner's latest report, thank Deputy High Commissioner Al-Nashif for her presentation. and welcome the chair of CEDAW Committee and the two women human rights defenders joining us on the panel. My reports and those of other actors paint a consistent picture of the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan. Regrettably, the Taliban has not rescinded any of its gender-oppressive measures, nor the human rights restrictions affecting other groups. Since I last reported in June, further oppressive measures have been imposed on the Afghan population. For example, one, the introduction of so-called mahram cards in some provinces, further limiting women's freedom of movement. Two, reports that madrasa education for girls and women will be closed, albeit over time. Three, a new so-called law banning poems which criticize the Taliban leader, praise romantic love, and encourage relationships between men and women. Four, a new directive requiring broadcasters to submit topics for advanced approval and prohibiting commentators from expressing views which contradict Taliban policies. And five, a clampdown on religious freedom, including forced conversions and blasphemy convictions. There's also been an alarming increase in infliction of corporal punishment. According to the de facto Supreme Court, so far this year, at least 672 people, 547 men and 125 women, have been subjected to judicially sanctioned public flogging, more than double the figure for the same period last year. Clearly, Mr. Vice President, members of the Council, Afghanistan is not a safe place for involuntary return. Therefore, I'm very concerned by some states returning Afghans en masse, including forcibly, and others, including some farther afield, threatening to do so despite the very real risks of persecution, reprisals, or violence in contravention of international customary and treaty law. In this continually deteriorating context, I'm deeply concerned about the creeping normalization of the de facto authorities and by what at times I observe as framing of Afghanistan as a lost cause due to the Taliban having full control with no realistic alternatives on the horizon. Some states appear to see the pragmatic approach being to manage their own strategic security and commercial interests while trying to mitigate the excesses of this regime, whose leaders have been indicted by the ICC. Let me be clear, Afghanistan is not a lost cause, it's a test. A test of whether the world will stand firm against gender persecution. A test of whether human rights principles apply universally or only when politically convenient. A test of whether we hear the voices of Afghans, especially women, who continue to valiantly resist despite extraordinary risks. And a test of whether we are prepared to challenge the impunity that has perpetuated violence for decades. How do we stop Afghanistan from becoming a lost cause? It's by using every tool at our disposal. This all-tools approach includes sustained and principled international pressure, incentives for improvement, strengthened support for civil society, expanded humanitarian assistance, international accountability, codification of gender apartheid, and challenges to the Taliban's version of sharia by religious scholars and Muslim majority countries. Underpinning all of this must be the centering of women's rights, voices, and agency. One tool that would play an important role in ensuring accountability and deterring further violations is an independent investigative mechanism. Such a mechanism would be complementary to my mandate, the work of UNAMA, the ICC, and other efforts towards justice, truth, and reparations. The gap it would fill would be to collect and preserve evidence, identify alleged perpetrators, support criminal prosecutions and contribute to other forms of accountability. Mr. Vice President, I've again presented this Council with a grim picture. I hope in future to report more positively, but what is happening in Afghanistan, though serious and challenging, is neither inevitable nor irreversible. It's the result of challenges by the Taliban, certainly, and also by the international community, including this Council. And that means different choices and actions are possible. I urge this Council, at this session, to meet the courage of Afghans with decisive and effective action. Mr. Vice-President, I thank you.

I thank the Special Rapporteur. Now I invite Mrs. Nalla Haidar, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Madam, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Vice-President. Distinguished delegates, Madam Deputy High Commissioner, I thank the Human Rights Council for inviting CDAW to participate in this critical dialogue on Afghanistan. The Committee recently concluded its groundbreaking review of Afghanistan's fourth periodic report in June 2025, the first treaty body review since the Taliban takeover. The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan represents the world's most severe women's rights crisis, it has been already said. And since August 2021, the de facto authority have issued more than 80 restrictive measures that systematically dismantled women's human rights. These edicts have created what we can only describe, and I join my colleague, an institutionalized system of gender persecution, one that may be considered as gender apartheid under international law. These measures constitute clear violation of Afghanistan's binding obligations under CEDAW. Afghanistan ratified the convention in 2003 without reservations, and these obligations remain in effect regardless of changes in political leadership. The de facto authorities' invocation of their extremist interpretation of Sharia law and Afghan culture cannot justify systematic discrimination against women. In July 2025, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader and Chief Justice for crimes against humanity, specifically gender persecution. Additionally, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands have initiated proceedings under Article 29 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, with 22 additional states supporting this initiative to hold Afghanistan accountable before the International Court of Justice. The crisis has deepened since our review, and the recent devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan have compounded the suffering of women and girls who already face systematic exclusion. Some report that they were excluded from the rescue operation just because they are women. We hope this is not true. CDOW calls upon the international community to maintain sustained diplomatic pressure through targeted sanctions, linking any support to concrete improvements in women's rights. We urge technical assistance for legal reform, process and dialogue with constitutional experts and Islamic scholars to reconcile religious principle with human rights obligation, as many other countries have managed to do, reconcile faith and rights. The international community must refrain from normalizing the current discriminatory framework and must strengthen accountability through international justice mechanism while providing targeted support to Afghan women through independent humanitarian channels. We call upon UN agencies to continue to amplify Afghan women's voice and provide platforms for their participation in decision-making. Religious and traditional leaders must challenge interpretations that legitimize discrimination and promote understandings of Islam that affirm women's dignity and equal rights. Given the systematic nature of violations and the need for a sustained monitoring, CDOW support the establishment of a dedicated UN special mechanism for Afghanistan. We call for greater coordination between CDOW, the Human Rights Council mechanism, and the Council could integrate recommendations from treaty body into its resolution and establish regular dialogue with CDOW on Afghanistan, as we have already with the Special Rapporteur. As my esteemed colleague, Badana Rana, who led our Afghanistan review, eloquently stated during the proceedings, our concern transcends politics. It is rooted in principles. It stands upon the bedrock of universal and immutable values, human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, autonomy, and justice for all, most urgently for the women and girls of Afghanistan. Despite unprecedented restrictions, Afghan women continue to demonstrate fierce determination and resistance. We must match their courage with sustained action. CDAW reaffirms its unwavering commitment to work with the Human Rights Council and all stakeholders to ensure that Afghan women and girls are neither erased from public life nor abandoned in their darkest hour. The Convention's promise of equality must be fulfilled, and Afghanistan's international obligation must be upheld. We stand with the courageous women of Afghanistan. Their voices must not be silenced, and their rights must be restored. Thank you.

I thank you. Now I invite the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mr. Nasir Ahmad Andisha.

