Joint oral statement to Human Rights Council on Afghanistan
15 June 2022

Joint oral statement to Human Rights Council on Afghanistan

Afghanistan

On 15 June 2022, Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (New York City Bar), and the Law Society of England and Wales delivered an oral statement on Afghanistan during the 50th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The statement was supported by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

The statement reads as follows:

Mr. President,

This is a joint statement of several lawyers’ organizations. We are alarmed by the demise of the rule of law in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s unlawful armed takeover of the country in August 2021 and its forcible takeover of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association in November 2021

The High Commissioner’s previous oral report in March 2022 noted that the safety of “Afghan judges, prosecutors and lawyers…, particularly women legal professionals,” is a matter of “acute concern.” The newly-appointed Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan expressed similar concerns after his May 2022 country visit.

Women jurists are at particular risk as the Taliban intensifies its restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights and attempts to erase women from public life. Many women jurists have escaped Afghanistan and await resettlement as refugees; many others await assistance to flee the country. Many are in hiding. Women legal professionals from the Hazara community face added discrimination based on their ethnicity and religion.

We urge this Council to hold an urgent debate at this session to refocus global attention on the worsening human rights crisis in Afghanistan. We also urge all States to redouble efforts to protect Afghanistan’s legal professionals, particularly women, both resettling refugees and protecting those at risk within Afghanistan.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Watch the video statement on UN Web TV at 01:05:36: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1l/k1l3ushzh8

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