UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson yesterday urged Britain and the US to ensure that the ouster of the Taliban from Kabul by opposition forces does not end in a bloodbath.
Robinson also demanded that other nations involved in the military campaign share the responsibility for shielding civilians from marauding warlords and retaliatory massacres in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan.
"A number of cities are changing hands from the Taliban to the Northern Alliance opposition forces," Robinson said, voicing her fears of a looming anarchy in the country she said had been "torn by 20 years of conflict and a drought."
"It is extremely important that the message should go out -- and I look particularly to the US and Britain and the countries that are involved in the military strategy to make it very clear that there will be no toleration of massacres, of rapes and abuse of civilians."
"If it happens, there will be justice against the perpetrators. In other words there will be no longer impunity. My office is in the process of mapping out just how bad the situation has been in Afghanistan," she said.
She spoke of a bloody massacre carried out by the Taliban militia in January and a reported copycat bloodbath by the opposing forces of the Northern Alliance later in the year.
"Both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance have abused and massacred and created total human rights violations against civilians in Afghanistan.
"There have been some leaders of the Northern Alliance who have very bad human rights records," Robinson said.
Robinson also said the UN has recently received reports that humanitarian aid had been looted in Kabul following the march of opposition forces into the capital of the war-torn country.
"There have already been some reports of looting of humanitarian aid and there is a fear that the situation could turn worse. That would be tragic for the entire civilian population," Robinson said.
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source