Please.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President. I would like to begin by thanking the Deputy High Commissioner, Special Rapporteur, and all the Member States for their words of sympathy and condolences for the devastating earthquakes in the eastern Afghanistan and for the victims and the loved ones. Mr. Vice President, we welcome the thorough report presented by the Deputy High Commissioner here. It documents with clarity the deliberate policies, edicts, and practices of the Taliban that have created a profound and escalating human rights crisis in Afghanistan. This report must be read as a call for action for Member States to urgently consult, coordinate, and act. This call, Mr. Vice President and colleagues, is critical and demands attention because, number one, of the creeping normalization and the recognition of Taliban by a number of states in the region, particularly. And the second, a development which might have gone unnoticed, that on the 15th of August, with a mere oral order, the Taliban's supreme leader ended the four years caretaker period for their government and just announced that their regime is no more caretaker or interim. So without any due process, without any concern for legitimacy or a public support process, the Taliban have established a full-fledged theocratic totalitarian regime. And unlike some in the international community who thought that this process transition from interim to a full-fledged government might involve some reform and inclusivity, that opportunity is also lost. The crisis goes beyond the gender persecution, as alluded in the report. It's an entrenched, multilayered system of oppression that corrodes the fullest spectrum of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Our girls have been excluded from secondary schools for the fourth consecutive year. Our women have been banned from universities since December 2022 and are now prohibited from medical training and participating in sporting activities. The so-called law on propagation of virtue and prevention of vice entrenches These restrictions, mandating even concealment of women's faces, are enforced by over 3,000 morality inspectors. As the CEDAW Committee has cautioned, this systematic erasure from the public life may constitute gender apartheid. As also alluded to by the High Commissioner in his statement this morning, that the four years after the Taliban returned to power, the erasure of women and girls from public life is almost complete. The violation extends far beyond this. Arbitrary arrest, including those forcibly deported from the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and the others, Unenforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial executions have become routine. Public execution and corporal punishment persist. Freedom of expression is crushed with journalists detained, tortured, and silenced. Religious and ethnic minorities, especially Azhar and Shia's community, remain target of systematic attack at their places of worship and education. Non-Muslim communities like Sikhs and Hindus have all but disappeared due to the fear of persecution. Persons with disability, human rights defenders, journalists face relentless persecution. Our children, including boys, are also victims of this institutionalized oppression and their suffering must not be overlooked. Our economic and social collapse is dire. Poverty worsens under the Taliban rule and was intensified by displacement, natural disaster, and dismantling of public services. We are living through one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, made even more unbearable by the recent earthquakes. Today, more than half of the population requires humanitarian assistance and nearly half in acute food insecurity. Mr. Vice President, this is not a collection of isolated violations, but a deliberate system of violence institutionalized by the Taliban to dismantle civic life, erase women and minorities, and entrench unaccountable power. The report confirms that our country faces a total human rights crisis. To restore dignity and protect lives of Afghanistan, this Council and all members must act with a holistic, firm, and collective response. And I thank you, Mr. Vice President.

I thank you. Now I invite Ms. Mariam Safi, please.

Mr. Vice President, distinguished delegates, colleagues, before I begin, I wish to extend my prayers and deepest sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones and to all my fellow Afghan citizens for the devastating earthquake that has struck Afghanistan. Members of the Council, thank you for the opportunity to address you today. Since the Taliban's takeover, our organization, DROPS, has surveyed over 69,000 women and held focus groups with 4,000 participants. And across every issue, whether it be justice, education, work, or aid, the message is the same. Afghan women are being silenced. The Taliban claim improved governance by citing territorial control and averting economic collapse. But governance without justice is not governance. It is authoritarian rule, which they sustain through coercion, detention, and repression that Afghan women and girls endure daily. Across Afghanistan, women's testimonies expose systemic violations under the Taliban's promotion of virtue and prevention of vice law. Since the implementation of this law, women have described harsher restrictions on mobility, primary education, work, and health care. In Bamyan, one woman shared, "They first warn, then threaten, then beat you. One woman I know was taken and never returned the same." The law has turned male relatives into enforcers, punishing men if women disobey. As one woman in Balkh explained, "Our men follow these rules not because they believe in them, but because they are scared of being shamed or imprisoned." Nowhere is this more evident than in the justice sector. We asked 6,500 women in 33 provinces what issues do women seek legal services for, and the response was shattering. 45% said domestic violence and abuse. The rise in domestic violence is fueled by the Taliban system of gender apartheid, which traps women at home, strips them of protection, and then weaponizes the law against them. The Taliban insist their justice system is free of corruption, but women tell us otherwise. Only 4 percent of those surveyed saw any improvement in access to legal services. Most said they turned to local dispute mechanisms or existing civil society legal aid networks, while just 23% rely on Taliban courts, which women describe as humiliating, deeply exclusionary, and rife with harassment. One focus group participant from Herat explained, "Even with a video of rape, the court demands witnesses from the women." In Tajhar, another recounted being told by officials, "You should have been killed before coming here." For the few women who risk approaching the courts, they face yet another wall of obstacles. The PVPV law, the morality police, the mahram requirement, and in many areas, the abstinence of functioning institutions altogether. We found that women are now overwhelmingly turning to family elders, then to jirgas or shoras to resolve these issues. But we are told these are not places of justice, but of necessity. As one participant put it, we are first forced to choose between two bad options, and we choose the less harmful one. Women recall to us with nostalgia the safe houses and the NGOs that once defended their rights. Today, despite shrinking civic spaces, some organizations operate clandestinely. They are beacons of hope. and they need your sustained support. Members of the Council, these accounts point to a fundamental denial of due process and equal protection. Poverty and unemployment exasperate these conditions, driving families to force daughters into early marriage and reinforcing economic dependence. Policy responses must therefore focus not only restoring credible legal support structures within Afghanistan, but also in mobilizing international accountability frameworks to challenge these entrenched violations. In light of these findings, I urge you to build on Resolution 57/3 and urgently establish an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan, mandated to investigate violations, preserve evidence, and advance accountability. This is the call of 108 Afghan, regional, and international human rights organizations. Second, while civic space has shrunk, Afghan report that some civil society still operate. These groups are a vital lifeline, and they must be preserved. Afghan women are not silent. And in October of this year, a coalition of Afghan civil society organizations will convene the People's Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan in Madrid. This is a historic step where Afghan women will speak for justice, and I urge you to listen. Respected Council members, Afghan women's voices are clear, and their message is urgent. Without justice, without restoring their rights, there can be no governance. It is the responsibility of this Council to ensure they are heard and acted upon. Thank you, Mr. Vice-President.

Thank you. Now I invite Ms. Zubaida Akbar.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I am here today, like so many of my colleagues before me, with almost no faith left in this institution. We Afghan women feel like broken records in this Council. Every session, we repeat the same truths. the escalating and horrendous violations of our rights. Nothing hidden about Taliban's atrocities, and still the war on women continues with impunity. My organization, Femina, has documented 131 edicts issued by the Taliban since their takeover, all designed to erase women and girls from the society. Tell me, what other country on Earth imposes a blanket ban on girls' education? What other country denies women health care if they do not have a male chaperone? What other country bans windows with a view of women? Afghan women and girls are being suffocated, their future stolen, while the international community looks the other way. The draconian propagation of virtue and prevention of vice law codifies these edicts. It controls what we wear, where we go, and even the sound of our voices. Under this law, simply existing as a woman in public is a crime. Peaceful dissent is treated as rebellion. The impact of these edicts goes far beyond restriction. Afghan women face a mental health crisis, depression, continuous trauma, and suicidal thoughts by the complete erasure of their autonomy. Early and forced marriages have surged, and girls are pushed into domestic roles. Women are denied opportunities to work or participate in society, leaving them isolated and trapped. These are not abstract consequences. They are the real daily toll of systematic oppression. The reality is not only restriction, but brutal violence. FEMENA's latest report details women jailed for peaceful protest, beaten with rods, burned with boiling water, electrocuted, and forced into solitary confinement. They endured sexual slurs, threats of stoning, and night interrogations. Some of them were imprisoned with their children, denied food and fresh air. Hazara women faced escalated abuse targeted for both gender and ethnicity. These are not isolated incidents, but deliberate tools of state terror. The suffering does not fall on women alone. While they are most impacted, marginalized ethnic and religious groups, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Sikhs, are persecuted, displaced, and dispossessed. The Taliban have explicitly threatened to execute LGBTQ+ individuals, including by toppling walls onto them. And yet, despite the horror, Afghan women continue to resist with extraordinary courage. Through underground schools, protests, and secret book clubs, we insist on our humanity. But this struggle cannot and must not be carried on our shoulders alone while the world shifts towards normalization with the Taliban. Time and again, you have failed to take a strong and unified stand against oppression. Your double standards are impossible to ignore. From gender apartheid in Afghanistan to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the world has responded with selective outrage, selective protection, and inaction while our lives are destroyed. Respected Council members, the persecution of Afghan women is a human rights crisis. It's a systematic erasure of women from society and a crime against humanity. Now is the time to do something. To that end, though I hold little hope, I urge you: Reject recognition or normalization of the Taliban. Until all decrees violating women's rights are revoked, there can be no seat at the UN and no legitimacy anywhere. Recognition under these conditions entrenches oppression. Pursue accountability through international law. Push your governments to support ICC and ICJ mechanisms to hold Taliban leaders responsible for crimes against humanity and systematic gender persecution. Urgently push for the establishment of an independent investigative mechanism to complement the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. Recognize Afghan women's resistance and press governments to fund women-led survival networks, schools, safe houses, legal aid networks, health services, and media, the last lifeline for girls' futures. guarantee inclusive peace, Afghan women, minorities, youth, and civil society must be represented in all forums shaping the country's future. Exclusion is illegitimate, and the last Doha meeting, where women were deliberately excluded to appease the Taliban, was a shameful betrayal of UN principles. Excellencies, Afghan women are not asking for sympathy or charity. We are demanding justice, accountability, and recognition of our full humanity. If you continue to treat our rights as negotiable and choose silence over action, you are not neutral. You are complicit in the system that buries us alive, and you are accountable to the women of Afghanistan. Thank you.

