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By Richard Bennett
The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 51/20. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, undertook his second mission to Afghanistan from 8 to 20 October 2022. In the course of the mission, he met with numerous stakeholders, including human rights defenders, legal professionals, women’s groups, victims of human rights violations, journalists, women from the business community, teachers, religious scholars and representatives of minority groups, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the diplomatic community. In addition to visiting the capital, Kabul, the Special Rapporteur visited Bamyan and Panjshir Provinces, as well as hospitals, detention facilities and cultural heritage sites. The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation to the de facto authorities for their cooperation. He was received by senior de facto officials, including an acting Deputy Prime Minister, Minister and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice. The Special Rapporteur also extends his appreciation to the representatives of the United Nations working in Afghanistan for the support provided to him and for the organization of conversations with officials, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and her staff. The report is based on observations and information received during the course of the mission, consultations before and after the mission with Afghan human rights defenders, civil society organizations and other stakeholders and reports published by reliable sources, including United Nations agencies, think tanks, academics and NGOs. The Special Rapporteur has taken steps to verify the information received. Following the initial report of the Special Rapporteur, which was submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session, and in the light of serious concerns about the human rights situation in Afghanistan described therein, on 7 October 2022, the Council, by its resolution 51/20, renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for another year and decided to include in his mandate a child’s rights perspective and the responsibility to document and preserve information relating to human rights violations and abuses.
Keywords: Special Rapporteur, Human rights in Afghanistan. Stakeholder consultations, De facto authorities, Child rights and human rights documentation, Field missions and observations