A new investigative report warns that the “Hazara in Afghanistan, as a religious and ethnic minority, are at serious risk of genocide at the hands of the Taliban and Islamic State–Khorasan Province (IS-K).”
The report, “The Situation of the Hazara in Afghanistan,” was created by a cross-party group of British politicians, including members of Parliament as well as peers in the House of Lord, who are aided by outside experts. It focuses on the situation of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan since 2021. The report states that the return of the Taliban to power has been accompanied by violence and terror against Hazaras across Afghanistan and has reversed their efforts to overcome marginalization and discrimination
The authors of the Hazara Inquiry report state that all governments need to protect and prevent the potential genocide of Hazara, based on the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and international law..
According to this report, hundreds of people have been killed and injured in targeted attacks against the Hazara, including bombings in schools, mosques, and other educational and social centers. Islamic State terrorists killed 120 people in a series of attacks over a few days in August 2022, just as the report was being finalized.
The report warns that due to a sense of impunity and lack of response to targeted attacks against the Hazara, “the number of attacks is expected to increase, and this trend is likely to continue.”
“Over recent months, we have witnessed a serious and increasing risk of genocide against the Hazara. It is urgent that we act to protect this vulnerable targeted community before it is too late,” stated Lord Alton, a member of the inquiry and a patron of the Coalition for Genocide Response. “The dire situation faced by Afghanistan’s Hazaras will deteriorate further if the crimes committed against them are met by inaction and impunity. We have duties under the Genocide Convention and it is about time we acted upon them.”
The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO), an Afghan NGO that researches the Taliban’s violation of human rights in central Afghanistan, says the report is “the first of its kind.”
“This inquiry report, which puts systemic targeting of the Hazara as a distinct ethnic and religious community within a genocide legal framework is the first of its kind by a parliamentary body and it is an important step towards the international recognition of Hazara genocide” said Ghulam Sakhi, research and investigation director at the AHRDO. He added that the report is very detailed and “provides lucid legal analysis” that can play an important role in directing international debates on Hazara genocide.
The report has been shared with several government officials in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, as well as representatives of the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.