I thank you. Now, dear colleagues, I invite the interested delegations to ask questions to the presenters and make comments. So, the list of speakers is closed. So, the first speaker on the list is Sweden. Please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries, and I start by joining others in expressing sincere condolences to the earthquake victims. We thank the High Commissioner's Office for its important report, which draws attention to the dire situation in Afghanistan. We also wish to express our support to the Special Rapporteur for your steadfast commitment to the Afghan people, principled approach to the de facto authorities, and balanced advice to the international community. Over the past four years, the human rights situation under the Taliban has continuously deteriorated, reaching an unbearable level. Afghan women and girls are prohibited from education after sixth grade, and women are being increasingly coerced not to leave their house without a male chaperone. Public flogging is reinstated. And as the Special Rapporteur has described it, the systematic discrimination faced by women and girls in Afghanistan may amount to gender persecution, which is a crime against humanity. The Taliban should be held accountable through strengthening existing accountability mechanisms, including through the ICJ. The exclusion of half of Afghanistan's population has detrimental consequences for the entire Afghan society. We support Afghan women and girls in their immense resilience. Without them, Afghanistan will never achieve sustainable stability and prosperity. And finally, Mr. Bennett, how may we, the international community, provide support for Afghan women and girls to improve their future? I thank you.

Thank you. The European Union, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Our condolences go to the families and loved ones of the victims of the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan. The EU welcomes the OHCHR report and thanks the panelists for their updates. The EU strongly condemns the human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan. The OHCHR mapping of Taliban's policies and practices, edicts and so-called laws confirms that women and girls of Afghanistan face systematic and systemic violations and abuses. These may amount to persecution on the grounds of gender, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the ICC, to which Afghanistan is a state party. The EU calls for the protection of the human rights of women and girls, persons belonging to minorities, including ethnic and religious minorities, and persons in vulnerable situations, including LGBTI persons. Sustainable peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan require an Afghan-led inclusive political process with full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls and representation of all segments of the Afghan society. The EU supports the work of the Special Rapporteur, the OHCHR and UNAMA under its comprehensive mandate with a strong human rights component. The EU continues to urge the Taliban to abide by Afghanistan's international human rights obligations, including those enshrined in CEDAW and CRC. We would like to ask the panelists what approach is most likely to lead to concrete change on the ground. I thank you.

Thank you. Pakistan, on behalf of OIC, please.

Mr. Vice President, the OIC Group takes note of the OHCHR's report and thanks the SR for the update. We reiterate our deep concern over the humanitarian, human rights, and socioeconomic conditions in Afghanistan. As consistently highlighted, the OIC Group remains gravely concerned regarding the situation of human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Islamic teachings are crystal clear. There can be no justification for such discriminatory practices. Therefore, In this slide, the OIC reiterates its position and urges the de facto Afghan authorities to safeguard the rights of all Afghans, especially women and girls' rights to education and participation in the workforce. Here, we also underscore Afghanistan's responsibility to institute protections for persons belonging to ethnic, religious, and cultural minorities, as enshrined in the Islamic law and its obligations under the international human rights law. We agree with the OHCHR's concerns on the continuously diminishing funding and commitment of the international community, which drastically risks the well-being of millions in Afghanistan. Stepping up the much needed humanitarian assistance, especially to protect the most vulnerable by all stakeholders, is imperative. While we reaffirm our solidarity with the Afghan people, We also underscore that the use of Afghanistan's soil for terrorism undermines the human rights of not only those living in Afghanistan, but all those affected beyond its borders. I thank you.

Thank you. Spain, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Spain would like to join the European Union in its statement. And as with other speakers that spoke before us, we appreciate the report from the High Commissioner's Office and the speeches from the panelists. Four years after the taking of power by the Talibans, we find that the legal concepts in place to address the cruelty of policies and edicts that fall short when it comes to addressing cruelty and politics of those who seek to undermine the rights of women in Afghanistan, but also erase them from all spheres of life. CEDA has joined forces with experts in the UN to qualify this as gender apartheid, and we take this very much in serious. We cannot normalize this barbarism. Courage and resilience of networks of women's groups in Afghanistan stir us to heed their calls for justice. Since 2021, Spain has supported opportunities to listen to Afghan women expressing their visions and strategies to address their repression and the matter of the barriers to their inclusion in the political process. Secondly, we support the international justice system being firm. Last November, Spain, together with other five countries, presented their documents to the ICC on the crimes against humanity, including for reasons of gender. The arrest warrants against Taliban leaders send a clear message about gender persecution. We believe that this should be coordinated international action, and this Council should strengthen its efforts to bring accountability in Afghanistan. Our strength and credibility is at stake. Thank you very much.

Thank you. UN Women, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. For years since the Taliban's takeover, Afghan women and girls face the world's most severe rights crisis. The Taliban's ethics policies and the 2024 law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice have codified gender-based discrimination, systematically excluding women from education, employment, and public life. Not a single restrictive edict has been repealed. Instead, enforcement has intensified, embedding control into daily life and fostering compliance through fear and social pressure. The law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice imposes sweeping restrictions, including classifying women's voice as "ahra," meant to be concealed and not heard in public. These measures are not temporary, but a core pillar of Taliban governance. Their chilling effect is clear. 43% of Afghans, women and men, now report speaking less in public than before August 2021. Yet, Afghan women and girls are not giving up hope. In our nationwide survey, over half of women said they remain hopeful about achieving their aspirations, despite nearly every door to public life being shut. The international community must hear this hope and respond. This means prioritizing long-term, flexible support for Afghan women, society organizations, ensuring at least 30 percent of all aid focuses on gender equality, and that no action or funding inadvertently reinforces discriminatory Taliban policies. Afghan women must shape the country's future, not be written out of it. Thank you.

Thank you. New Zealand.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

New Zealand thanks all the speakers for their presentations today.

We express our condolences to the people of Afghanistan for last week's devastating earthquake. The latest reports and today's presentations again paint an alarming picture of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, one that continues to demand global

attention and condemnation.

For this reason, we strongly support the mandate of the Special

Rapporteur and his crucial work in ensuring accountability for human rights violations and abuses. New Zealand remains gravely concerned by the ongoing, systematic regression of fundamental freedoms for the people of Afghanistan, particularly the severe repression of women's and girls' rights.

