European Social Democrats Call EU Engagement with Taliban a Mistake

The European Social Democrats have strongly criticized the European Commission's engagement with the Taliban. Party members described the interactions as a mistake and urged the European Union not to legitimize what they called a misogynistic and brutal regime imposing gender apartheid.

The criticism comes in response to a European Parliament resolution that condemned the Taliban's new penal code. The resolution states that the code institutionalizes systematic harassment of women and girls. It also describes the measures as leading toward gender apartheid, slavery, and corporal punishments.

The resolution calls for the immediate repeal of the penal code. It further demands expanded sanctions against Taliban leaders and the enforcement of arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.

MEP Hana Newman said that meetings with the Taliban should not take place in Europe if the group does not meet certain criteria. She criticized the European Commission for inviting the Taliban to technical negotiations while human rights conditions continue to deteriorate.

MEP Raquel Garcia Hermida van der Walle stated that perpetrators of crimes against humanity must not enter Europe without judicial proceedings. She added that engagement motivated by migration concerns should not legitimize the Taliban or weaken the European Union's commitment to human rights standards.

The Social Democrats warned against any normalization of restrictions on women and girls.