Geneva Meeting Highlights Need for Accountability Mechanism in Afghanistan
A group of Afghan civil society activists and United Nations experts at a meeting in Geneva stressed the necessity of establishing an independent accountability mechanism, ensuring transitional justice, and moving toward an inclusive government in Afghanistan. The meeting centered on the restoration of the rule of law in the country.
The gathering took place on Monday, May 11, with the participation of Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan. In his speech, he examined the human rights situation in Afghanistan and emphasized the ongoing monitoring and documentation of human rights violations—a subject that has raised widespread domestic and international concern since the Taliban took control of the country.
During the event, Masood Amer, Chairman of the Board of the Democratic and Civil Forces Network of Afghanistan, and Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s Ambassador in Geneva, also delivered speeches. Mr. Andisha, referring to the enduring suffering of the Afghan people, said that this suffering has been repeatedly caused by the “perpetrators of the miseries of the Afghan people,” noting that with the changing positions of the same individuals, the cycle of pain and crisis has continued.
He stressed that dialogue on Afghanistan’s political future must continue and proposed that Geneva become a focal point for advancing the political process, particularly regarding the constitution. According to him, without forming an inclusive and accountable political structure, conditions for sustainable stability and the protection of citizens’ rights will not be met.
Participants also emphasized the importance of truth-seeking and event documentation, considering them prerequisites for national reconciliation and the rebuilding of public trust—issues that the civil society community is demanding now more than ever in Afghanistan’s current circumstances.
