The United Nations Human Rights Council will decide on Monday an EU proposal to establish an UN investigation into abuse in Afghanistan, which could allow criminal investigations on alleged violations of Taliban and foreign troops.
The motion of the European Union requires investigators to prepare evidence for future judicial procedures and is among the strongest forms of under investigation of UN rights, along with existing investigations on crimes in Syria and Myanmar.
The United States, which had troops in Afghanistan until 2021 within an NATO coalition, has previously opposed the scrutiny of its actions, for example, by the International Criminal Court, but supported the investigation into alleged Taliban violations.
President Donald Trump has disconnected from the Council and did not adopt a position in these negotiations, the diplomats said. However, a state department spokesman said: “Under the leadership of President Trump, the United States government will not tolerate international organizations that try to exercise illegal jurisdiction on US troops.”
Fereshta Abbasi, researcher at Afghanistan in Human Rights Watch, described the launch as a “significant step that could break a cycle of impunity of decades.”
“If you give a regional commander a pause for thinking about making violations because you know there is an open case file, then it is worth it.”
Integral probe
For years, both Afghan and international rights groups have sought such research. The calls have become stronger as the Taliban hardened women’s restrictions and freedom of expression.
Taliban authorities say they respect rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.
New research will cooperate with an existing ICC probe. The ICC has previously indicated that it is hair removal of crimes suspicions by US forces after Trump imposed sanctions in 2020 for his work as Afghanistan.
While the EU proposal does not mention the abuses of international troops, it is described as integral and has no time limit, which means that they could address them, they said diplomats.
Investigations launched by the Council of 47 members can lead to war crimes processes. Some countries that sent troops to Afghanistan, such as Britain and Australia, have initiated research, but the prosecutions have been rare.
It was not clear immediately if the states would vote on the proposal, which Ukraine, Norway and South Korea also returned.
China has raised doubts about research costs and if it would help improve local rights, diplomats said.
China’s diplomatic mission did not respond to a request for comments.
