NEW YORK: Noting that Afghanistan has entered into “a very challenging new chapter of power transition”, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) urged Taliban-led authorities of Afghanistan to uphold “the international obligations of the State”.

Experts serving on the UN human rights treaty body expressed particular concern over the situation of people in Afghanistan deprived of liberty along with the conditions of where they are held, including prisons, police stations and other detention facilities as well as psychiatric and social welfare institutions.

Torture or other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment cannot be justified in any situation, be it a state of war, internal political instability or public emergency, they underscored.

Moreover, the Afghan authorities must protect everyone against torture and ill-treatment, “regardless of their ethnic background, religious belief, or political affiliation”, the SPT added.

It also put a spotlight on the significance of the work of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and its National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), a national and independent body set up to visit places of deprivation of liberty with the objective of torture prevention, and its important role in the area of protection and promotion of human rights.

“We call upon the Afghan authorities to ensure the safety and security of all members and staff of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and its NPM”, the statement continued.

(ANI)