KABUL (SW) – A number of leading rights organizations have called for accountability in Afghan civilian deaths.
At least 20 leading Afghan and international human rights organizations have demanded justice and accountability for escalating attacks on civilians in Afghanistan.
In a joint letter, they called for a United Nations-mandated fact-finding mission to investigate the attacks amid rising insecurity in the country.
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Targeted attacks on civilians are escalating in Afghanistan as foreign troops leave well ahead of the September 11, 2021 deadline set by the United States. The attacks often target people who hold the chance of a brighter future for Afghanistan, hard-working students, women who have fought for and achieved educational and professional success, and dedicated health professionals, humanitarian workers, and government officials, noted the Human Rights Watch.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has called on the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, to establish a fact-finding mission to investigate attacks on civilians that have occurred since January 2020.
Human Rights Watch along with organizations including Amnesty International, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, the International Commission of Jurists, and the International Federation for Human Rights support this call.
There is no entity in Afghanistan able to adequately investigate these crimes, it added, adding that conducting investigations amid rising insecurity in Afghanistan will be hard but not impossible, and Afghans cannot afford more impunity.
Accountability for these crimes is crucial and urgent. The UN should clearly communicate to perpetrators that attacking and killing civilians has consequences, said the AIHRC.
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