ACHRS Statement: Taliban’s Forcible Evictions
A report released by Human Rights Watch on October 22, 2021 highlights a series of forced evictions committed by Taliban targeting Shiite Hazaras in 5 districts of Afghanistan. These evictions have redistributed the land to Taliban supporters. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies condemns the evictions and calls on the Taliban authorities to reallocate the land to the deposed landlord. ACHRS calls on the Afghan authorities to stop the persecution of Shia Hazaras as well as to opponents and former Afghan government leaders.
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On October 22, 2021 Human Rights Watch published a report highlighting a series of forced evictions committed by Taliban in 5 districts of Afghanistan, in the north and south of the country. Most of the evictions concerned the Shiite Hazara community, as well as people associated with the former government. These evictions, considered by foreign observers as a form of collective punishment, allowed the Taliban to redistribute land to their supporters.
The report states that the Taliban and partner militias have forcibly evicted hundreds of Hazara families from the southern province of Helmand and from the northern province of Balkh. These evictions were reportedly carried out with only a few days notice, and without any opportunity to present their legal claims to the authorities. According to The Wall Street Journal, more than 2,800 Hazara residents were expelled by the Taliban from 15 villages in Daikundi, Kandahar, and Uruzgan provinces in September. Residents of Naw Mish district in Helmand province told Human Rights Watch that the Taliban sent a letter to at least 400 families in late September ordering them to leave. These almost immediate evictions would have prevented some families from finishing and taking away their crops.
Patricia Gossman, associate director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, said that “The Taliban are forcibly evicting Hazaras and others on the basis of ethnicity or political opinion to reward Taliban supporters(…).These deportations, carried out with threats of force and without any legal process, are serious abuses that amount to collective punishment.”
These expulsions increase the movement of people in Afghanistan. In 2021, more than 665,000 Afghans have been displaced, bringing the national total to approximately 4 million. The report attests that these evictions have been suspended by the Taliban authorities, but that none of the inhabitants have returned to their land. These expulsions contradict the Taliban’s statement of August 2021 when they took Kabul in. The Taliban had declared their commitment to ensure the protection of minorities.
Article 11 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Afghanistan in 1983, defines forced evictions as illegal. It makes it unlawful to remove individuals, families, or communities against their will from their homes or lands, without access to appropriate forms of legal or other protection. Forced evictions represent a violation of the right to adequate housing promulgated by the UN Commission on Human Rights Resolutions 1993/77 and 2004/28.
Amman Center for Human Rights Studies condemns the forced evictions and urges the Taliban authorities to reallocate the land to the evicted owners. ACHRS calls on the Afghan authorities to stop the persecution of Shia Hazaras, political opponents, and former Afghan government leaders. The Afghan authorities must ensure the security of its population on its territory – and this includes the protection of minorities.
Image Source: Human Rights Watch
