Seven months ago, Richard Bennett, an expert diplomat, became the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan. It’s the first time the UN Human Rights Council has made such an appointment.
Mr. Bennett has several years of experience in monitoring human rights violations in war-torn countries. He came to Afghanistan amid reports the Taliban are committing widespread human rights violations, including denial of basic women’s rights. At the beginning of his work, Mr. Bennett had promised that he wanted to be the voice of the people of Afghanistan, especially women. He has just returned from a monitoring mission in Afghanistan.
Zahra Joya, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Rukhshana Media interviewed Mr. Richard Bennett.
Read more in the interview:
Joya: The purpose of your trip to Afghanistan is to document the crimes committed by the Taliban in the country; what is really happening in Afghanistan. In other words, how serious the human rights situation is in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban?
Bennett: The purpose of my trip to Afghanistan was to make an assessment of the human rights situation in the country. And then to come and talk to the UN General Assembly. That was a speech not a full report and I will prepare a report which for the Human Rights Council early next year.
Of course, I was looking into human rights violations and into the situation as a whole, both positive and negative. There are concerns that I already included in my report to the Human Rights Council in September. They continue generally.
I was cordially received by the Taliban. They hosted me and they met with me at high levels in the provinces and also in Kabul. I do appreciate that. However, there are lot things that need to be done to comply with human rights, the rights of girls and women especially, but also many other human rights.
Joya: Based on your findings, what worried you the most about what is happening in Afghanistan?
Bennett: Well, I think the first thing is the situation for girls and women is not improving. I asked many times when schools will be open. I was told that there would be a decision and announcement soon. There has not been an announcement yet. They did not say “NO”, they said there would be an announcement soon. We have to see what will happen with that but it is totally unacceptable to deny high school education to girls and it violates international human rights standards.
There are many other concerns, for example, the attacks and discrimination on minority groups, especially Hazaras, but also some other minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, and Sufis and other minorities that feel excluded from the government, like Uzbeks and Turks.
So, I was looking into the issues of minorities, especially the recent attack on Kaaj Education Centre. I met with the people affected.
Joya: There are two major concerns in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s treatment of women and their opponents. Have the Taliban committed war crimes in Panjshir and Andrab?
Bennett: There are serious allegations that need further investigation to find out what is happening and who is responsible. An armed conflict is taking place and the Taliban and other parties involved, including National Resistance Front, must comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Joya: How has the Taliban treated women protesters? In other words, what has the Taliban done to women in Afghanistan?
Bennett: I met some female protesters who had been beaten by the Taliban. Sometimes they had been detained. There is a right to freedom of peaceful assembly and this should be allowed. It appears that it’s not being respected sufficiently and there have been serious allegations of excessive use of force against female protesters. This is a matter of concern and it’s important that freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of movement is respected.
Joya: You also met with the Taliban leadership, what was their response to the accusations of human rights violations against them?
Bennett: Generally, the leadership seems to consider that they are doing quite a good job. At times, they admit there are some shortcomings and there is further work to do to ensure that human rights are respected. I will continue to talk to them and urge them to better respect human rights. As de facto authorities, they are responsible for protecting and respecting human rights in Afghanistan and must be held accountable. You’ve particularly picked up on discrimination against women and I mentioned that the Taliban de facto authorities said there may be announcements on schools for secondary school girls soon. On women’s rights other than this, I did not find that they were willing or had intentions to make policy changes to reverse their decisions that discriminate against women and restrict women’s lives. I have not seen any sign that the Taliban will change their policies on this.
Joya: The Taliban has severely restricted the media and reduced access to information to zero. Did the Taliban cooperate and provide you with free access to the information?
Bennett: The Taliban de facto authorities cooperated and said that I can meet with whomever and wherever I want. And I met people from civil society and I visited prisons while I was in Afghanistan. I went to Panjshir to Bamyan provinces as well as Kabul.
When it comes to information from the Taliban, they had discussions with me and they answered my questions. I didn’t always get the answers that I wanted.
Joya: Did you manage to visit Taliban prisons?
Bennett: Yes, I went to two prisons in Bamyan and in Pol-e-Charkhi and I was able to see the situation and to see the conditions in which they are living. I also met with women prisoners and was able to see their situation. I have not undertaken private interviews but I have generally spoken to them and have seen their living situation.
Of course, these are the official prisons and they are run by the Office of Prison Administration. We received reports that there may be people detained in private or illegal prisons which is of great concern, but I have not visited those places.
Joya: Mr. Bennett, at the start of your work as Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, you said you were committed to amplifying the voices of Afghan women, men, and children. After traveling to Afghanistan and nearly a year has passed, do you think there is a way to hold the Taliban accountable?
Bennett: I think there are ways of holding the Taliban de facto authorities accountable but it will take time. I’m not at the moment willing to talk about them publicly because it might affect certain processes.
However, I continue to try and amplify the voices of women, and even yesterday I was on a panel with the media with three Afghan women, one in Afghanistan and two here in New York. and I want their voices to be heard by the world. I think that’s really important.
Joya: You are one of the most experienced human rights rapporteurs in the United Nations, what is your advice to the countries who have leverage on the Taliban?
Bennett: My advice is that Afghanistan has ratified international human rights treaties and has a responsibility to respect those treaties and the other countries should also expect the de facto authorities to respect them – and demand it – and they could also offer assistance so that they can respect the human rights treaties and not violate human rights.
Joya: If the ongoing situation in Afghanistan continues, how much worse would the human rights situation in Afghanistan be?
Bennett: I think it’s very concerning that the human rights situation is continuing to be a crisis, part of this is also due to the economic situation – people are living in poverty, without enough resources.
And in the coming winter, there may real problems with people not having sufficient to eat. So, I think when we talk about human rights, including whether the situation is going to get worse or better, we need to also think about social and economic rights: the rights to food, to water, to adequate shelter, and the right to access healthcare. These are very important human rights and they remain very fragile in Afghanistan.
Joya: What do you call what is happening in Afghanistan regarding human rights issues and women’s rights, the “gender apartheid”?
Bennett: International law at the moment provides that apartheid is for the issue of race but not for gender. This may need to be looked at because if you apply the criteria for apartheid to the situation of women in Afghanistan, it appears to fit the criteria.
I think it’s also important to look at the application of other international laws, especially the law relating to gender persecution which is an international crime.
