Amnesty international urges that Taliban must show liberal behavior with all people are in Afghanistan and further AI is looking for The Taliban and the international community must urgently reach an agreement to extend the 31 August deadline for completing evacuations out of Afghanistan, AI said today, to help protect thousands of Afghans who are increasingly at risk of violent reprisal attacks.
President Joe Biden has said the U.S. is on track to pull its troops out of Afghanistan in five days, despite calls to delay the withdrawal following reports of escalating Taliban threats to human rights defenders, women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, lawmakers and journalists.
“Every effort must now be made to safely evacuate Afghans who fear revenge attacks by the Taliban and have to leave the country. To fail them would be an unforgivable betrayal.
“The international community must extend the deadline for evacuations and ensure those wishing to leave Afghanistan can do so safely. This means ensuring people are able to board flights and suspending visa requirements for the most at-risk individuals. This is all the more urgent as information about abuses, targeted abductions and killings by the Taliban continues to emerge.”
The Taliban this week stated that it will not agree to an extension and does not want Afghans to leave the country, increasing fears that they will not live up to their promises to uphold and guarantee international human rights law.
AI is calling for a robust, independent UN mechanism to be established with a mandate to document, collect and preserve evidence of ongoing crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations and abuses across Afghanistan.
UN member states must also urgently pass a resolution at the UN Security Council, calling on the Taliban to uphold international human rights law and guarantee protection from reprisals to those most at risk, including human rights defenders, journalists, law makers and women leaders in Afghanistan .AI is also calling for forced returns and deportations of Afghans to be halted immediately.
HRW urges the evacuation needs more time and the US needs to be doing more to help at-risk Afghans trying to flee. Admittedly, that won’t be easy, especially after Taliban spokesman Zabihulla Mujahid’s August 24 warning that Afghans gathered at the airport should disperse and no longer attempt to leave the country. The US and other countries should negotiate with the Taliban to keep this path open a little longer. The Taliban too need to ensure safe passage for those who wish to travel, now and once international forces depart.
HRW further urges US President Biden has said human rights are at the center of his foreign policy. The last few days suggest otherwise. The US should commit to evacuating as many at-risk Afghans as possible – and give that phrase meaning.
sources- amnesty and HRW
