The United Nations human rights chief has warned that she has credible reports of "summary executions" and restrictions on women in areas under Taliban control in Afghanistan, fuelling fears of what their rule might hold a week before United States forces are set to withdraw.
Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council to take "bold and vigorous action" to monitor the rights situation in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's takeover, as she sought to ensure that international attention on the country does not wane.
Her warning came as German foreign minister Heiko Maas said Western allies would not be able to fly out all people who need to be evacuated from Kabul before the August 31st deadline for the exit of Western forces.
Mr Maas said Germany was working with the US and Britain to ensure Nato allies can fly civilians out after the deadline.
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“Even if the deadline is August 31st or is extended by a few days, it will not be enough to evacuate those we want to evacuate and those that the United States wants to evacuate,” Mr Maas told Bild newspaper. “That’s why we are working with the United States and Britain to ensure that once the military evacuation is completed it is still possible to fly civilians out of Kabul airport.”
A US official has said the director of the Central Intelligence Agency met with the Taliban’s top political leader in Kabul amid the ongoing effort to evacuate people fleeing Afghanistan.
William Burns' visit on Monday came ahead of a planned meeting among leaders from the G7 nations about the crisis in Afghanistan. He travelled to Kabul to meet Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Taliban leaders have promised to restore security and tried to project an image of moderation, but many Afghans are sceptical and are racing to leave the country, leading to chaos at Kabul’s international airport.
Amid scattered reports, it has been difficult to determine how widespread abuses might be and whether they reflect that Taliban leaders are saying one thing and doing another, or if fighters on the ground are taking matters into their own hands.
Withdrawal deadline
Leaders from the G7 nations will discuss the burgeoning refugee crisis and the collapse of the Afghan government amid wrangling over whether the full US withdrawal of troops could be extended beyond the end of the month to allow more time to evacuate those desperate to leave.
US administration officials have refused to be pinned down about whether an extension is likely or even possible given that a Taliban spokesman has warned that August 31st is a “red line” and that extending the American presence would “provoke a reaction”.
“Every foreign force member is working at a war-footing pace to meet the deadline,” a Nato diplomat, who declined to be identified, said.
Mr Biden, who has said US troops might stay beyond the deadline, has warned the evacuation was going to be “hard and painful” and much could still go wrong.
Democratic US congressman Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, told reporters after a briefing on Afghanistan by intelligence officials that he did not believe the evacuation could be completed in the eight days remaining.
In the meantime, tragic scenes at the airport have transfixed the world. Afghans poured on to the tarmac last week and some clung to a US military transport plane as it took off, later plunging to their deaths.
At least seven people died that day and another seven died on Sunday in a panicked stampede. An Afghan solider was killed on Monday in a gunfight.
Strong action
On Tuesday, Ms Bachelet called for strong action to investigate reports of rights abuses.
“At this critical moment, the people of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to defend and protect their rights,” she said.
“I urge this council to take bold and vigorous action, commensurate with the gravity of this crisis, by establishing a dedicated mechanism to closely monitor the evolving human rights situation in Afghanistan.”
By “mechanism”, Ms Bachelet was referring to the possibility that the council might appoint a commission of inquiry, special rapporteur or fact-finding mission on the situation in Afghanistan.
While advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch echoed such calls, a draft resolution at the council stopped far short of intensified scrutiny – and appeared to push back any deeper look at the rights situation until next year.
Ms Bachelet cited reports of “summary executions” of civilians and former security forces who were no longer fighting, the recruitment of child soldiers, and restrictions on the rights of women to move around freely and of girls to go to school.
She cited repression of peaceful protests and expressions of dissent. Ms Bachelet did not specify what timeframe she was referring to or the source of her reports.
Days earlier, a Norway-based private intelligence group said it obtained evidence that the Taliban have rounded up Afghans on a blacklist of people they believe worked in key roles with the previous Afghan administration or with US-led forces. Several Afghans are in hiding, saying they fear such reprisals.
When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the group largely confined women to their homes, banned television and music, chopped off the hands of suspected thieves and held public executions.
Ms Bachelet noted that Taliban leaders have recently pledged to respect the rights of women, girls and ethnic minorities and refrain from reprisals.
“The onus is now fully on the Taliban to translate these commitments into reality,” she told the 47-member-state council, which is the UN’s top human rights body.
Taliban government
The G7 leaders could discuss taking a united stand on the question of whether to recognise a Taliban government, or alternatively renew sanctions to pressure the Islamist militant movement to comply with pledges to respect women’s rights and international relations.
“The G7 leaders will agree to co-ordinate on if, or when, to recognise the Taliban,” said one European diplomat. “And they will commit to continue to work closely together.”
Leaders of the Taliban, who have sought to show a more moderate face since capturing Kabul, have begun talks on forming a government, that have included discussions with some old enemies from past governments, including a former president, Hamid Karzai.
The Pajhwok news agency reported that Taliban officials had been appointed to various posts including a governor of Kabul, acting interior and finance ministers and intelligence chief. A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Recognition of a Taliban government by other countries would have important consequences, such as allowing the Taliban access to foreign aid that previous Afghan governments have depended upon.
Mr Biden has faced widespread criticism over the withdrawal, which was initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, under a deal struck with the Taliban, and his opinion poll ratings have slipped.
For its part, the powerful US military has been grappling with the collapse of US-backed Afghan forces after 20 years of training. "Was it worth it? Yes. Does it still hurt? Yes," Gen David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote in a memo to Marines. – Reuters, Associated Press