Urgent call from ten Special Rapporteurs and members of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, made in response to the announcement of the Supreme Court appointed by the Taliban in favor of punishments including stoning, whipping and burying people under walls.
Women are the most vulnerable
The court’s de facto deputy chief justice announced on May 4 that it had sentenced 175 individuals to “retribution in kind” and 37 to stoning. The press release said dozens of others were convicted with “crimes against God” such as spanking.
Experts, including Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett, note that “women are more likely to be sentenced to death by stoning, due to discrimination and deep-rooted prejudice. for them… held by a judicial authority exclusively for men.”
Cruel, inhuman, vile
It is said that stoning or burying alive under a wall, is considered torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. “These cruel punishments are contrary to international law.”
According to a recent report by the United Nations Support Mission to the country, UNAMA274 men, 58 women and two boys have been publicly whipped and a statutory execution has been carried out within the past six months alone.
both International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Convention Against Torture and Other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to which Afghanistan is a Party, prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments.
Outlawed discrimination
Afghanistan is also a party to the Convention on Eliminate all forms of discrimination against womenoutlaws discrimination against women as well as “prejudices, customs and all other practices based on the idea of inferiority or superiority of either sex or role stereotypes of men and women.”
Experts expressed serious concerns about the fairness of the trials before the death penalty.
“We call on the authorities in fact immediately establish a ban on the death penalty and all forms of corporal punishment” including whipping and amputation, “each constituting torture or another cruel and inhuman punishment,” experts say. Gia said.
Special Rapporteur and other UNs Rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Councilwork on a voluntary and unpaid basis, are not employees of the United Nations and work independently of any government or organization.