The Taliban must fundamentally change its approach on human rights and must comply

fully with Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law. Women and girls must be allowed access to secondary and tertiary education and work, their freedom of movement must be respected, and they must be allowed to participate fully in public life without interference and harassment.

The Taliban must rescind all edicts and decrees that curtail these fundamental freedoms and human rights.

New Zealand continues to stand with the brave people of Afghanistan. How can the international community better support and amplify the voices of women and girls in Afghanistan?

Thank you.

Thank you. Australia.

Thank you, Vice-President. Our thoughts are with the people of Afghanistan following the recent devastating earthquakes. All recovery efforts must be inclusive and not compound any human rights abuses. Australia thanks the Special Rapporteur for his report and the other distinguished speakers for their remarks. We reiterate our call for the Taliban to grant the Special Rapporteur full and unfettered access. Australia condemns the Taliban's targeting of women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTQIA+ persons, and civil society actors. Australia remains deeply concerned by the dire human rights crisis in Afghanistan, particularly the institutionalised discrimination and oppression of women and girls. The Taliban is seeking to erase women and girls from Afghan public life and deny them their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Restrictions on women's and girls' access to education, work, healthcare and legal protection violate international law and deny dignity and self-determination. The Taliban has also weaponized Afghanistan's justice system, entrenching gender-based discrimination in law, policy, and practice, and interfering in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those most in need. How can the international community best support women's and girls' full participation in Afghanistan's future? Thank you.

Thank you. Qatar. Qatar?

Sorry.

Thank you. Thank you, Vice President. Afghanistan is facing numerous challenges that have an impact on the promotion of human rights the economic crisis, an increase in humanitarian needs, climate-related problems, as well as sanctions and a freezing of resources, and the return of thousands of refugees. In order to face these challenges, the international community should continue to support efforts aimed at rebuilding Afghan institutions. We must also keep the door to dialogue open with all parties in Afghanistan in order to ensure peace in Afghanistan and in order to guarantee the return of this community and to the international community and with a respect for its sovereignty. We have always spoke of matters of human rights, and this includes the promotion of the rights of women. We are a partner, a meaningful partner for Afghanistan. It is thus that we have provided mediation support. We, under the U.S. aegis, we have also supported meetings of special envoys and the working group. as identified in evaluation of the reality in Afghanistan. We are continuing to provide official development aid. We have sent five airplanes as well that have included five tons of humanitarian aid in order to lighten the suffering of the Afghan people after the earthquake. I thank you kindly.

Thank you. Slovenia, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice-President. Slovenia aligns with the EU statement. We welcome the OHCHR mapping report, and we thank Special Rapporteur Bennett for the oral report and his important work. We express our sincere condolences to all who lost dear ones in the recent earthquake in Afghanistan. This natural disaster adds to the dire economic and humanitarian situation in the country, which is already compounded by climate shocks and extreme weather events. as well as by the Taliban policies that severely curtail Afghan women's contribution to the country's economy and development. Slovenia recalls that no decree adopted by the Taliban since August 2021 restricting the life of women and girls has so far been repealed. We further recall that Afghanistan is a State Party to CEDAW, CRC, and the Rome Statute of the ICC. In the absence of domestic accountability mechanisms to address violations of international law, Slovenia supports the efforts of the international community to address the systemic repression of human rights in the country through international accountability mechanisms. How can we effectively encourage the full, equal and meaningful inclusion of women in processes deciding Afghanistan's future?

I thank you.

I thank you. Kuwait, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We would like to extend sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the injured and to the friendly Afghan people following the earthquake that hit Afghanistan. We'd also like to join the statements of the groups we belong to. Mr. Vice President, we find the report deeply concerning. We remain committed to supporting the Afghan people through various humanitarian and development initiatives. We provide direct assistance in co- in cooperation with the UN, civil society organizations, especially in light of the economic and humanitarian challenges facing the Afghan population. My country appreciates the mediation played by the state of Qatar to open channels of dialogue and to facilitate international communication by hosting negotiations between the Afghan parties. To conclude, the state of Kuwait will continue to provide support and will continue to work with international partners to promote peace, security, and human rights for all. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you. Sierra Leone, please.

Mr Vice-President, My delegation acknowledges the role of the various mechanisms aimed at keeping the human rights situation in Afghanistan on this Council's agenda. We also acknowledge the courage of Afghan civil society and women human rights defenders who continue to speak out despite the risks they face. Sweden remains gravely concerned about the persistent and systematic violations of human rights in Afghanistan. particularly the severe restrictions on women's and girls' rights. Denying access to secondary higher education and excluding women from public life and employment represents a profound violation of fundamental rights and direct assault on the prospect of peace, stability and development in Afghanistan. We therefore urge the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to urgently reverse their discriminatory policies against women and girls and to honour their international human rights obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. We also emphasize the importance of accountability and we support the continuation of robust monitoring and reporting by this Council, including through the Special Rapporteur. Sierra Leone renews its call to the international community to maintain solidarity with the Afghan people, increase humanitarian assistance, and address reports of gender apartheid. We express our profound condolences to the people of Afghanistan for the last week earthquake. Thank you, Mr. Vice-President.

Thank you. Croatia, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice-President. Croatia aligns itself with the EU statement. At the beginning, we extend our deepest sympathies to people of Afghanistan hit by the devastating earthquake on September the 2nd. We thank the OHCHR for a comprehensive mapping of policies and practices by the Taliban and to all the speakers at today's panel. Today's presentations show continued deterioration of human rights in Afghanistan, intensified by the economic crisis, persistent unemployment, and scaling down of foreign aid. The persecution of women and girls through the edicts and laws by the de facto authorities is alarming. We strongly condemn these policies that, as reported many times, amount to a form of systematic gender persecution.

Croatia calls for the moratorium

on the use of the death penalty, including public executions, as well as cessation of reported arrests and detentions, physical beatings, and other punishments of persons not complying with the law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice. We support the OHCHR call to the de facto authorities to adhere to international standards and the human rights obligations that Afghanistan is bound by, and to rescind all laws, edicts, and decrees that deny human rights of the Afghan population. Enabling access to secondary and tertiary education and work for all women and girls would be important first step in this direction.

I thank you.

Thank you. Italy.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Italy aligns itself with the EU statement and thanks OHCHR for its report. We renew our solidarity with the Afghan people after the recent earthquake that tragically hit the country. As recalled by all speakers today, four years after the Taliban's takeover, the human rights situation in Afghanistan has sharply deteriorated. The de facto authorities continue to impose significant restrictions, such as the law on the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice, and the latest edicts. The growing repression resulting from their enforcement severely undermines fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular of women and girls. Religious minorities remain exposed to discrimination and violence, while media and civil society organizations face increasing constraints and intimidation. The international community and this Council must remain fully engaged in addressing the human rights situation in Afghanistan. Such violations are unacceptable and call for a strong and coordinated response. Italy remains committed to supporting the Afghan people in the realization of their rights and justice, and recalls that Afghanistan must uphold its obligations under international law, as also foreseen within the framework of the so-called Doha process. I thank you.

Thank you, Luxembourg.

Microphone to the speaker, please. The interpreter -- thank you. Luxembourg associates itself with the European Union and its statement. We would like to present our very sincere condolences to the victims of the earthquake. Luxembourg is beside the people of stands with the people of Afghanistan. And the Afghan women and girls continue to be victims of gender-based systemic gender-based persecution. In a society in which Afghan women do not feel safe anymore in their own households, it is the responsibility of the international community to act. Luxembourg supports the creation of an accountability mechanism. We must document and preserve the proof of the sufferings endured today so that justice can be served, we hope, in a future that is not too far away. We underscore that there cannot be justice without inclusive justice, involving all of the survivors without discrimination. Today, our resources are unfortunately limited, however, there are subjects on which we cannot save money. This is a matter of credibility for this Council and its action in the fight against impunity. Allow me to ask a question of the panel. What are the best practices of other inquiry mechanisms, such as in Syria and Myanmar, in which the mechanism can find inspiration for its work and in the area of collection of proof? I thank you kindly.

