KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Several rights groups have urged the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent mechanism for Afghanistan to investigate allegations of rights abuses, including crimes against humanity.
The UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to hold a meeting on Afghanistan on Monday, September 9, during which the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, will present his report on the country’s human rights situation.
In an open letter released on Friday, September 6, 90 local and international rights groups and civil society organizations voiced concern over the “grave” human rights and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
They stated that establishing an accountability mechanism is essential for advancing justice and accountability in Afghanistan.
“The mechanism should have a mandate and sufficient financial and technical resources to adequately investigate, collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence, with a view to facilitating future criminal proceedings in national and international courts,” they said.
They stated that the mechanism should be designed to advance accountability for both past and ongoing human rights violations and crimes under international law.
The rights groups urged the council to renew the “crucial” mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan.
They criticized the Taliban’s decision to bar Richard Bennett from entering Afghanistan, stating that it worsens the human rights situation in the country.
They urged the council to seriously consider the calls for the recognition and codification of “gender apartheid” as a crime under international law.
The human rights situation in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the past three years, with widespread violations committed by the regime, particularly against women and ethnic minorities.
Afghanistan remains the only country where women and girls are prohibited from attending school beyond sixth grade and university and are banned from working in most sectors, including UN agencies, among many other restrictions.
The rights groups said that under Taliban rule, the marginalization and exclusion of religious and ethnic minorities have worsened, with these groups being banned from organizing their religious and cultural ceremonies.
“In the past three years, the Taliban have completely reversed measures previously adopted to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan,” they said.
“The Taliban, as the de facto authority, have spurned Afghanistan’s international obligations and have continued to introduce arbitrary, unlawful, and wide-ranging restrictions on human rights,” they added.
They called on Member and Observer States of the Council to stand in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and ensure that all victims, survivors, and their families have “credible and realistic” prospects for justice and accountability.
