03/01/2023 (Agence Europe) – The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, and the Foreign Ministers of 12 countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States) issued a joint statement on 29 December 2022, calling on the Taliban authorities to urgently reverse the ban on women working with national and international NGOs in Afghanistan. In addition to violating women’s rights and freedoms, the Taliban’s decision “puts at risk millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance” given that women “are absolutely central” to this sector, the statement said. The 13 signatories also reiterate their call for young Afghan women to return to school and university and urge the Taliban to “respect the political, economic, social and cultural rights of women and girls in Afghanistan”. See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/4sh (DG)