San Francisco Frontiers - UN rights council to decide on creating Afghanistan probe

A draft resolution, put forward by Denmark on behalf of the European Union, will be discussed at the Geneva-based council.

The mandate of the UN special rapporteur on Afghanistan -- an independent expert commissioned to report their findings to the council -- is up for annual renewal on Monday.

"This year, after careful and extensive consultations, the EU decided to table a resolution with a strengthened accountability element, notably proposing an independent investigative mechanism for Afghanistan," an EU spokesperson told AFP.

"The proposed mechanism will address the decades of impunity in Afghanistan."

Highlighting the deterioration of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the draft resolution calls for the establishment of an ongoing independent investigation "to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of international crimes and the most serious violations of international law".

Its scope notably includes violations and abuses against women and girls.

It would also prepare files to facilitate independent criminal proceedings.

"The mechanism will be able to preserve testimonies and stories of victims," the EU spokesperson said.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 and imposed a strict version of Islamic law.

Four years on, the Taliban government remains largely excluded from the international community, which criticises it for its repressive measures, particularly those targeting women.

Afghan women can no longer practise many professions or travel without a male chaperone, and are banned from studying after the age of 12, walking in parks, or going to gyms.

The draft resolution "deplores the Taliban's institutionalisation of its system of discrimination, segregation, domination, disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls".

It also strongly condemns the "Taliban-imposed ban" on Afghan women working within the country for the United Nations and non-governmental organisations.

The resolution is a "significant milestone in the fight against entrenched impunity," Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher for the NGO Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

It "puts the Taliban and all others responsible for past and ongoing serious crimes in Afghanistan on notice that evidence is being collected and prepared so they may someday face justice", she said.

The Human Rights Council, the UN's top rights body, is made up of 47 elected member states.

The Afghanistan draft resolution already has the public backing of 14 council members, having been co-sponsored by Chile, France, Germany and Switzerland, among others.

The last of the council's three annual regular sessions opened on September 8 and closes on Wednesday.

M.Powell--SFF