UN Human Rights Council to Consider Establishing Inquiry Panel on Afghanistan
The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a meeting today, Monday, October 6, in Geneva to decide on a proposal to create an independent inquiry panel into serious violations of international law in Afghanistan.
The draft proposal, submitted by Denmark on behalf of the European Union, aims to collect documents and evidence related to the most severe human rights abuses in Afghanistan.
According to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the draft suggests forming an independent committee with the authority to investigate the human rights situation in Afghanistan, with a particular focus on the status of women.
More than two years after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, severe restrictions on women and girls, the suppression of the media, and the silencing of dissenting voices have raised widespread global concern. International human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the Taliban’s actions constitute blatant violations of international law.
The legal legitimacy of establishing such an inquiry panel could pave the way to holding perpetrators accountable and pursuing judicial processes, although the Taliban have so far refused to accept any responsibility in this regard.
