All countries should be willing to receive Afghan refugees and refrain from any deportations, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

“I also urge all countries to be willing to receive Afghan refugees and refrain from any deportations”, he said in remarks at a UN Security Council on Afghanistan. “I call on all parties to provide humanitarians with unimpeded access to deliver timely and life-saving services and aid”, he added.

At the same time, the UN chief expressed his concerns over the accounts of human rights violations against women and girls of Afghanistan.

“I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan who fear a return to the darkest days. It is essential that the hard-won rights of Afghan women and girls are protected”, he said in his remarks to the UN Security Council on Afghanistan.

Guterres also urged all Afghan parties, especially the Taliban movement to “respect and protect international humanitarian law and the rights and freedoms of all persons”.

The militants in Afghanistan boosted their presence after the beginning of the US troop withdrawal from the country. After seizing multiple Afghan cities and taking control over the country’s border, the Taliban took over the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday. President Ashraf Ghani resigned and left the country, while a new transitional government was formed.