Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan

Introduction

On 7 October 2021, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 48/1 establishing the mandate of a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. A previous mandate by the Commission on Human Rights was terminated in 2005.

On 1 April 2022, Mr. Richard Bennett was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. He officially assumed duties on 1 May 2022.

Mr. Bennett has served in Afghanistan on several occasions in different capacities including as the Chief of the Human Rights Service with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  He has previously played a role in the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan and supported the United Nations on a number of human rights issues, such as protection of civilians, transitional justice, child rights, rule of law, rights of people with disabilities, protection of human rights defenders and a range of economic, social and cultural rights.

Mr. Bennett also served with the United Nations as the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and head of the human rights components of peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, and South Sudan as well as twice in Afghanistan (2003-07 and 2018-19). He has been a long-term adviser to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Bennett was the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal and head of OHCHR’s office there. He has also been Chief of Staff for the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka and Special Adviser to the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights in New York.

Mr. Bennett worked for Amnesty International from 2014 – 17 initially as its Asia-Pacific Program Director and later as head of Amnesty’s United Nations Office in New York. From mid-2019, he worked as a consultant on UN human rights assignments in Afghanistan, Myanmar and New York.

Mr. Bennett is currently a visiting professor at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, Sweden.

Mandate of the Special Rapporteur

In accordance with the Human Rights Council resolutions 48/1, 51/20 and 54/1, the Special Rapporteur is mandated to monitor the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and requested to:

• report on the developing situation of human rights, and to make recommendations to improve it;
• assist in fulfilling the human rights obligations arising from international treaties that Afghanistan has ratified;
• offer support and advice to civil society; to seek, receive, examine and act on information from all relevant stakeholders pertaining to the situation of human rights in Afghanistan;
• document and preserve information relating to human rights violations and abuses;
• Integrate a gender perspective, a child’s right perspective and a survivor-centered approach throughout the work of the mandate;
• report to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly.

The resolution calls on all relevant parties to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, to grant unhindered access to the country without any delay, and to provide the mandate holder with all information necessary to allow for the proper fulfilment of the mandate.

The Special Rapporteur's status as an independent expert makes him distinct from UNAMA, which reports to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and is formally part of the United Nations Secretariat. Nevertheless, the two institutions share complementary mandates and work closely together. In accordance with Resolution 48/1, the Special Rapporteur receives specific expertise and support from OHCHR.

In the discharge of his mandate, amongst other activities, the Special Rapporteur will:

• Seek, receive, examine and act on information from all relevant stakeholders pertaining to the situation of human rights in Afghanistan;
• Undertake country visits to Afghanistan and to the region and engage with relevant stakeholders;
• Assist relevant authorities in Afghanistan in fulfilling Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights instruments;
• Offer advice and support to civil society and other relevant stakeholders;
• Submit reports to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan; and
• Engages publicly on issues of concerns, including through press releases and transmits communications including letters to relevant authorities on alleged violations of human rights.