Amnesty International finds evidence of Taliban war crimes. What comes next?
Beth Bailey
Amnesty International released a report last week presenting evidence of Taliban war crimes in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, the base of operations for opposition forces belonging to the National Resistance Front. The nongovernmental organization has put forward horrifying proof of “torture and other ill-treatment, extrajudicial executions, hostage-taking, the intentional burning of civilian homes, and arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” finding that the Taliban’s “conduct in sum constitutes collective punishment, which is in itself a war crime.”
The report’s depth of detail is striking considering the range of impediments Amnesty International faced in collecting data. The NGO’s team could not travel to Panjshir because of “security concerns and access restrictions.” Because citizens in Panjshir are under curfew, live with restricted access to smartphones, and have limited internet connectivity, most of the people whom Amnesty International interviewed had escaped the province.
CONGRESS CAN DO MORE TO PREVENT MEGAFIRES
Despite the Taliban’s best attempts to repress media and disguise its criminality, a combination of technology and the group’s own hubris may yet lead to justice in Afghanistan. Much of the video and photographic proof of Taliban killings that Amnesty International examined was shot by Taliban members. Forensic analysis of photographs of victims helped investigators discern information about the type and extent of torture they were subjected to, which likely contributed to their deaths. Analysis of satellite imagery helped locate sites where crimes occurred, while panchromatic imagery showed a likely burial plot where the Taliban attempted to cover up a mass execution.
Though Panjshir and the NRF are predominantly populated by Tajiks, a spokesperson from Amnesty International said the NGO’s report “did not find civilians were being targeted for their ethnic background. Rather, they were being targeted due to suspicion of their affiliation with the NRF.”
Afghan American U.S. Army veteran “Legend” is the founder of Vets4NRF and a supporter of the NRF’s continued fight throughout Afghanistan. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Legend lauded Amnesty International’s report as “a good first step.” He believes the Taliban’s actions in Panjshir “are a clear indication that they have already lost the battle against the NRF and are now resorting to killing innocent families.” While he welcomes further investigations into ongoing crimes against Panjshiris, Legend also believes “it is time for the world to take action and move beyond reports and investigations in order to hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against humanity.”
Amnesty International’s report includes a host of steps the international community should take. The organization implores the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes, especially against vulnerable populations, committed in Afghanistan by all parties to the conflict. They also ask the U.N. Human Rights Council to create “an independent international accountability mechanism” for investigating violations of international human rights law.
The NGO reserves its most extensive list of suggestions for the Taliban. These include sweeping changes such as reversing the ban on education for women and girls and ceasing their rampant violations of international human law. They also include more manageable steps, such as training fighters in international human rights law and discontinuing the use of schools as military and detention facilities. Many of the recommendations involve the need for transparency and improvements in the Taliban’s system for investigating Taliban crimes and finding justice for victims, though Amnesty International notes that the Taliban “have shown themselves neither willing nor able to conduct … an accountability process.”
Amnesty International’s report arrives at a time when too many onlookers are considering engagement with the Taliban. For the sake of the group’s innocent victims, it is vital that relevant organizations follow Amnesty International’s recommendations and begin to hold the Taliban to account for its criminality.
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Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the co-host of The Afghanistan Project, which takes a deep dive into the tragedy wrought in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.