{"id":11366,"date":"2021-07-02T10:55:41","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T08:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/?p=11366"},"modified":"2021-07-02T13:15:12","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T11:15:12","slug":"support-for-the-afghanistan-independent-human-rights-commission-call-for-a-fact-finding-mission-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/2021\/07\/support-for-the-afghanistan-independent-human-rights-commission-call-for-a-fact-finding-mission-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Support for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission Call for a Fact-Finding Mission in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joint Open Letter to the High Commissioner for Human Rights<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The undersigned organisations welcome the call you made to the Human Rights Council on June 21, 2021, to consider \u201cmechanisms for an effective prevention response\u201d to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. We are writing to urge you to take action to\u00a0support the establishment of a United Nations-mandated Fact-Finding Mission in Afghanistan, as requested by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you know, on June 8, 2021, insurgents carried out an attack on civilian deminers working for the Halo Trust in Baghlan province, with reports that the attackers were seeking out members of the Hazara Shia community. This followed the May 8, 2021 massacre of schoolgirls as they were leaving the premises of Sayed-Ul-Shuhada school\u00a0<\/a>in Dasht-e Barchi\u00a0precinct of Kabul, a predominantly Hazara-Shia neighbourhood. These horrific attacks came after other attacks on civilians including a suicide bombing\u00a0 at Kabul University that\u00a0killed at least 19<\/a>\u00a0people, mostly students, and injured 22 others in November 2020; an attack at a\u00a0maternity hospital<\/a>\u00a0in Dasht-e Barchi in May 2020 which killed 24 civilians including 11 mothers and a midwife, while newborns and other patients and staff were injured; and the attack on a Sikh temple in March 2020 that killed 26 civilians and injured 11 others. In addition, since September 2020 there has been an increased targeting of human rights defenders, women rights defenders, and journalists.<\/p>\n

These atrocities have prompted the AIHRC to request an international fact-finding mission to look at attacks on Hazaras and other religious minorities, attacks on women and girls, and targeted killings of human rights defenders and other civilians since January 2020. According to the AIHRC\u2019s call, the fact-finding mission should also investigate attacks against girls\u2019 education and against healthcare centers in Afghanistan. The AIHRC says that the scale and nature of these attacks is beyond the capacity of the government, AIHRC or the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to investigate.<\/p>\n

We agree with the AIHRC position that a Fact-Finding Mission should be set up to do the following:<\/p>\n