RASC News Agency: A coalition of extra-regional states, led by Iceland and supported by Chile and South Africa, has issued a joint statement calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to take decisive action against past and ongoing human rights violations in Afghanistan. This initiative seeks to exert pressure on the UNHRC particularly the European Union to adopt a more assertive approach in addressing longstanding calls for the establishment of a comprehensive investigative mechanism. In their statement, these nations urged UNHRC member states to create an independent investigative body with a broad mandate to complement the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. This appeal follows repeated warnings from Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, who has emphasized that the Taliban’s unchecked impunity particularly their systemic repression of women and girls has emboldened further violations. In his latest report, Bennett called on the UNHRC to establish an independent accountability mechanism to monitor and address these abuses.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has underscored that this joint appeal reflects mounting frustration over the European Union’s reluctance to assume a leadership role in establishing accountability frameworks for Afghanistan. While the EU has played a pivotal role in bolstering the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, HRW and other global rights organizations argue that a more forceful and structured approach is imperative to address Afghanistan’s worsening human rights crisis. Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, both domestic and international civil society organizations have persistently urged the UNHRC to establish an independent mechanism dedicated to investigating, documenting, preserving, and analyzing evidence of human rights violations in Afghanistan. Such a body, they contend, would be instrumental in ensuring accountability, particularly regarding the Taliban’s systematic oppression of Afghanistani women and girls, while also supporting broader efforts at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
HRW has further warned that, despite the pressing need for stronger accountability measures concerning international crimes in Afghanistan, the European Union’s latest resolution has failed to propose adequate mechanisms for addressing these violations. The organization has also raised alarms over the worsening plight of Afghanistani women and girls, who endure “horrific abuses” daily, while critical evidence of these crimes risks being lost or destroyed. Ultimately, HRW has stressed that the European Union must take decisive steps toward establishing a comprehensive accountability framework. Should the EU remain unwilling to act, the states leading this joint initiative must assume responsibility and implement concrete measures to confront the ongoing human rights atrocities in Afghanistan.
