UN Establishes A New Accountability Mechanism For Afghanistan

On October 6, 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted, without a vote, a resolution on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, which is to strengthen accountability efforts in Afghanistan. The resolution, led by the European Union, paves the way to the establishment of the independent investigative mechanism on Afghanistan that will collect evidence of international crimes and the most serious violations of international law. This is the result of tireless advocacy by victims/survivors, human rights defenders and national and international organizations for the last four years. The new mechanism will add to the existing accountability efforts and one to counter impunity, which flourishes under the Taliban de facto regime.

The new mechanism will collect and preserve evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other grave rights abuses; identify individuals responsible; and prepare files that can be used to support their prosecution in national and international courts. As such, the mechanism will do similar work currently being done by the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM) and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). Among others, the IIIM has been collecting, consolidating, preserving and analyzing evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses in Syria and preparing files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings. The evidence collected this way has been used by prosecutors in at least 12 jurisdictions and has helped to combat impunity, even at a time when it was clear that ensuring accountability domestically in Syria was not possible.

This is also the hope for Afghanistan. As it stands, justice and accountability avenues in Afghanistan are nonexistent, with the Taliban de facto authorities in power. However, this may change in the future. The sooner the evidence is collected and preserved, the better the chances this the evidence could help to ensure justice in the future. Furthermore, as legal avenues in Afghanistan are nonexistent at the moment, the evidence collected through the new mechanism could be used in other jurisdictions, including through the principle of universal jurisdiction. The principle of universal jurisdiction allows for the prosecution of crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and enforced disappearances committed on foreign territory by persons who are not nationals of the jurisdiction in question. Among others, the use of universal jurisdiction enabled German domestic courts to prosecute members of Daesh (also known as the Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL) for genocide and crimes against humanity and perpetrators of torture and other international crimes in Syria. While it is most likely that the new body will not be able to enter Afghanistan to collect evidence, the precedent of the IIIM shows that, in many cases, effective evidence collection can be done remotely.

The new body is expected to take a comprehensive approach to investigating international crimes committed by all individuals, including the Taliban leadership, provincial directors, governors, and other officials, responsible for carrying out edicts and policies that violate international law, such as the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice law, and a litany of other human rights abuses, including those responsible for the denial of women and girls of their rights. The resolution further provides a basis for investigating members of international forces, non-state armed groups, and others responsible for serious abuses and violations in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, the newly adopted resolution extends the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan to be able to continue monitoring and reporting on the situation in Afghanistan, complementary to the work of the new mechanism.

Commenting on the development, Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “Countries at the UN Human Rights Council have together sent a strong message of their resolve to ensure that those responsible for serious international crimes in Afghanistan now or in the past will one day face justice in court. It’s crucial for the new mechanism to get up and running quickly so that it can begin to collect, prepare, and preserve evidence, and build files on those responsible for international crimes in Afghanistan.”

The new mechanism is to be established at a time when other international bodies focused on the situation in Afghanistan, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), are subjected to significant pressures. The ICC, which is looking into the situation in Afghanistan and international crimes perpetrated by all actors since 2003, is subject to several sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration in accordance with an executive order introduced by President Trump in February 2025. Among those sanctioned are the ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang, six judges presiding over various stages in the proceedings concerning the situations in Afghanistan and Palestine, among others. In September, news outlets reported that the ICC, as an entity, may be sanctioned, with potentially catastrophic effects on the ICC as a whole. The sanctions on those working on the situation in Afghanistan are a response to the concern that the ICC would investigate alleged crimes committed by the US military since 2003. While the ICC did not exclude the possibility and confirmed that all alleged crimes committed in Afghanistan since 2003 are within its jurisdiction, in recent years, the ICC has been prioritizing the crime of gender persecution as perpetrated by the Taliban against women and girls in the country. This work has resulted in two arrest warrants being issued by the ICC. As it stands, there is no suggestion that the ICC would seek arrest warrants against US officials.

The new UN mechanism for Afghanistan is a much-needed step to address the ever-growing number of human rights violations in Afghanistan. The havoc brought about by the Taliban will not last forever. As long as the evidence is collected by the new mechanism, justice and accountability will be secured in the future – whether in Afghanistan, other countries, or by international courts.