The Taliban Is Ditching Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission Because It's ‘Unnecessary’

The Taliban has decided Afghanistan’s human rights commission isn’t quite necessary and has decided to dissolve the department.

The move is part of a financial crunch from Taliban authorities who also disbanded an additional three key departments.

The country is facing a budget deficit of 44 billion Afghanis (AU$711m), according to authorities who announced their first national budget since overtaking the country in August.

The human rights commission was a key feature set up by the previous US-backed government, however, it has been deemed ‘unnecessary’ by the Taliban, The Guardian reports.

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Innamullah Samangani, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesperson told Reuters in a statement: “Because these departments were not deemed necessary and were not included in the budget, they have been dissolved.”

Additional departments dissolved include the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), the National Security Council, and the Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of the Afghan Constitution.

After taking over the country, the Taliban promised a more moderate governing approach, however, the latest move indicates the opposite. 

Samangani told Reuters that the recent budget cuts were based on ‘objective facts’ that the departments dissolved had not been active or productive.

However, he added that the bodies could be reinstated in the future.

The Taliban had been harsh rulers of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, banning women from education and work.

Despite claims for a more modern government, they are yet to allow older girls to restart their education and have introduced mandates for women and girls to wear veils and have male relatives accompany them in public places.

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The Taliban noted that if a woman was to break these rules, their father or closest male relative would face potential prison.

The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan after United States President Joe Biden announced that the country would be withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan. 

The United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal on 30 August last year, with former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country shortly afterwards. 

He told the country’s people: “If left unchecked, countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be devastated, resulting in a major humanitarian catastrophe in the six-million-strong city.

"The Taliban had made it clear that they were ready to carry out a bloody attack on all of Kabul and the people of Kabul to oust me.

"In order to prevent a flood of bloodshed, I decided to leave."