Amnesty International has called for an end to Taliban impunity over its abuse of human rights in Afghanistan.
In a public statement released on Friday, the human rights organisation urges the UN Human Rights Council to “urgently establish an independent investigative mechanism in Afghanistan, with a mandate to establish the facts and circumstances relating to allegations of crimes under international law, to identify potential perpetrators, and to collect, consolidate, preserve, and analyse evidence for future international justice.”
“The Taliban are violating the fundamental rights of women and girls and subjecting them to systematic gender-based discrimination. Taken together, Taliban policies form a system of repression that discriminates against women and girls in almost every aspect of their lives,” the statement says.
The ongoing conflict in Panjshir, where the Taliban has been facing resistance from the National Resistance Front (NRF), Amnesty International says, has exacerbated the situation, with the Taliban continuing to punish civilians.
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Amnesty International points to the situation in Afghanistan for the Hazara people as another example.
“Amnesty International has also conducted three investigations on mass killings of Hazaras by Taliban forces, and in all three cases the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have failed to investigate and bring suspected perpetrators to justice,” it says.
The London-based human rights organisation urges the international community to take “concrete action” against the Taliban, repeating the need for a clear mechanism to hold the Afghan rulers to account.
