GENEVA (AP) - Afghanistan's hard-line Taliban rulers have created the
world's worst human rights situation, the representative of an Afghan
women's organization said Thursday.
Sehar Saba, in Geneva to address the U.N. Subcommission on Human Rights,
said the United Nations should send peacekeepers into Afghanistan and impose
sanctions on countries that support the Taliban.
The problem goes beyond the Taliban's treatment of women, denying them the
right to work or even move around freely, said Saba, of the Revolutionary
Association of the Women of Afghanistan.
"The tragedy is that our people are dying. They can't find a piece of
bread," Saba said.
The strict Islamic Taliban, which has controlled much of Afghanistan since
1996, also bars girls from attending school. Women must wear the
all-encompassing burqa and are allowed to travel outside their home only in
company of a male relative.
On Wednesday, the Taliban ordered the United Nations to shut down bakeries
operated by widows and told the women to stay at home.
Saba said the current U.N. sanctions on Afghanistan, imposed last November
because of the refusal to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden,
were not making a difference.
"If they really want to help, they should impose sanctions on those
countries that are supporting the Taliban," Saba said.
The Taliban have been recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates.
"Until we cut off the money and guns, the foreign financial and military
support, then we can't think about real peace or security in Afghanistan,"
said Saba.
The United Nations also should send a peacekeeping force into Afghanistan
"to pave the way for government," she said. -AP