Joint Statement on the Situation of Afghanistan at Item 2 General Debate at the 48th Session of the Human Rights Council
2021-09-14 00:27

Madam President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of a group of countries. We express our deep concern that the United States and its allies have conducted military intervention in Afghanistan for 20 years, which severely undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, compromised its economic and social development, and violated the human rights of Afghan people. The U.S.-led military intervention in Afghanistan is the root cause of humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan. By April 2020, at least 47,000 Afghan civilians had been killed in the war waged by the U.S. and more than 10 million Afghan people were displaced. Afghanistan's neighbors have also been severely affected by the U.S. led military intervention.

The crimes committed in Afghanistan by military personnel of the U.S. and its allies, such as killing of civilians and torture, must be thoroughly and impartially investigated. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and the victims deserve justice and remedy. The countries in question must be held accountable for what they have done in the past 20 years. They have the obligation to fulfill their commitment to Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction rather than simply walking away after creating huge disaster in Afghanistan and shifting the burden to the international community.

We call on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to attend to severe negative impact of military intervention by the countries in question on the enjoyment of human rights of Afghan people, and hold these countries accountable for the crimes of killing Afghan civilians by their military personnel.

Thank you, Madam President.

China, Bolivia, Burundi, Cuba, DPRK, Iran, Russian Federation, Venezuela