Tomas Niklasson, Acting Special Envoy of the European Union for Afghanistan, said Thursday that “targeting Hazaras” must be stopped.
The EU stated in a tweet that Niklasson has met with surviving students of the Sayed-ul-Shuhada school attack.
The school, located in densely populated Dasht-e-Barchi area in Kabul, was targeted by a deadly bombing in early May.
Around 100 people – mostly school girls – were killed and around 200 others wounded in the tragedy.
Niklasson has stated that crimes have been committed and that they must be investigated.
“Targeting Hazaras must stop and crimes be investigated,” he said.
Niklasson noted that some people want to stop the grieving of Sayed-ul-Shuhada students, but “their memory can be honored by pursuing dreams.”
“Those taken away too early can’t be brought back. But their memory can be honored by pursuing dreams that some want to stop,” he stated.
So far, no group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Recently the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) called on the Afghan government to grant special protection to Hazaras and the community in Dasht-e-Barchi.
The AIHRC said in a statement that it was the government’s duty to protect the Hazara community against crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, or genocide.
“The Afghan government has an obligation under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law to protect the population at risk of war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing or genocide and international law obliges the government to take measures to end and prevent genocide and war crimes, crimes against humanity and persecution on the basis of ethnicity and gender,” the statement read.
“In October 2020, just over six months ago, more than 40 students died in an attack on Kawsar Danish tutoring center. In May 2020, almost a year ago 11 mothers were murdered with their unborn babies, two boys were, and an Afghan midwife was killed, with 5 mothers injured; this is femicide and infanticide,” the statement highlighted.
The AIHRC stressed that the Afghan government should fulfill its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights “which includes acknowledging massacres targeting Hazaras.”
“The Afghan government should communicate immediately a human rights-based protection plan for Dasht-e-Barchi and West Kabul. This should include plans for collective reparations,” the organization said. (ATN)