The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as well as the UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, continue to press for information and action on the "disappeared" Afghan women activists, calling for their release.

The spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, said: “Nearly three weeks after their disappearance, there is still no news about the whereabouts and well-being of four women activists and their relatives who were detained or abducted in Kabul in connection with the recent women’s rights protests.”

The OHCHR spokesperson called on the Islamic Emirate to secure the release of the women activists and their relatives. “We continue to press the de facto authorities for information on these cases, and for an effective, transparent investigation. We stress the need to ensure their physical and mental integrity and call for their immediate release.” 

Meanwhile, Lyons on Tuesday in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi also called on the Islamic Emirate to ensure the women’s safety and take steps to release them. “It is three weeks now since Afghan women activists began ‘disappearing’ from their homes and the streets of Kabul,” Lyons said.  

Norway ambassador Ole Andreas Lindman also expressed his country’s concern over the issue and said the Islamic Emirate has an obligation to ensure rule of law in the country. “Taliban are responsible for investigating and for rule of law and judicial protection for all in Afghanistan,” Lindman said on Tuesday.

The Islamic Emirate previously stated it has begun an investigation to determine the whereabouts of the disappeared women. On Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Deputy for Political Affairs Mawlawi Abdul Kabir in a meeting with Lyons also said the Islamic Emirate will inquire into the disappeared activists.

On Tuesday, Hanafi in a meeting with Lyons addressing the UN’s concerns over the disappeared activists said no one by law is allowed to harm anyone. “The Islamic Emirate’s policy is clear: no one is allowed to do a field court (unauthorized justice),” said Inamullah Samangani, a deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.