UN rights expert barred from entering Afghanistan

The UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan has been barred from entering the country, a diplomatic source told AFP, Report informs.

"Richard Bennett was informed of the decision that he would not be welcome to return to Afghanistan several months ago," a diplomatic source confirmed to AFP after local media reported the ban, citing a Taliban government spokesman.

Bennett marked two years in the role on May 1.

Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have enforced rules based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Women have borne the brunt of restrictions the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid" which have pushed them from public life.

They have been barred from secondary and higher education, as well as blocked from working in many jobs or entering public parks, gyms and travelling without a male relative.

The Taliban government remains unrecognised by any other state, with its restrictions on women a key sticking point.

Taliban authorities have systematically dismissed criticism of their policies from the UN and the international community.

However, when the ban was apparently issued months ago, the Taliban government stressed that their issue was not with human rights monitoring and reporting, but with Bennett personally, according to diplomatic sources.