UN Reports ‘Grave’ Human Rights Violation By Taliban

UN’s top rights official on Tuesday said serious human rights violations had been committed since the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan.

Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the abuses included mass executions of civilians and former members of the Afghan security forces.

Bachelet cited “credible’’ reports stating that the movement of women had been curtailed in some regions and girls were being prevented from attending school.

Furthermore, Taliban militants were cracking down on peaceful protests, and minors were being called to arms, she said.

Bachelet told the council “there are grave fears for women, for journalists and for the new generation of civil society leaders who had emerged in the past years.

“Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic and religious minorities are also at risk of violence and repression, given previous patterns of serious violations under Taliban rule and reports of killings and targeted attacks in recent months.’’

The comment came amid warnings from rights and aid groups about the deepening humanitarian crisis in the country and concerns over human rights and in particular the rights of women.

The Taliban said they would respect the rights of women and girls.

However, human rights groups say the UN must create an independent body to investigate what is happening.