Open Letter To: Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council

Today, Civil Society and Human Rights Network – CSHRN together with over 100 Afghan and international human rights and civil society organisations, have issued a joint open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The letter urges the Council to urgently establish an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan to investigate past and ongoing human rights violations and crimes under international law.

For nearly four years, the people of Afghanistan—especially women, girls, minorities, LGBTQI+ communities, journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society activists—have faced unprecedented repression under Taliban rule. Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, gender persecution, restrictions on education and work, violent reprisals, and erasure of women and girls from public life are only part of the worsening crisis.

The joint call stresses that justice and accountability are essential to end decades of impunity and to support victims and survivors in their pursuit of truth, justice, and reparations. The mechanism would complement the work of the UN Special Rapporteur, as well as international and national accountability efforts, and ensure that Afghan voices are at the center of this process.

This year, the number of signatories has grown, reflecting an ever-stronger global consensus: Afghanistan cannot be abandoned, and impunity must end.

Read the full letter here