Afghanistan: Civil Society Calls for an Independent UN Accountability Mechanism

Supported by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan and a cross-regional group of states, this call seeks the creation of a mechanism mandated to investigate and preserve evidence of past and ongoing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including gender persecution against women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ persons, as well as other crimes under international law. Such a mechanism is essential to secure access to justice, truth and reparations for victims and survivors, and to support ongoing and future judicial proceedings at national and international levels.

In the past four years, the Taliban have systematically dismantled previously adopted laws and measures protecting human rights. The de facto authorities have excluded women and girls from public life, marginalized ethnic and religious minorities, endanger LGBTQIA+ communities, and punished criticism and opposition. At the same time, Afghanistan’s independent judiciary has been replaced by arbitrary interpretations of religious edicts that fail to safeguard the rights of Afghans.

The Afghan and international civil society organisations urge the Member and Observer States of the HRC to establish and independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan, with a mandate to:

• Investigate all allegations of past and ongoing violations and abuses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as crimes under international law, including the crime of gender persecution against women, girls and LGBTQIA+ persons;
• Consistent with international standards, collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence, and prepare files, of such past and ongoing violations and abuses, including sexual and gender-based crimes, in view of any future legal proceedings and accountability efforts;
• Identify, where possible, individuals alleged to have committed such violations and abuses, including those amounting to crimes under international law, with a view to ensuring they are held accountable;
• Support relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in national courts through the use of universal and other forms of jurisdiction, and through international judicial institutions, including ongoing and possible future proceedings at the International Criminal Court (ICC)and the International Court of Justice (ICJ);
• Make recommendations with a view to ending impunity and ensuring accountability, including access to justice, truth and reparations for victims and survivors;
• Present recommendations to tackle impunity for ongoing and past crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations to the UN Human Rights Council and to other UN bodies, such as the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly; and,
• Collaborate with and complement the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan and other UN bodies and mechanisms.