Human Rights Activists Call on UN to Investigate Alleged Taliban Crimes
Human rights groups and Afghanistan’s deposed government called on the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, September 26, to launch investigations into targeted killings in Afghanistan and Taliban measures to restrict women and freedom of speech.
The request comes as the European Union is seeking to pass a resolution on Afghanistan.
The UN Human Rights Council held an emergency session last month following the Taliban’s takeover and capture of Kabul, but activists say the resolution backed by Pakistan was very weak. That resolution asked Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to report on the state of human rights in Afghanistan in future sessions.
Ms. Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council on August 13 that the Taliban has broken its commitments by issuing orders confining women to their homes and conducting house-to-house searches to find opponents.
The draft resolution by the European Union, which was reviewed by members at Monday’s meeting, condemns executions in Afghanistan and acts of violence against protesters and media. If this resolution is passed, a special rapporteur for Afghanistan will be appointed.
Nassir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the UN, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva: “We call on Council members to pass a resolution at this session in accordance with the Council’s mandate, and as a result, to establish an effective mechanism to monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan.”
Human rights activists say that assigning a rapporteur regarding Afghanistan’s situation is not sufficient.
Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International who previously served as a UN rapporteur on unlawful killings, emphasized that monitoring the human rights situation in Afghanistan is now of critical importance.
She said: “Preserving evidence and documentation is vital because it sends a clear message to the Taliban that international crimes do not go unnoticed and will not go unpunished.”
Shahrzad Akbar, head of Afghanistan’s independent human rights commission who fled the country, said at the meeting that the Taliban has carried out targeted killings, and their victims are former national security forces or even ordinary people.
She added: “They are creating an atmosphere of terror for everyone, including human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, and journalists who remain in the country. We also have reports of extrajudicial executions of detainees.”
Senior Taliban officials have formally announced the reinstatement of punishments including hand amputation and execution. Recently, the hanging of the bodies of four individuals accused of kidnapping at intersections in Herat city made headlines.
Source: Radio Farda
