UN raises alarm over reports of executions in Af
GENEVA: The UN human rights chief said on Tuesday that she had received credible reports of serious violations committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, including “summary executions” of civilians and Afghan security forces who have surrendered.
Michelle Bachelet gave no details of the killings in her speech to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), but urged the Geneva forum to set up a mechanism to closely monitor Taliban actions.
The Taliban group’s treatment of women and girls would be “a fundamental red line”, she told the council’s emergency session, held at the request of Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic and religious minorities were also at risk of violence and repression, she said, citing reports of killings and targeted attacks in recent months.
Nasir Ahmad Andisha, a senior Afghan diplomat from the deposed government, called for accountability for Taliban actions, describing an “uncertain and dire” situation where millions of people fear for their lives.
Independent UN human rights experts, in a joint statement, said that many people were in hiding as “the Taliban continues to search homes doorto-door” and that seizures of property and reprisals were being reported.
But China’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Chen Xu, said that
the US army and the militaries of other coalition partners, including Britain and Australia, should be held accountable for alleged rights violations their forces committed in Afghanistan.
The United States condemned attacks that it said were being carried out against civilians, journalists, activists and minority groups, but did not name the Taliban.
In a separate development, prominent Afghan women’s rights activist Zarifa Ghafari arrived in Germany together with her family members. Ghafari landed at the Cologne-bonn airport late on Monday after fleeing Afghanistan to Pakistan last week. Armin Laschet, the governor of Germany’s North Rhinewestphalia state who met Ghafari, said it was important to help as many women as possible to leave Afghanistan.