Afghanistan is one of the largest recipients of humanitarian aid from the European Union, EU officials said on August 27, one day after saying it was appalled by a new decree issued by the Taliban-led government further restricting the lives of women.
The European Union this year has provided 125 million euros ($139 million) to Afghanistan for humanitarian-aid purposes, Balazs Ujvari, European Commission spokesman for budget, human resources, humanitarian aid, and crisis management, said at a European Commission news briefing in Brussels.
In addition to classic aid distribution, the EU has also organized 35 “air-bridge” flights carrying 1,600 tons of aid since 2021.
“This shows that in a broad variety of areas, we are deploying a variety of humanitarian and civil-protection tools as well to try and alleviate the ongoing difficulties in the country," Ujvari said.
European Commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer added that when the EU distributes humanitarian aid, it works with partner organizations, not the government.
Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said the EU reacted very quickly on August 26 to the Taliban’s so-called Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, but at the same time she defended keeping ties with the Taliban.
“When it comes to the engagement with the Taliban, we do maintain contact...to allow the dialogue for political priories of the EU and to ensure that the EU can provide support to the Afghan people, and this is very important,” she said at the briefing. “The EU engagement with the Taliban is not an acknowledgement of legitimacy.”
SEE ALSO: Taliban Morality Laws Provide 'Distressing Vision' For Afghanistan, Warns UN EnvoyIn addition to saying it was appalled by the August 26 decree, the EU statement called it a “serious blow undermining the rights of Afghan women and girls, which we cannot tolerate.”
The decree imposes further restrictive dress codes for women and says that voices of women must not be heard in public, “which effectively deprives Afghan women of their fundamental right to freedom of expression,” the EU statement said.
The European Union said the decree, issued on the third anniversary of a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 U.S. soldiers and scores of Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal, also gives the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice a mandate to enforce it.
“This, together with the restrictions imposed, punishable under Taliban law, violates legal obligations and treaties to which Afghanistan is a state party, including by undermining Afghan people’s right to due process,” the EU statement said.
It also noted that the decree creates another obstacle to normalized relations and recognition by the international community -- goals that the Taliban publicly aspires to.