Afghanistan Peace Campaign107 rights organizations signed an open letter published Thursday that implored the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international mechanism to hold Afghanistan accountable for past and ongoing human rights violations.
Organizations argued that the UN Human Rights Council has failed to institute measures to address international crimes committed within the country, particularly under Taliban rule. Experts called for a dedicated investigative mechanism, similar to the ones implemented for Syria and Myanmar, that would complement the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan.
The letter also stated the measure should ensure extensive engagement with Afghanistan’s civil society and underscored the EU’s crucial role as “penholder” of Afghanistan at the Human Rights Council.
The UN Human Rights Council can establish an independent international accountability mechanism through resolution passage. UN General Assembly resolution A/71/248 established measures that bolstered investigation and prosecution efforts to hold human rights violators responsible for serious crimes under international law in Syria. The council established legal mechanisms for Myanmar in 2018, with a mandate to investigate serious international crimes committed in Myanmar since 2011.
UN experts called the Taliban government’s weaponization of law against women a crime against humanity earlier this month, following warnings of a deepening human rights crisis in Afghanistan resulting from the Taliban’s dismantling of legal and institutional frameworks and abolishing crucial protections for women and girls.