RASC News Agency: On Thursday September 19, the European Parliament passed a new resolution condemning states that normalize relations with the Taliban. The resolution also urged the formal recognition of gender apartheid and the imposition of new European Union sanctions against the Taliban. It was adopted with an overwhelming majority of 565 votes in favor, 8 against, and 43 abstentions.
The resolution further calls for Taliban officials to be held accountable in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Additionally, it recommends that the European Union and donor nations increase humanitarian aid and financial support for Afghanistan’s basic needs, livelihoods, and civil society, although it does not directly address concerns that such aid could bolster the Taliban regime.
In a statement released by the European Parliament on Thursday, the body strongly condemned the Taliban’s recently enacted “Law of Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong.” Members of the European Parliament emphasized the plight of Afghanistani women, who are forced into early marriages, subjected to sexual violence, and face brutal punishments such as flogging and stoning. The resolution also praised the persistent efforts of Afghanistani women in their fight for rights and expressed solidarity with them.
This parliamentary resolution emerges at a time when the United States is widely seen as the Taliban’s largest financial and political supporter, reportedly providing the group with $40 million in weekly aid.
