International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime

 International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.

In August of 1998, Taliban fighters captured Mazar-e Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan, going on a rampage targeting Tajiks, Uzbeks and particularly, Hazaras.

Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 2,000 people of different ethnic communities, including Hazaras, were killed and according to estimates by Hazara groups, the death toll may be as high as 15,00

After 23 years In August 2021, Amnesty International reported that at least nine Hazara men were massacred by the Taliban when its fighters took over Ghazni province in July. Then earlier this month, the organisation released evidence of another massacre in which 13 Hazaras, including a 17-year-old girl, were killed in late August in Daykundi province.

The situation is particularly desperate for the Hazaras, who have been historically marginalised, dispo ssessed and massacred. The risk of ethnic cleansing and even genocide that they face should be a matter of international concern and international human rights bodies need to take action.

In late September and early October, reports in Western media emerged of mass “evictions” of Hazara people from their ancestral homes and lands in Daykundi province. Taliban fighters forced over 4,000 Hazaras from their homes, claiming they had no ownership over their land, leaving them stranded without food or shelter as harsh winter approaches.  In Mazar-e-Sharif, a local Taliban court decided to expel some 2,000 families, again based on false claims that they do not own their homes.

Poster Copyright: Hazara People 

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