Reactions to the Taliban's flogging of 63 people, including women, in Sar-e Pol

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) strongly condemned the flogging of these individuals and called on the Taliban to respect international human rights commitments.

Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, also called for an immediate end to the flogging of accused individuals by the Taliban. Mr. Bennett reacted to the flogging of 63 people in Sar-e Pol province and eight others in Ghor in a X post, calling the act a violation of Afghanistan's commitments to prohibit torture and other cruel and inhuman punishment.

Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights spokesperson, also said in a statement that flogging citizens in Afghanistan was a clear violation of international human rights law and called on the Taliban to stop it immediately.

According to the human rights spokesperson, women who are publicly punished for "moral crimes" are at increased risk of violence from their families and communities after the corporal punishment is carried out.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time the Taliban have used punishments such as flogging and public executions. Since regaining control of Afghanistan, they have repeatedly flogged accused individuals in public in various provinces of the country and have also executed five people.