UN to investigate suspected abuses in Afghanistan

The United Nations Human Rights Council is to investigate abuses in Afghanistan, which could eventually enable criminal investigations into suspected violations by both the Taliban and foreign troops, including those from the United States.

The United States, which had troops in Afghanistan until 2021 within a Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) coalition, has previously opposed scrutiny of its actions, for example, by the International Criminal Court (ICC), but backed research into suspected Taliban violations.

President Donald Trump has disengaged from the Geneva rights council and did not take a stance in the negotiations on the EU proposal for the investigation, diplomats said.

However, a State Department spokesperson said late on Sunday, before it was adopted on Monday without a vote: "Under the leadership of President Trump, the United States government will not tolerate international organisations that attempt to exert unlawful jurisdiction over American troops."

No time limit on probe

The European Union motion calls for investigators to prepare evidence for future court proceedings and is among the strongest forms of UN rights probe, on a par with existing investigations into suspected crimes in Syria and Myanmar.

For years, both Afghan and international rights groups have sought such a probe. Calls have become louder as the Taliban tightened restrictions on women and freedom of expression.

While the EU proposal for an investigation did not specifically mention abuses by international troops, it is described as "comprehensive" and has no time limit, meaning it could address these, diplomats said. The exact scope will be determined when investigators are appointed.

Investigations launched by the 47-member council can lead to war crimes prosecutions. Some countries which sent troops to Afghanistan, such as Britain and Australia, have initiated inquiries, but prosecutions have been rare.

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, called the launch a "significant step that could break a decades-long cycle of impunity".

The new investigation would cooperate with an existing ICC probe. The ICC has previously indicated it would deprioritise suspected crimes by US forces after Trump imposed sanctions in 2020 over its Afghanistan work.

China's delegate Wang Nian criticised the proposal's cost of $9.2 million over three years amid a UN funding crisis and said it was unbalanced.