Join Ambassador David Sproule for a discussion on Canada’s approach to human rights concerns following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
Amidst a deepening humanitarian crisis and economic challenges, the people of Afghanistan have experienced significant repression and human rights concerns. Since the takeover the Taliban has imposed increasing restrictions on women and girls, severely limiting their participation in public life. Freedom of expression has deteriorated, and Religious freedoms have also been curtailed, with ethnic and religious minorities facing heightened marginalization and displacement. The Taliban’s enforcement of public executions and corporal punishment further highlights the urgency of addressing these violations. This severe crackdown on rights, combined with an ongoing humanitarian crisis and economic decline, has deepened the suffering of Afghanistan’s population. The global response, especially from countries like Canada, in terms of foreign policy and humanitarian aid, becomes even more critical in this context. Advocating for women’s rights, and addressing economic upheavals and the broader repression under Taliban rule is pivotal to shaping stronger international actions and support for those affected.
David Sproule (BA Hons [Political Science], University of Alberta, 1978; LLB, University of Alberta, 1981) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1981. Mr. Sproule has served abroad in Singapore; Bangkok (twice); Washington, D.C.; Dhaka; Kabul; Oslo; Tunis; Ulaanbaatar; and Doha. At Headquarters, he has served in the department’s divisions of Economic Law; Political Intelligence Analysis; Legal Operations, International Economic Relations and Summits; Legal Advisory; Oceans and Environmental Law; and United Nations, Human Rights and Economic Law. He has served as director general of the Legal Bureau and as Canadian senior Arctic official and director general for Arctic, Eurasian and European affairs. He has also served in the Privy Council Office. From 2004 to 2005, Mr. Sproule was high commissioner in Bangladesh; from 2005 to 2007 ambassador to Afghanistan; from 2007 to 2009 ambassador to Thailand and Laos; from 2013 to 2014 ambassador to Norway; from 2015 to 2017 ambassador to Libya; and from 2017 to 2019 ambassador to Mongolia. He was most recently Canadian senior official for Afghanistan.
