Taliban urged to rescind decree on executions

A new decree from Afghanistan's Taliban government is set to further crush rights and freedoms in the war-torn nation, especially for women, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Thursday.

The Taliban has restricted women's movements and barred girls from education beyond primary school since coming to power in 2021, via a series of morality laws that also limit expression and employment.

Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said a decree signed by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada last month "defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan's international legal obligations".