At the 57th session of the United Nation Human Rights Council (HRC), The Resolution on Afghanistan was adopted. The resolution extended the vital mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, however it failed to establish an independent international accountability mechanism for the country.
Afghanistan has had a long history of human rights concerns spanning over 4 decades. The special Rapporteur on Afghanistan recently updated the HRC about the concerning situation of minorities, children, LGBTI people, human rights defenders, and journalists, as well as older people, and people with disabilities who are also affected by a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The severity of the situation is evident form the recently passed Taliban Morality Law which further progresses the restrictions for women and girls reinforcing institutionalised sex and gender discrimination, segregation and oppression.
It is for this reason that is essential that the HRC establishes an independent international accountability mechanism, however the recently adopted resolution has shied away from this, while the resolution recognises the need to investigate, preserve and analyse evidence of crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations in Afghanistan, it has once again fallen short of establishing a mechanism that can actually perform these functions.
The shortcomings in this resolution let down the activists, human rights defenders and journalists who pursue their work in the face of repression at huge persona risk. Despite all the shortcomings the resolution has recognised the principles outlined in the stocktaking on accountability options and process by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR)
This is the furthest that the HRC has come towards acknowledging the importance of a comprehensive approach to accountability for the past and ongoing violations.
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