Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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13. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his engagements and efforts in relation to the treatment of women in Afghanistan by the Taliban government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39046/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have consistently spoken out on the human rights crisis facing Afghan women and girls and condemned the gross, widespread and systematic human rights abuses by the Taliban across Afghanistan, particularly against women, girls and individuals from marginalised communities. These concerns have also regularly been expressed at EU and UN level.

During my recent attendance at the UN General Assembly High Level Week, I was honoured to co-host an event entitled ‘The Inclusion of Women in the Future of Afghanistan’, alongside Indonesia, Switzerland and Qatar, and in partnership with the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan. The event was extremely successful in highlighting how the fundamental human rights of women and girls are under appalling and unprecedented attack since the Taliban regained power and urging intensified international efforts to redress this situation. In my address, I pledged continued support for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and made clear that Ireland will work to ensure that the issue remains a priority on the international agenda.

Ireland also regularly raises this issue at the UN Human Rights Council, including at its most recent session where we delivered a statement denouncing the continued enforcement of restrictive decrees that curtail the human rights of women and girls. Ireland also called for the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to which Afghanistan is a State Party, to be upheld.

During the Universal Periodic Review of Afghanistan on 29 April 2024, we repeated our calls for those responsible for all abuses of human rights in Afghanistan to be held accountable for their actions. Our Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York also facilitated a press briefing last March by the Women's Forum on Afghanistan to highlight the critical role of Afghan women in driving economic development and regional prosperity.

The advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is, and will continue to be, one of Ireland's key foreign policy priorities. I will also ensure that Ireland continues to do all it can, through its diplomatic efforts, to amplify the voices of Afghan women, including those inside Afghanistan.