UN Human Rights Council Fails to Hold Taliban Accountable, Says Human Rights Watch
Hilary Power, a senior official at Human Rights Watch, called the new UN Human Rights Council resolution another failure for the council.
Hilary Power, a senior official at Human Rights Watch, called the new UN Human Rights Council resolution another failure for the council.
Despite repeated requests from human rights groups, the council did not establish a mechanism to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights violations, she said.
In an op-ed, Power wrote that the Human Rights Council missed the opportunity to ensure justice and address serious abuses in Afghanistan. She said that the resolution could pave the way for the establishment of a mechanism to hold the Taliban accountable.
"Despite repeated calls from human rights groups, this resolution does not create a mechanism to respond to the Taliban's severe abuses in Afghanistan, including the group's systematic oppression of Afghan women and girls," Power wrote.
The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning the widespread violations of human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, in Afghanistan and emphasising on the need for accountability and protection for minorities and vulnerable groups.
The resolution also expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, in particular the continuing systematic violations of the rights of women and girls, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, forced displacement, ill-treatment of prisoners and collective punishment.
In a new resolution, the Human Rights Council extended the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett and asked him to submit a report on the Taliban's "Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" in the next session.
Human Rights Watch's criticism of the Human Rights Council resolution comes as four Western countries, including Germany and Canada, have threatened to sue the Taliban at the International Court of Justice for widespread violations of women's rights.
They hope that the court will force the Taliban to abide by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is also investigating human rights violations in Afghanistan, which could lead to the arrest of Taliban officials accused of human rights abuses.
