WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th September, 2021) The UN Security Council must extend its mission in Afghanistan in an upcoming vote and supply additional staff and resources to monitor and report on rights abuses, a prominent rights group said on Tuesday.
"The Taliban takeover poses grave risks to vulnerable groups, especially journalists, ethnic minorities, women and girls, and those who worked with the former government, foreign states, and contractors," Amnesty International's Senior Advocate at the UN Lawrence Moss said in a press release. "It is essential that UN human rights monitors remain on the ground and show support for the rights of Afghans at this perilous time."
Present in the country since 2002, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) monitors the country's human rights situation and provides oversight through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the release said.
UNAMA's mandate is due to expire on Friday unless renewed by the Security Council.
Thus far, the UN has allowed humanitarian and political staff to remain in Afghanistan, but not its human rights monitors, according to the release.
