The resumption of public floggings and executions in Afghanistan must stop immediately, a group of independent UN human rights experts said on Friday in an appeal to the ruling Taliban leadership.
What is believed to be the first public execution in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power last year, drew criticism from the UN human rights office, OHCHR on Wednesday. Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence described it as a “deeply disturbing” development.
Marking the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty, two UN-appointed independent human rights experts on Monday issued a statement recalling that under international law, capital punishment is permitted only “in very limited circumstances”.
While perpetrators of rape and other forms of sexual violence must be held accountable, capital punishment and torture are not the answer, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday.
Following the execution of a 15-year-old in Iran on Wednesday – the fourth juvenile to be put to death in the country this year – the United Nations rights chief condemned the practice, citing the strict prohibition of such executions under international law.
Allegations of grave human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) should face a high-level international probe, the UN Human Rights chief said on Wednesday.
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s announcement at the Human Rights Council in Geneva follows the discovery of new mass graves there.
Elsewhere in Africa, Zeid condemned horrific violence in South Sudan, reports of state-led enforced disappearances and torture in Burundi and “brutal oppression” in Mali.
Daniel Johnson has more.