Thank you. Pakistan, please.

Mr. Vice President, while taking note of the OHCHR's report, we reiterate our repeated concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis and the ongoing human rights violations in the country. We emphasize the importance of promoting and protecting human rights of all, particularly women and girls. We are gravely concerned over the discriminatory exclusion from education and the workforce. Pakistan's unequivocal position is grounded in Islamic teachings and the international law. Therefore, the interim government in Afghanistan must fulfill their international obligations. Mr. Vice President, for decades, the brotherly people of Afghanistan have been hosted by Pakistanis with open arms. The level of hospitality and warmth cannot be matched by any other country. However, Pakistan, like any other sovereign state, has the right and the duty to regulate its borders. Any Afghan who wants to visit can do so by getting a valid visa. Therefore, We once again state that deplorably, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Fithna al-Khawarij, continues to target innocent civilians in Pakistan, thereby directly threatening our citizens and thus undermining their human rights. Terrorist activities emerging from within Afghanistan remain a serious challenge to our nation and the wider region. Therefore, we call upon the Afghan interim government to uphold their obligations under international law and the Doha Agreement. Lasting stability and peace in Afghanistan are vital for the security and prosperity of the wider region. I thank you.

Thank you. Malaysia.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Malaysia thanks the Special Rapporteur for his report and aligns itself with the statement of the OIC. We note with concern the continued restrictions that limit the rights and freedoms of Afghans, especially in access to education, employment, and participation in public life. It is important that all Afghans, including women and girls, are able to contribute meaningfully to society in a manner consistent with Afghanistan's international commitments and the values of dignity and knowledge upheld in Islam. Malaysia believes that the stability and future of Afghanistan depend on the meaningful inclusion of all Afghans. We also stress the importance of safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance as millions continue to face severe challenges. In this regard, Malaysia remains committed to supporting Afghanistan through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme. These include providing scholarships and training for Afghan women, as well as humanitarian assistance to strengthen health and maternity services. We believe that through constructive dialogue, cooperation and targeted support, the international community can help Afghanistan move towards a future of dignity, inclusivity and peace. I thank you.

Thank you. Austria, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice-President.

Austria aligns itself with the EU statement. We thank all speakers for their presentations. Austria remains deeply concerned about the ongoing human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan. The deteriorating situation, particularly affecting women, girls, minorities, journalists and human rights defenders, continues to be alarming. There is an urgent need for robust monitoring and reporting to document violations as a step towards accountability. We strongly support the ICC and welcome the issuance of recent arrest warrants for individuals responsible for serious international crimes in Afghanistan. Accountability for perpetrators of atrocity crimes, including gender-based crimes, torture, and extrajudicial killings, is essential to justice and deterrence. Austria reiterates its call on the de facto authorities to abide by Afghanistan's international human rights obligations, including under the CEDAW, and to uphold the principles of non-discrimination and the rule of law. It has been a year since the introduction of the so-called law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice, which further institutionalized the systemic gender oppression. We would like to ask the speakers what mechanisms, if any, exist for Afghans to challenge or appeal decisions made by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice or by the morality inspectors.

Thank you.

Thank you. Switzerland, please.

Mr. Vice President, Switzerland thanks the speakers and the Special Rapporteur for the report. We remain deeply concerned over the serious and systematic violations of human rights in Afghanistan. Women and girls continue to be deprived of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. This includes access to education, employment, health care, and public life. According to UN experts, this system of institutionalized oppression is tantamount to gender persecution and can be considered a crime against humanity. Switzerland firmly condemns arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, torture, and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment or punishment on those detained. This is a violation of international obligations of Afghanistan as a state party to CEDAW and the International Covenant. We take note of developments in the international justice system and the emission of arrest warrants the issuance of arrest warrants by the ICC against Taliban authorities. These are important steps in fighting impunity. It is essential that all violations be independently investigated and credible, and that the authors be brought to justice. The creation of an international mechanism that would complement this inquiry is a matter of accountability and essential. report, to what other areas do you require resources for such a mechanism?

Thank you.

Thank you. The Republic of Korea.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. The Republic of Korea welcomes the OACHR reports and thanks all panelists for their presentations. We remain deeply concerned that four years after the Taliban seized power, the people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls, continue to face relentless violations of their fundamental rights and freedoms. We are particularly alarmed that severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls remain in place, affecting their access to education, work, freedom of movement, and participation of public and cultural life. The enforcement of so-called laws and decrees coupled with arbitrary arrest and restrictions on civic space further entrenches systematic discrimination. We once again call on the Taliban to reverse these policies and uphold their obligations under international law. Moreover, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has been further aggravated by the recent earthquakes and the involuntary return of vulnerable individuals, many of whom face serious human rights violations. In this regard, the Republic of Korea stands in solidarity with the Afghan people and reaffirms its commitment to working with the international community to protect and promote their human rights. I thank you.

Thank you. Canada, please.

Thank you, Vice President. Canada would like to extend its heartfelt condolences to those affected by the recent earthquake in Canada. We have provided $3 million in humanitarian aid, in addition to the $36 million that we'd already allocated in 2025. Since 2021, we have been observing with great concern the instigation of systemic gender-based oppression imposed by the Taliban. The exclusion of girls and women from education, public life and other spheres is a gross violation of their fundamental rights. The earthquake has laid bare the tragic consequences of these restrictions. There is a lack of trained medical staff and women staff, and so Afghan people have been deprived of emergency care, placing their health at stake. We would like to express our solidarity vis-a-vis the Afghan people, especially women and girls, in their efforts to achieve justice and ensure that human rights are upheld and inclusive government and to combat terrorism. That is why we hold Afghanistan to account regarding its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Special rapporteur, how can we ensure that the de facto authorities can take immediate measures to ensure access to emergency services for women during future emergencies or disasters?

Thank you.

Thank you. Turkey has the floor.

Mr. Vice President. Steps pushing Afghan women and girls out of the public sphere, and especially the decisions to ban girls from education and women from NGO and UN works are varying. Education is a universal human right which all individuals must enjoy on the basis of equal opportunity and in a non-discriminatory manner. We denounce these bans, including at the top level of our president. Turkey is playing an active role in the OIC's efforts to convey clear and unified messages on these issues. Mr. Vice President, practical and creative action is needed by the international community to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people. We continue our assistance to Afghanistan both bilaterally and through international organizations. Most recently, we have contributed 3.5 million U.S. dollars to UNDP-led Special Trust Fund to support health and education sectors. On the bilateral level, we continue to send assistance trains to Afghanistan. Following the earthquakes in Herat and Jalalabad, we sent personnel and relief material. Turkey will continue to stand by in solidarity with the Afghan people and will do so at every step of the way. Thank you.

I thank you. Now, UNICEF.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. This month marks four years since the de facto authorities banned girls from attending school beyond grade six, a denial of rights that today affects more than 2.2 million girls. A 17-year-old Afghan girl told UNICEF, "After the closing of schools, I was told now I must get married because I have nothing else to do." When I heard these words as a child, my spirit was wounded and my heart broke. My childhood came to an end. Such violations are unacceptable and must urgently end. Children in Afghanistan face multiple intersecting risks. Unexploded ordinances continue to take lives. 149 children have been killed or maimed in 2025 so far. Many children undertake challenging journeys to neighboring countries, often unaccompanied and vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Since January, UNICEF has reunified over 8,500 unaccompanied and separated children. Recent earthquakes, as well as the returnee crisis, have resulted in an even greater need for female health, healthcare and social frontline workers. Their work is vital as they are highly skilled and have access to populations that men cannot reach, including children and women. In this extremely dire context, UNICEF again urgently calls on the de facto authorities to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of all women and children in Afghanistan as set forth in CEDAW and the CRC, and to immediately restore access to education for all girls.

