Russia demands an investigation into US war crimes in Afghanistan.
According to Tass, the Russian delegation announced at the 53rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council that the collection of information about war crimes committed by the United States and NATO in Afghanistan should continue and be prioritized.
Russian diplomat Yaroslav Yerimin said in this meeting: “The international community should remember the war crimes committed by American and NATO soldiers during their 20-year presence in Afghanistan.”
He emphasized: We believe that it is important to continue working to collect information and expose US and NATO crimes in Afghanistan, as well as make them public.
The member of the Russian delegation emphasized that the efforts of the US and its allies to politicize humanitarian aid to the Afghan people and associate it with the implementation of certain commitments are unacceptable. “Facilitating stability and security is Russia’s priority in Afghanistan,” Yeriomin noted.
This Russian diplomat said: Moscow is confident that only long-term peace in Afghanistan will contribute to the favorable development of the entire region. We call on the interim government of Afghanistan to fulfill its promise to form an inclusive government system, taking into account the interests of all key ethnic and political groups, strengthening the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and guaranteeing the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Afghan people. »
Previously, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said in a meeting with the member states of the International Criminal Court regarding the exclusion of the United States from the investigation of war crimes in Afghanistan: I made this decision based on evidence that shows that the worst crimes in terms of severity, scope And the extent appears to have been carried out by ISIS and the Taliban… I said that I would prioritize this (issue) and asked the judges to allow this investigation.
He had previously said that due to the change in conditions, the investigation of this international high judicial authority regarding the commission of war crimes in Afghanistan will be focused on the Taliban and ISIS from now on and not on the crimes committed by American soldiers.
Many human rights organizations criticized Karim Khan’s decision in September to exclude American forces from the investigation. The initiation of the International Criminal Court’s investigation in Afghanistan, especially regarding crimes that may have been committed by American soldiers, led to the imposition of sanctions by the administration of former US President Donald Trump against Fatou Bensouda, the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
In 2017, Bensouda asked international judges for permission to launch a full investigation, saying there was “substantial” suspicion of war crimes by the Taliban, US forces in Afghanistan, and the CIA in secret detention centers abroad.
The investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan was suspended in 2020, but the change of government in Afghanistan led Karim Khan to demand the resumption of the investigation. He said that the seizure of power by the Taliban means that war crimes are not investigated properly.
During the 20 years of occupation of Afghanistan, the US not only massacred many civilians in this country, but by making Afghanistan insecure, it also created the basis for the growth of other terrorist groups.
