Mr. President,
Afghans, especially women and girls, face one of the most severe humanitarian and human rights crises in the world.
We thank the Special Rapporteur for his latest report, which details the systematic assault on the rights of women and girls by the Taliban since their return to power in 2021 - abuses that amount to gender persecution and have also been characterized by experts including the Special Rapporteur as gender apartheid.
Those responsible for these crimes must be held accountable. However, as the Special Rapporteur notes, not only do women and girls face overwhelming barriers in their efforts to access justice, but the "justice" system itself has been turned against them, used to enforce their oppression and erasure.
We agree on the urgency, as recognized by consensus by this Council last year, of meaningful international action to end entrenched impunity for grave rights abuses to ensure a better future for Afghanistan, including for Afghan women and girls.
In this regard, we urge the Council to heed the Special Rapporteur's recommendation for the establishment of an additional independent accountability mechanism without further delay.
Such a mechanism would complement and support ongoing and future efforts for accountability including at the International Criminal Court, the CEDAW initiative toward a possible case before the International Court of Justice, and other avenues to justice.
We urge the Council to establish this mechanism without further delay, demonstrating that the international community will not turn away from human rights violations in Afghanistan and for all states to work together to implement the recommendations set out by the Rapporteur in the report presented today.
Thank you.
