Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations human rights chief, has expressed concern over the “sharp increase in violence” and harm to civilians in Afghanistan. She also called the recent attack on Hazara girls’ school in Kabul “shocking.

The remark came after the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. Bachelet said the recent attack on “a school in a Hazara area of Kabul – which killed 85 children, most of them were girls – was especially shocking.”

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan increased by 41 percent in the six months after the talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government started in Doha, Qatar, compared to the same period one year previously.

The continued violence as foreign troops depart, she said, would risk the gains of the last two decades. 

“The withdrawal of international forces, which is expected to be completed by September, is creating fear for the future – particularly among women, minority communities, human rights defenders, and journalists – with deep concern about the risks of losing gains hard-won over the last twenty years,” she was quoted as saying by Afghanistan’s Ariana News.

Furthermore, she urged all parties to resume the stalled peace talks and to urgently implement a ceasefire to protect civilians. She also called for the protection of the independent role of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

Amid the rapidly deteriorating situation, she called for increased monitoring and an effective mechanism for preventing human rights abuses. 

(SAM)