Continued insufficient protections by the de-facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan persist in leaving the Shia-Hazara community under threat, exacerbating their predicament, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Each day seems to bring fresh revelations of the debilitating conflict in the region that disproportionately impacts many marginalized communities in the country, particularly Hazaras. Noted in the report is the infamous reputation of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) for consistent attempts on Shia Hazara mosques, schools, and neighborhoods.
This comprehensive report even recounts the widespread attacks during 2024 targeted towards Hazaras, including different instances of violence producing 11 dead Hazaras and countless others injured. The tally adds to the thousands more injured or killed following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, in the wake of the collapse of the Afghan government and subsequent withdrawal of UK and US allied forces. This reign of the Taliban has thus fostered widespread impunity for breaches of international humanitarian law and war crimes, particularly targeting women, girls, and Hazaras.
HRW’s Afghanistan Researcher and author of the report, Fereshta Abbasi, explained to JURIST News that this prevailing impunity for breaches of international law has resulted in an absence of protective measures for vulnerable populations, alongside a lack of comprehensive aid for survivors. Abbasi stated:
“The systematic targeting of Hazaras by the ISKP in Afghanistan constitutes a grave violation of international human rights law. These heinous acts demand urgent and decisive actions by the international community to uphold justice and protect vulnerable communities.”
Indeed, these sentiments echo in recent publications by the US Department of State, who in its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices noted that “ISIS-K also disproportionately targeted Hazara community members who were predominantly followers of the Shia branch of Islam,” with Hazaras enduring the worst of systemic discrimination perpetrated by the Taliban.
In the same vein, organizations such as Genocide Watch have referred to the targeted attacks on Hazaras as an ongoing genocide, issuing calls to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions.