On International Human Rights Day, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) urges the de facto authorities to embrace global human rights obligations as a key to the protection and prosperity of current and future generations of women, men, girls and boys across the country.

This year’s International Human Rights Day theme is “Our rights, our future, right now”, which emphasizes how human rights empower individuals and communities to build a better future and how human rights are a pathway to solutions, playing a critical role as a preventative, protective and transformative force for the good of all.

“Regrettably, we continue to see the opposite unfold in Afghanistan. Despite improvements in security and a reduction in armed violence, there is an ongoing, dangerous erosion of human rights protections, with women and girls bearing the brunt,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA.

The human rights record of the de facto authorities has been especially marked by their systemic discrimination against women and girls, who are excluded from most areas of daily and public life, including education and work.

“With authority comes responsibility. The claim of the de facto authorities to be legitimate representatives of the Afghan people within the United Nations must be accompanied by genuine efforts to uphold and advance our shared norms and values,” Otunbayeva said.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, with Afghanistan among the UN members supporting its adoption.

“Human rights instruments were established as tools to help communities around the world build a better future for themselves. If Afghans, in particular women and girls, continue to be denied their rights, this constitutes a clear and intentional failure to protect and be responsible for the well-being of all who live in Afghanistan,” said Fiona Frazer, Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Afghanistan.