Thank you.

Thank you. Malta, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice-President. Malta aligns itself with the EU statement and thanks OHCHR and the panelists. We reiterate our strong support for the Special Rapporteur and all other UN structures and mechanisms assisting Afghanistan. We remain gravely concerned about the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan. The policies and practices of the de facto authorities have created a deeply entrenched system that undermines the rights of women and girls, resulting in widespread and systematic violations. Newly enacted edicts have further entrenched this system of discrimination. Women have been prohibited from speaking in public, denied access to health care without a male guardian, and subjected to increasingly restrictive dress codes. Girls remain barred from secondary and higher education, and women face severe restrictions on employment, stripping half the population of their most basic rights. We urge the de facto authorities to take immediate steps towards dismantling the system of gender-based discrimination and to align their action with Afghanistan's international obligations. In conclusion, we extend our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan. I thank you.

Thank you. United Kingdom, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President, Special Rapporteur, Deputy High Commissioner, and distinguished panelists. Like others in this room, the United Kingdom stands in solidarity with the Afghan people following the recent devastating earthquake in Kunar Province. We are a leading humanitarian donor and have announced 1 million pounds in emergency funding to deliver critical healthcare and emergency supplies to support affected families. Special Rapporteur, we would like to reiterate the UK's unwavering support for your mandate. We appreciate your commitment to exposing the grave human rights situation in Afghanistan. Four years on, Taliban repression is intensifying. Women and girls face an increasingly dire reality, with over 100 edicts issued since 2021 that systematically restrict their rights and freedoms. We are deeply alarmed by the Taliban's public floggings and executions of men, women and boys carried out by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and by the rising number of arrests of women for alleged dress code violations. These and other oppressive measures must be reversed to uphold the rights of all Afghans. We, the international community, must continue to exert coordinated pressure and remain united with the people of Afghanistan. Thank you.

Thank you. Netherlands, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. The Kingdom of the Netherlands aligns itself with the EU statement and thanks the Special Rapporteur for his update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, which continues to deteriorate.

The work of the Special Rapporteur remains crucial in documenting the daily suffering of millions of Afghans.

The recent devastating earthquake adds to this suffering. The Netherlands remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially

for women and girls who have been stripped of their fundamental rights.

The Taliban's policies and practices of gross and systemic discrimination of women and girls by excluding them from education, healthcare, and public life have severe implications for their future and that of Afghanistan. This should not be left without consequence. Afghanistan must comply with its international obligations, including under CEDAW. We are deeply concerned about the persistent lack of accountability for human rights violations. The international community must remain united in ensuring accountability. We urge the members of this Council to support any efforts in this regard. Mr. Special Rapporteur. What further measures can be taken to close the accountability gap for those severe violations?

Thank you. Marlon, please.

Thank you, Chair. Ireland aligns with the statement of the EU. Ireland condemns the abhorrent situation facing women and girls due to the Taliban's decrees. We are extremely concerned by the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crises, which are most severely felt by women and girls and have been compounded by the recent return of over 2 million refugees. We are appalled, Chairman, by the Taliban's continued undermining of women and girls' participation in society. The Taliban decrees limit the access of women and girls to education, including medical education, as well as to employment, healthcare and justice. This may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute, and we call for full accountability of those who are responsible. The Taliban's ongoing erosion of human rights in Afghanistan is wholly unacceptable. This includes the targeting of marginalized communities, including the Hazaras and members of the LGBTIQ+ community. We reiterate our calls on the Taliban to stop this discrimination and to uphold human rights of all Afghans, including the rights enshrined in the CRC and CEDAW, to which Afghanistan is a state party. Panelists, how best can the international community support efforts to combat the current impacts of the Taliban-imposed decrees.

Thank you.

Thank you. Indonesia.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

We express our deepest condolences to the people of.

Afghanistan, who lost their beloved leader, Mr. President.

Ashraf Ghani, last week.

Indonesia shares its concerns regarding the findings of the OHCHR's recent report, particularly the continuing restrictions on women and girls' rights to education, work, and participation in public life. Such measures not only erode fundamental freedoms and dignity of all Afghan people, but also risk Afghanistan's future economic prospects and stability. Indonesia reaffirms that Afghanistan remains bound by its obligations under international human rights law. At the same time, the international community also carries a responsibility to assist and to prioritize constructive cooperation. For Indonesia, only an incremental yet sustained transition can lead to lasting stability. We reaffirm our support for a peace process that is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. Safeguarding the rights of women and girls remains essential, including their meaningful participation in reconciliation efforts. In line with these commitments, Indonesia had advanced concrete initiatives, including providing scholarships for Afghan women students, supporting a psychosocial project for 400 women and developing an Islamic microfinance model to empower livelihoods.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Thank you. Germany, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Ms. Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Special Rapporteur, distinguished panelists, Germany aligns itself with the statement of the European Union.

The report presented by the Office of the High.

Commissioner for Human Rights confirms the downward spiral of the human rights situation under the Taliban. All people in Afghanistan are facing appalling violations of their rights. But women and girls face the brunt of restrictions and repression, which may amount to crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute. The systemic and institutional discrimination of women and girls in Afghanistan is unacceptable. We continue to call for increased efforts to ensure that those who are responsible for rights violations are held accountable. Afghanistan has ratified CEDAW in 2003 without reservations. This means that the state is obliged to fulfill CEDAW obligations. Together with our partners, we are committed to actively pursuing our initiative to address systematic violations of CEDAW.

Germany reiterates its unwavering support to the people of Afghanistan.

We stand with those affected by the recent earthquakes. To respond to urgent humanitarian needs, we have made available 2.5 million euro for the earthquake response by United Nations international NGO partners, in addition to 5.8 million euro for assistance already committed last month. Distinguished panelists, what steps can be taken to ensure accountability efforts can reach the perpetrators of human rights violations? Thank you.

Thank you. Albania, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We express our condolence for the family of the last earthquake. Albania thanks the Special Rapporteur for today's update and reiterates its support for his mandate and his work. We also commend the Office of the High Commissioner for its continuous efforts to monitor and report on the human rights situation under extremely challenging circumstances. Since the Taliban takeover, the situation in the country is deteriorating rapidly. The Taliban has institutionalized a system of gender apartheid, denying women and girls access in the public life. These policies are codified and enforced with cruelty. The persecution extended beyond gender. Ethnic and religious minority are facing exclusion and repression. Human rights defenders, journalists, artists, former officials are subject of torture, arbitrary detention, extortion, execution. Afghanistan independent legal system has collapsed, replaced by arbitrary edicts. Justice is virtually not existent. Mr. Vice President, Albania stands firmly with people of Afghanistan, rejects any kind of normalization with Taliban in absence of measurable progress of human rights. We reiterate our support for international efforts that aims to ensure accountability in Afghanistan. I thank you.

Thank you. North Macedonia.

Mr. Vice President, we thank the Special Rapporteur for his tireless efforts in documenting the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan. The latest mapping report makes clear that the Taliban's edicts and practices are not isolated measures, but a systematic dismantling of rights protections. Women and girls are erased from education, employment, and public life. Minorities face harassment and exclusion. Civil society voices are silenced. These edicts, imposed without legitimacy, do not constitute laws. They are instruments of repression. Their cumulative impact amounts to institutionalized gender persecution and may rise to the level of crimes against humanity. We call upon the Council and Member States to ensure accountability by strengthening support for documentation of violations, by exploring avenues for justice, including universal jurisdiction, and by amplifying the voices of Afghan women, victims, and survivors in all processes that concern them. The international community must not normalize or recognize policies that deny half a population its most basic rights. Afghan women and men have not given up their aspiration for freedom and dignity.

