Taliban dissolves human rights commission that was ‘not considered necessary’

The Taliban announced on Tuesday that it had dissolved Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, saying the department was “not considered necessary.”

The commission was dissolved along with the National Security Council and the High Council for National Reconciliation, according to CBS News.

“These departments are not considered necessary, so they have been dissolved. But in the future if they are needed then they can resume their operations,” deputy government spokesman Inamullah Samangani said, CBS reported.

Samangani added that the departments “were not included in the budget,” as the country is up against a deficit of $500 million this financial year, according to Reuters.

“We have some other organizations to carry out activities related to human rights, organizations that are linked to the judiciary,” Samangani also said, according to the news service.

Over the weekend, the Taliban announced a yearly budget for the first time since the group overtook Kabul last August.

Since then, the country has been on the brink of economic collapse, and the rights of women and girls have suffered.

In addition to restricting older girls from returning to school, the Taliban issued a decree earlier this month requiring women to be covered in head-to-toe clothing in public. Their male relatives could face punishment ranging from a summons or court hearing to jail time if the decree is violated.

After that announcement, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield condemned the new restrictions, calling them “unconscionable.”

“What they did today is unconscionable. And I am sure that we can expect more from them,” Thomas-Greenfield said of the restrictions at the time.

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