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ISLAMABAD —United Nations-appointed special rapporteur Richard Bennett confirmed Wednesday that the Taliban, Afghanistan's de facto leaders, had prohibited him from entering the country.
Bennett called for the Taliban to lift the travel ban and establish a "constructive" dialogue to resolve differences.
He made the statement a day after the Taliban reported that they had barred him from the country for allegedly "spreading propaganda."
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid disclosed the decision to Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews late Tuesday. He accused the U.N. envoy of misrepresenting "the ground realities" in the country and providing "misleading" information to the global community.
"The Taliban's public announcement that they will no longer grant me access to Afghanistan is a step backwards and sends a concerning signal about their engagement with the United Nations and the international community on human rights," Bennett said.
"Despite this announcement, the substance of which was conveyed to me previously, I will continue to engage with the people of Afghanistan, both inside and outside the country, as well as other relevant stakeholders, noting that I have not traveled to Afghanistan for over a year."
Bennett reports to the U.N. Human Rights Council based in Geneva and has conducted several trips to the Afghan capital to investigate the human rights situation since he assumed his current duties in 2022 - a year after the radical Taliban returned to power.
"Mr. Bennett's travel to Afghanistan has been prohibited because he was assigned to spread propaganda in Afghanistan," Mujahid said. "He is not someone we trust. ... He used to exaggerate minor issues and propagate them."
In his response Wednesday, Bennett said he had consistently sought to engage transparently with Taliban authorities to offer an "impartial assessment of facts" and make "practical recommendations" for improvement.
"Where there are differences of view, constructive dialogue is the answer. I urge the Taliban to reverse their decision and reiterate my willingness and availability to travel to Afghanistan," he said.
In one of his recently published assessments, Bennett highlighted the Taliban's sweeping curbs on Afghan women's access to education, employment and public life at large, demanding they be immediately reversed.
Bennett alleged that women and girls under Taliban rule "are being persecuted based on gender," calling it a crime against humanity. He added that the "institutionalized, systematic and widespread nature" of the activity justifies it being framed as "gender apartheid."
Mujahid dismissed the U.N. findings and subsequent statements by Bennett as propaganda, saying the Taliban respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.
"Even after repeatedly requesting Mr. Bennett to adhere to professionalism during work ... it was decided that ... his reports are based on prejudices and anecdotes detrimental to [the] interests of Afghanistan and the Afghan people," Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi told the Reuters news agency.
Taliban officials do not respond to VOA queries because they have imposed a ban on the media outlet.
De facto fundamentalist Afghan authorities have barred girls ages 12 and older from attending school and women from many public and private sector workplaces, including the U.N.
In addition, women are not allowed to undertake road trips beyond 78 kilometers without a male guardian, and they are barred from visiting parks, gyms and public baths.
"The Taliban barring Bennett from entering the country is one of many signs that their crackdown on human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, is ongoing and continuing to deepen," said Heather Barr, the associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch.
"The international community - and the U.N. - should respond to this provocation by the Taliban by committing to never discussing the future of Afghanistan without women on the agenda and at the table," she told VOA via email.
The Taliban attended a U.N.-organized meeting for the first time last month in Doha, where they interacted with envoys from more than two dozen countries on matters related to Afghanistan's economic and humanitarian challenges.
The U.N. did not invite Afghan women or human rights representatives, however, citing the Taliban's opposition, a move that drew strong criticism of the world body.
No country has officially recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government since they seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, mainly citing the harsh treatment of women and girls.
Many top Taliban leaders remain under international terrorism sanctions, and the Afghan banking sector is largely isolated from the rest of the world, with about $9 billion in central bank assets being frozen in the U.S. and European banks.