IEA accuses international watchdogs of ‘reporting on rumors’

 

The IEA stated it has provided all the necessary facilities for impartial investigation and obtaining facts by the offices and persons assigned under the framework of the United Nations to investigate the human rights situation in Afghanistan, and all offices of the Islamic Emirate, including the security department, cooperate with them.

 

“Therefore, morally, the aforementioned departments should not misuse this positive spirit,” read the statement.

 

The statement also noted that this “not only destroys people’s trust in their reports, but also questions the impartiality and credibility of their respective institutions”.

 

In addition, the IEA stated that countries and international organizations “should not allow such people to abuse the name of countries and international organizations to deal with personal problems and political agendas and destroy the spirit of cooperation of officials in line with humanitarian activities”.

 

The IEA claims there has been “been significant positive changes in the human rights situation compared to the past twenty years,” and that any claim to the contrary will be investigated transparently and justice will prevail.

 

This comes just days after Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, issued a statement following a 12-day visit to the country and stated that Afghanistan continues to experience a serious crisis and urgent action is needed from all parties to avert a further deterioration of the situation.

 

According to Bennett, stakeholders he met with expressed grave concerns about the situation of women and girls, increased attacks on places of worship, schools, transportation systems and minority communities, especially Hazara-Shia.

 

He said the humanitarian situation remains dire and the security situation is fragile.

 

“I offered the authorities my advice to fulfill their human rights obligations under the international human rights treaties ratified by Afghanistan. The authorities affirmed their commitment to adhere to their international human rights obligations if they were not in conflict with Sharia,” Bennett said.