GENEVA (24 March 2022) – UN human rights experts* today condemned the decision by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to postpone the resumption of schooling for girls above grade six, saying the announcement flies in the face of multiple assurances from the Taliban that all girls can go to school. “We deplore the Taliban’s continued insistence to erase women and girls from the public life of the country and to deny them their fundamental human rights such as the right to education,” the experts said. “This decision must be reversed immediately, and girls of all ages in every part of Afghanistan should be allowed to return to their classrooms safely.” Afghanistan has a binding legal obligation to uphold the fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed in customary international law and human rights treaties that the country is signatory to, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it has ratified. According to international law, a party may not invoke provisions of its domestic law, including those based on religious doctrine, as a justification for its failure to perform a treaty and to perpetuate discrimination, the elimination of which is a core obligation. “We call on the international community, including donors, international organisations, and UN agencies operating in Afghanistan to hold the de facto authorities to account and to ensure that every girl can take her rightful place in the classroom,” the experts said. “The right of girls, irrespective of age, to enjoy access to education is an inalienable and non-negotiable right that must be protected.”