‘US’ crimes must be thoroughly investigated’

GENEVA — Although the United States has ended its military presence in Afghanistan, the crimes of killing civilians by the US troops and its allies must be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators must be held accountable, a Chinese diplomat said on Sept 14.

On behalf of a group of countries, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, said in a joint statement on the second day of the ongoing 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council that wars waged by the US have caused tremendous casualties and displacement of civilians.

“The drastic change in

Afghanistan shows once again that military intervention and power politics get no support. Imposing the American-style democracy on others will only lead to chaos and turmoil and is doomed to failure,” Jiang said.

At a regular media briefing in Beijing on Sept 14, while answering a question on the killing of 10 Kabul civilians by a US drone attack, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian noted there have been a slew of media reports that the US mistakenly killed innocent civilians in Afghanistan and the international public opinion is demanding that the US should be held accountable.

In the face of the widespread skepticism and condemnation from the international community, the US should not seek to gloss over its mistake and get away with it, Zhao said.

“Instead, it should investigate and ascertain the truth and give a responsible explanation to the Afghan people and the international community,” he said.

The Geneva statement also expressed concern about chronic human rights issues in the US and called on the Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to attend to the human rights situation in the US.