To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to bring those responsible for the persecution of Hazara people to justice.
Answered on
19 March 2019
The UK regularly urges the Government of Afghanistan and the Government of Pakistan to ensure that the human rights and safety of all minorities, including the Hazara people, are protected in line with international human rights obligations. We do so bilaterally and with international partners, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the EU. At the Universal Periodic Review of Afghanistan at the UN Human Rights Council in January 2019, we recommended that the Government of Afghanistan establish an independent mechanism to assess how religious and ethnic minorities can be better protected.
Following attacks last year affecting the Hazara community in Afghanistan, Embassy officials met with Hazara Members of Parliament for Ghazni to understand their concerns. The UK provides a range of support which aims to enhance the Afghan Government's ability to protect all Afghan citizens, including minority ethnic and religious groups such as the Hazaras.