The ICJ, today, drew the Council’s attention to the rising gross human rights violations occurring in Afghanistan and called on Member States of the Council to set up an effective accountability and monitoring mechanism.
The statement reads as follows:
“Madam President,
In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s takeover has placed at greater risk a population already facing massive violations of their rights.
Breaking their initial promises, the Taliban have prevented girls from attending secondary school and ordered women in the civil service to stay home and they have replaced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Afghanistan’s judiciary and law enforcement, already weak and ineffective, have been essentially abolished, as the Taliban have begun implementing their brutal brand of punishment by publicly flogging, beating, and reportedly even killing, those suspected of wrongdoing, without any respect for due process.
Judges, in particular women judges, are at particular risk of persecution. Some 250 women judges have been dismissed and some have reported being targeted by the Taliban. The ICJ calls on all States to provide assistance and where necessary, asylum or similar protective measures, to these judges and other officers of the courts.
The six-month renewal of UNAMA’s mandate by the Security Council is important for ensuring continued humanitarian assistance to people in Afghanistan. This mission must be augmented by an independent mechanism that can credibly gather and report on the full range of human rights in Afghanistan as soon as possible, in order to inform further actions by the international community and to deter further violations.
I thank you.”
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ UN Representative, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949