43rd Session UNHRC: Intervention by Ms. Soana Deunier - Research Analyst EFSAS
06-03-2020, Geneva
Text and video of Ms. Soana Deunier's Intervention on General Debate Item 3 (Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development) during the 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Video of Ms. Soana Deunier's Intervention on General Debate Item 3 during the 43rd Session of the UNHRC
“Thank you Madam President,
The recently published ‘Afghanistan Papers’ confirmed that the United States’ two decade-long war in Afghanistan was a failure from the onset.
Now the US, in its quest to save face, signed a so-called peace deal with the Taliban that only satisfies the interests of both these parties without securing the protection of the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Afghan people.
Expecting peace from the Taliban and its allies, Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammed and their benefactor, the Pakistani Military Establishment, while side-lining the Afghan government will go down in history as a momentous blunder on behalf of the international community. Let the council recall that the Taliban was accountable for 47% of the civilian casualties recorded by the UN last year alone.
This peace process is anything but Afghan led and Afghan owned. The Taliban does not represent the Afghan people and we cannot rely on terrorists to establish transitional justice and uphold civil liberties.
Madam President,
We cannot afford to be oblivious to history.
Can we trust that all warring factions will cooperate, or will we see the failure of another interim government and witness another civil war, like in 1992? Can we trust that the self-declared Islamic State will not rise to power the way the Taliban did in 1996?
Are we really entrusting social healing, peace and stability to the Taliban?
This so-called peace deal legitimizes Terrorism and leaves the Afghan people at the mercy of merchants of death and destruction”.