Neither should we.

I thank you, Mr. Vice President.

I thank you. Romania.

Thank you, Vice President. Romanian Alliance with the EU statement and remains deeply alarmed by the continued and deliberate dismantling of fundamental rights in Afghanistan, most gravely the systemic oppression and persecution of women and girls. We thank the panelists for their impactful presentations today. The deepening assault on human rights, especially the calculated and extreme acts of exclusion of women and girls from society and public life, are not just forms of repression.

They are dehumanizing atrocities rooted in misogyny and control.

We strongly condemn these acts and support the ICC's recent issuance of arrest warrants against key Taliban leaders on charges of gender persecution.

Holding the Taliban accountable for these violations is mandatory. We reiterate our call on the de facto authorities to repeal all discriminatory laws, edicts, and practices.

We also reaffirm our strong support for the work of the UN Special Rapporteur and all relevant international.

Mechanisms, including UNAMA, CIDO, ICC, and others, that document abuses and seek accountability in Afghanistan.

We deplore the suffering caused by the recent devastating earthquakes that struck Afghanistan, a tragic reminder.

That the hardship of the whole Afghan society only continues to worsen. Distinguished panelists, do you consider that the limited access on the ground requires better coordination?

Among UN mechanisms to monitor and report human rights violations in Afghanistan more effectively.

I thank you.

Thank you. I give the floor to France.

Thank you, Vice President. Deputy High Commissioner, Special Rapporteur, France aligns itself with the statement made by the European Union, and we'd like to thank you for your report on Afghanistan. Our thanks also go to the panelists. France would like to extend its condolences to those affected by the earthquake that struck the country on the 1st of September. We stand in solidarity with the Afghan people, and we continue to support the population through our humanitarian action. Four years on from the Taliban's coming to power by force in Afghanistan, the human rights situation continues to deteriorate. France is using all the levers at its availability in cooperation with the United Nations and civil society to improve the situation for the Afghan people. Women and girls in particular are the victims of a policy of segregation which excludes them from public, political, and economic life. France recalls that gender-based persecution is a crime against humanity. We urge the Taliban to immediately remove all the restrictions placed on women and girls. France also condemns public executions, and we recall that we are opposed to the death penalty in all places and all circumstances, as will be demonstrated by the upcoming World Congress against the Death Penalty to be held in Paris in July 2026. Finally, France commends the work of the Special Rapporteur and supports the renewal of his mandate. Creating an investigative mechanism would be a major complementary step for combating impunity and supporting victims.

Thank you.

I thank France, and I now call on Montenegro.

Mr. Vice President, we thank the panelists for a sobering update. OHCHR mapping report highlights the group's ideological repressive and misogynistic governance. Since the Taliban's takeover, the human rights situation has drastically deteriorated, with women and girls bearing the brunt of this oppression. They face relentless gender-based discrimination and restriction on their fundamental rights, effectively becoming faceless and voiceless shadows in their own country. These Taliban sections against more than half of its population signify deliberate and systematic campaign of gender persecution, a crime against humanity, also characterized as gender apartheid. Other groups are also experiencing serious human rights violations, including religious and ethnic minorities and marginalized communities. Civic space and media freedom are being increasingly restricted. while the public's execution of the death penalty and the use of corporal punishment have also risen. The Taliban regime sections egregiously violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law, showing a blatant disregard for fundamental rights and the just rules-based order. Accountability for gross human rights violations and serious breaches of IHL is vital for achieving sustainable peace, development, and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Montenegro reiterates its support for the mandates of UN mechanisms for monitoring, investigating, and documenting the human rights situation in Afghanistan. Thank you.

Thank you. Ukraine, please.

Mr. President, we remain gravely alarmed by systematic dismantling of human rights in Afghanistan. The de facto authorities.

Continue to enforce discriminatory edicts that deprive women and girls of education, employment, health care, and freedom of movement. This deliberate erasure from public life amounts to gender persecution.

The recent earthquakes have tragically highlighted this injustice.

Due to Taliban-imposed restrictions, many injured women were left without rescue or medical aid, which is gender discrimination that cost lives, and it was a moment of a national tragedy.

We are deeply troubled by public executions, corporal punishment, and the repression of civil society and independent media.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis, worsened by forced refugee returns, has left millions.

In poverty and despair, with women-headed households most at risk. We urge the de facto authorities.

To rescind discriminatory decrees, restore women's rights and executions and corporal punishments, and respect freedom of expression.

Ukraine calls on the international community to support Afghan victims and survivors, to support accountability.

Through international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, and ensure protection against refoulement. A nation cannot advance while silencing half of its people. We stand in unwavering solidarity with Afghans.

Thank you. Thank you. Bulgaria, please.

Thank you, Vice-President. Bulgaria aligns with the EU statement. We also express our condolences to the people of Afghanistan on the consequences of the recent devastating earthquake. aggravated by the government's discriminatory policies. We thank the Deputy High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur for their reports and appreciate CIDOH's contribution to this interactive dialogue. Bulgaria remains deeply alarmed by the widespread and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls. We are deeply concerned over the restrictive policies, practices, and legal measures of the de facto authorities, which deny women their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to education, work, health, freedom of movement, and speech. Bulgaria joins others in condemning the systematic and systemic violations and abuses against women, which may amount to persecution on the grounds of gender, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. We therefore call upon the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to take immediate action and abide by the international obligations of the country, including those under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We remain concerned over the restrictions imposed on civic space and media freedoms. Therefore, we call on the de facto authorities to guarantee the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all citizens of Afghanistan. I thank you.

Thank you. Czechia, please.

Mr. Chairman, Czechia aligns itself with the EU statement. We strongly condemn the Taliban's rule and treatment of the Afghan people. especially the systemic discrimination of women and girls. The blatant human rights violations must end now. Girls must be allowed to attend school, women permitted to work, and all individuals to enjoy basic freedoms, including expression, religion, and movement, as well as the right to public participation and access to health care. The persecution of minorities, torture, and extrajudicial killings must cease. The reform of Afghanistan's legal and justice system is essential to uphold human rights in line with international obligations. We urge the Taliban to ensure accountability, justice, and free and fair democratic elections. Chile supports the vital work of the OHCHR, the Special Rapporteur and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and calls for their full access to the country. Distinguished panelists, how can the Council effectively contribute to improving the situation of the Afghan people, especially women and girls? Thank you.

Thank you. Chile, please.

Thank you very much, Vice-President. Chile would like to express its deepest solidarity with the people of Afghanistan following the recent earthquake, a disaster which has further exacerbated the difficult humanitarian situation and human rights situation affecting millions of people in the country. Today we're speaking of an Afghanistan with a human face, the face of the girls who are forced to hide their workbooks because learning has become a crime, the face of women who plough on in the long shadow of chastisement every day, and the face of the families who, following the earthquake, are searching among the rubble in silence, deprived of the public voice of their mothers and girls. We cannot let the exclusion of women and girls to become normalized or a cultural reality. This is a deliberate strategy to erase them from the social fabric, and that is persecution on grounds of gender, a crime under international law. In the face of this, the response of the international community should be proportionate to the gravity of the facts. Chile considers that it is urgent to move ahead on an accountability mechanism that is not just a symbolic gesture, but a specific that will preserve evidence, support victims, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Such a step would also send a signal of hope to millions of Afghan girls and women who, even in the worst adversity, are keeping their dignity and their right to a different future alive. Thank you.

