48th Session UNHRC: Intervention by Mr. Aaron Magunna (Research Analyst EFSAS)
30-09-2021, Geneva (Virtual)
Text and video of Mr. Aaron Magunna's Intervention on General Debate Item 5 (Human rights bodies and mechanisms) during the 48th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Video of Mr. Aaron Magunna's Intervention on General Debate Item 5 during the 48th Session of the UNHRC
Madam President,
During the 31st UNHRC Special Session on Afghanistan, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for the establishment of a robust mechanism dedicated to monitoring the serious human rights violations in the country and bringing perpetrators to justice.
However, the adopted resolution failed to live up to those urgent appeals.
While the tabled resolution did not create ground for the initiation of such a mechanism, the Taliban’s name did not appear even once. This is the same group whose interim government consists of 14 members that are currently on UN Security Council sanctions lists.
One of them, the Taliban’s current acting interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is the leader of the terrorist group the Haqqani Network. Top US officials have repeatedly described the Haqqani Network as the arm of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI. Today, Haqqani still carries a 10 million dollar bounty on his head.
Madam President,
Words of concern are simply no longer enough.
I urge this Council to immediately establish an independent mechanism that monitors the situation on the ground, paves the way for legal accountability and human rights protection and probes the Taliban’s links with Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taibah, Jaish-e-Muhammed and their benefactors, the Pakistani military establishment.
Countries may afford to be deceived by Pakistan’s claim that it fights terrorism while it is actually actively promoting it, but this Council, tasked with safeguarding human rights globally, does not have that luxury.
Thank you".
