UN Human Rights Council – 57th Session
Item 2: Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan
Madam Vice-President,
FIDH and its member organization Armanshahr/OPEN ASIA welcome the Special Rapporteur’s oral update and the High Commissioner’s report.
We are grateful for the High Commissioner’s report, which highlights the deep failures of the international community to provide accountability for crimes committed in Afghanistan, both prior to and after the Taliban’s illegal seizure of power over three years ago.
The report is clear: many processes are ongoing, addressing some aspects of the crimes committed against the Afghan population, but the results are almost non-existent. When it comes to Afghanistan, impunity has become the new normal.
While we appreciate the Council’s continued and systematic attention to the situation in Afghanistan, this attention must be accompanied by action. The Special Rapporteur continues to provide invaluable monitoring, reporting, and analysis of the human rights situation, but it is clear that the ongoing severe and systemic violations warrant comprehensive investigations that cannot be completed just within the framework of the Special Rapporteur mandate’s limited human and financial resources. Especially in light of the ever-worsening situation in Afghanistan, compounded by the Taliban’s recent decision to ban the Special Rapporteur from the country, we strongly believe that the Council can no longer wait to escalate its response to the situation.
We call on the Council to go beyond the recommendations provided by the High Commissioner, and to mandate a new UN independent international accountability mechanism, to investigate, collect and preserve evidence, and facilitate accountability.
Thank you.