Thank you. Liechtenstein, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. We thank the panelists for their respective contributions, and we join others in extending our sympathy to all the victims of the recent earthquake. Four years after Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan, their authoritarian rule continues to crush dissent, oppress women and girls, and censor civil society and independent media. The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan is particularly appalling. The ban of education for women and girls must immediately be lifted as it drops them of their future. We also urge the Taliban to resign the law on the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice. Wide-ranging human rights violations are part of day-to-day life in Afghanistan, with a disturbing increase in public executions, arbitrary arrests and detention, and the deliberate destruction of civil space. The perpetrators must be held accountable. We therefore welcome the arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders issued by the International Criminal Court. Mr. Vice President. Afghanistan continues to be bound by its obligations under international law and the de facto authorities remain accountable for their crimes and violations, but unfortunately, impunity prevails. The international community and this Council have an obligation to not only address the situation in Afghanistan, but to do their utmost to close the accountability gap. I thank you, Mr. Vice-President.

Thank you. Belgium, please.

Mr. Vice-President, Belgium aligns with the EU statement. Four years have passed since the Taliban takeover. Four long years in which the de facto authorities enforce an institutionalized system of gender oppression, discrimination and human rights violations. Four long years, especially for Afghan women and girls who saw themselves, their rights and their future erased from Afghan society. but also four long years for men and boys, instrumentalized in a state-sanctioned system of discrimination, punished when showing solidarity with women and girls, and harmed through a radicalized education system. We condemn the Taliban's ongoing gross, widespread, and systematic human rights abuses and call for accountability of those who are responsible. The situation in Afghanistan is a litmus test for international commitments, notably on gender equality and on accountability. There can be no normalization with the de facto authorities unless and until there is demonstrated, measurable and independently verified progress against human rights benchmarks, particularly for women and girls. I thank you.

I thank you. Poland, please.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President. At the outset, let me express our solidarity with the people of Afghanistan following the tragic earthquake last week. We extend our support to all those affected by this disaster. Poland aligns itself with the statement of the European Union. We would like to thank the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for its comprehensive report. Poland is deeply concerned by the deteriorating state of human rights in Afghanistan. We see how the repeated calls of the international community to the Taliban are being ignored and the discriminatory policies and practices continue, depriving the people of Afghanistan of their inherent rights. Women and girls are in a particularly difficult situation, being subjected to the measures that restrict their freedom of movement, ability to work, and to receive necessary education, effectively removing them from the social life. The civic space and media freedom shrink, while the journalists and human rights defenders continue to be arbitrarily arrested and detained. We join other member states in our appeal to the Taliban to follow the recommendations contained in the report of the Office, to fully comply with the international obligations of Afghanistan, and to abide by the international human rights law. I thank you.

Thank you. Dear colleagues, this was the last speaker we could accommodate. Let's try to jump a bit to the next list of speakers. Maybe we can fill in with two or three. The list, namely the list of speakers for non-governmental organizations. Clearly, we cannot make it today, this EID, and we'll continue tomorrow morning. So the first speaker, I invite the Action for Development, please.

The High Commissioner for his report and the Special Reporter for his oral update. Recognizing that the fundamental rights of all Afghans are being severely violated, women and girls face compounded discrimination in accessing education, justice, health care, and humanitarian aid under the Taliban's gender apartheid regime. The loss of foreign aid and restriction on women aid workers have created an additional discriminatory hurdle to women and girls receiving vital assistance. Today, protecting women in Afghanistan is not only about immediate aid, but also it's about preserving their rights, dignity, agency, and hope for the future. We urge all stakeholders to take concrete actions, moving beyond statements of solidarity. We thank the states that decided to hold Afghanistan accountable for violation of the CEDAW and call on them them to reiterate their commitment to this important and historic initiative and to share any progress regarding the process since their announcements last year. Finally, we call on the Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and establish a comprehensive investigative mechanism during this session, one that could facilitate investigation and evidence preservation to assist accountability measures and prevent further violations.

Thank you.

Thank you. Now a joint statement from Amnesty International.

Mr. Vice President, the Taliban continue to intensify dragoonian restrictions on the people of Afghanistan.

While the Taliban attacks on the rights of.

Women and girls may amount to the crime against humanity of gender persecution, those.

Critical of their dragoonian rules and policies continue to face arbitrary arrest, detention, and forced disappearances. The Taliban rules, decision, and practices particularly discriminate against women, ethnic and religious minority.

This year, UNAMA reported that the.

Taliban in Badakhshan province forced member of Ismaili Shia community to convert to Sunni branch of Islam, and those who refused were subjected to physical assaults, coercions, and death threats. As the humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, exacerbated by natural disasters such as the recent earthquake, states, particularly Iran and Pakistan, have taken an unprecedented move of continuing mass forced deportation of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, including former government officials, HRDs, journalists, dissidents, who are particularly at risk of human rights violation and abuses at the hands of the Taliban once they return. The catastrophic human rights situation in Afghanistan builds on a long-standing culture of impunity that result from a persistent lack of accountability.

Human rights violations and abuses, as well as crimes under international law for over four decades. Significant steps must be taken urgently towards accountability if this vicious cycle of impunity is to be broken. We urge the Council to establish an accountability mechanism to investigate, collect, consolidate, preserve, and analyze evidence of past and ongoing.

Crimes under international law and other human rights violations and abuses committed in Afghanistan, and prepare files.

To facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings.

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development.

Mr. Vice President, once again, we address this Council to share the grave reality of Afghanistan under Taliban's illegitimate and violent rule. In four years, they have dismantled every safeguard for human rights, replacing the legal system with arbitrary decrees and the edicts that guarantee their impunity. The Taliban's so-called PV/PV law and related edicts have institutionalized the system of gender apartheid. Erasing women and girls from public life, gender-based persecution, segregation, and violence are now state policy. Journalists, rights defenders, former government officials, and anyone who resists face detention, torture, enforced disappearances, or execution with no access to justice. Religious and ethnic minorities are subjected to targeted attacks, land seizures, and forced displacement, placing their very survival at risk. We welcome the the Special Rapporteur's important work. We also note the ICC's arrest warrants against Taliban leaders as a vital first step. But the magnitude of crimes in Afghanistan demands more. The international community must center the voices of women and girls and civil society in all discussions and decisions about the future of their country. The Council must play its important part by responding to their calls for measures and evidence accountability. establish an independent accountability mechanism to investigate, preserve evidence, and advance justice. I thank you.

Thank you. Now, joint statement, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, please.

Mr. President, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada and the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute are alarmed by the dire human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

We are alarmed by the forced deportations of Afghan refugees.

From Iran and Pakistan, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, human rights defenders, former government personnel, and women without male guardians.

Upon return, they face threats of arbitrary detention, torture, and targeted killings.

The Taliban have.

Enacted laws erasing women's faces from identification documents.

Public violence has become widespread, including floggings, and daily reports emerge of women being killed with impunity.

Often by their husbands.

Forced displacement of Hazara families amounts to ethnic cleansing and suspected genocide. As a former prosecutor.

In cases of violence against women, I am profoundly disturbed by normalization of violence against women.

We call on the Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism to document and analyze past and present human rights violations and international crimes, and urge States to provide urgent support, resettlement, and legal assistance to Afghan.

Lawyers, judges, defenders.

Former government personnel, and unprotected women.

Thank you.

Okay. Distinguished colleagues, this brings us to the end of this meeting. 00 p.m. already. 00 a.m. to continue the enhanced interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and begin the interactive dialogue on the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan. to be followed by the enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the fact-finding mission on human rights abuses and violations in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, therefore, hereby close the second meeting of the 60th session. Thank you. Good night.