Taliban Tells Visiting U.N. Envoy That Its Human Rights Abuses Are ‘Facebook Rumors’

The United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, met with senior Taliban leaders on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the country, legitimizing the Taliban with treatment as a formal state power.

Reports citing Taliban spokesmen relay that “foreign minister” Amir Khan Muttaqi and “deputy prime minister” Abdul Salam Hanafi used the opportunity to claim that the jihadist terror organization was respectful of the rights of citizens and that the widespread reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, and other atrocities — many documented by U.N. agencies — were “Facebook rumors” that the U.N. should not concern itself with.

Taliban terrorists took over Afghanistan in August 2021, following left-wing American President Joe Biden’s decision to extend the 20-year Afghan War beyond the May 2021 deadline agreed to by the administration of predecessor Donald Trump. Following the extension of the war, the Taliban, which agreed to the deal with the Trump administration, launched a nationwide assault that culminated with then-President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country and surrendering the capital to the Taliban.

Ghani still claimed to be president of Afghanistan as recently as of August of this year, though he has no functional authority in the country. The Taliban and its affiliates in the Haqqani Network, a notorious terrorist association that links the Taliban to al-Qaeda, control every Afghan government agency and are experiencing no significant resistance to their stranglehold on power.

The United Nations does not recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan and does not accept any Taliban representatives as official ambassadors for Afghanistan. Only the governments of China and Iran have formally referred to the Taliban terrorist organization as the “interim” government of Afghanistan. U.N. humanitarian agencies, however — most notably the World Food Programme (WFP) — have worked with the Taliban to fund alleged humanitarian efforts in the country. In March, U.N. member nations passed a resolution allowing “close consultation with all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders,” effectively greenlighting cooperation with the Taliban without naming it as a legitimate group.

Bennett’s visit to Kabul appeared to be under the capacity of humanitarian efforts to defend civil rights in the country.

Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi published a photo on social media Tuesday of “foreign minister” Muttaqi meeting with Bennett, stating that Bennett “thanked” the Taliban for the meeting and offering “mutual cooperation.”

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan & accompanying delegation called on IEA Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. pic.twitter.com/ywCE9jJrDl

— Abdul Qahar Balkhi (@QaharBalkhi) October 11, 2022

“Muttaqi elaborated the human rights situation in Afghanistan, stating that warlords, kidnappers & usurpers can no longer violate anyone’s rights,” according to Balkhi. “The IEA Supreme Leader stresses upon government officials in decrees & meetings to treat the people well & grant them their rights.”

Muttaqi reportedly pressured Bennett to stop criticizing the Taliban for its rampant human rights abuses: “FM Muttaqi said instead of criticizing one another, we should work together, publish facts & build on the progress made.”

The Taliban’s Bakhtar News Agency also claimed that Muttaqi used the opportunity to promise “that no one will be able to violate human rights in Afghanistan,” a dubious promise given reports of revenge killings of individuals believed to have supported the prior government, the widespread isolation and repression of women, and medical abuses against opium and other drug addicts.

Bennett also reportedly met with “deputy prime minister” Hanafi, who flatly denied that the Taliban, a terrorist group, had committed any human rights abuses since taking over Afghanistan.

“The news these days is mostly is Facebook rumors. You can personally observe and evaluate the situation when you travel to any region of Afghanistan,” the Afghan news outlet Khaama Press quoted Hanafi telling Bennett. Hanafi also claimed Afghanistan was “completely secure” since the departure of American troops, a claim challenged by a string of terrorist bombings throughout Kabul in the past half year.

Hanafi also offered a half-assurance that the Taliban would respect international law, but only in circumstances where the law does not contradict the Taliban’s fundamentalist interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law. The Taliban has used the same argument repeatedly to deny basic human rights to women and girls in the country, particularly the right to education and work.

At press time, the United Nations has not published any press release or news on the site for its Afghanistan office regarding Bennett’s meetings or on social media.

🇺🇸@StatePRM supports UNHCR to help Afghanistan's IDPs + voluntary returnees while enhancing protection + promoting community-based activities.@UnhcrZulu briefed @USAmbKabul officials on work fostering voluntary, dignified, safe & sustainable returns in #PARR areas

🙏🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DMw37BzoCt

— UNHCR Afghanistan (@UNHCRAfg) October 11, 2022

Prior to the visit, Bennett had condemned the Taliban for what he called “a slide into authoritarianism” since their takeover in August.

“In no other country have women and girls so rapidly disappeared from all spheres of public life,” Bennett told the Human Rights Council when submitting his report on the country in September. “Journalists have been attacked, intimidated, arrested and subjected to strict censorship. Civic space has eroded rapidly, and human rights organisations have faced constant pressure … There is no tolerance for even peaceful modes of dissent or complaint which are frequently met with violence.”

Bennett nonetheless thanked the Taliban during these remarks for allowing him to visit Afghanistan in May and maintaining lines of communication open.

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