Hazara Shiites in Afghanistan exposed to genocide: Mohammad Ali Juya
A faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University said, “Since 2001, we have witnessed widespread and organized attacks against Hazara Shiites. The attacks targeted mosques and Hazara educational centers. Afghanistan’s Hazara Shiite population is at risk of genocide.”
On Monday, May 17, 2021, a scientific meeting entitled “Study of the legal aspects of the terrorist attack on the Sayed Al-Shuhada (a.s.) school, west of Kabul” was held by the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, in the conference hall of the Assembly in Qom.
Referring to the “crime against humanity”, Hojat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Ali Juya, a faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University stated at the beginning of the meeting, “The crime against humanity is an international crime. At first, its concept was vague. But then, international talks made it identifiable and provable.”
“The first document on crimes against humanity is the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal. The tribunal was set up by victorious governments in World War II to try Nazi war criminals. The Nuremberg Charter stated that international premeditated murder, and the extermination of a civilian population, is a crime against humanity,” he continued.
“123 countries are member states of the International Criminal Court. The task of this court is to investigate crimes against humanity. Under the International Criminal Court, it can try crimes such as massacre, genocide, and expulsion of nations. That is, crimes committed in the context of a large-scale and organized attack on a civilian population. The condition for examining such crimes in the International Criminal Court is that they be widespread, organized, and against civilians,” added the faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University.
“Since 2001, we have witnessed widespread and organized attacks against Hazara Shiites. The attacks targeted mosques and Hazara educational centers. Afghanistan’s Hazara Shiite population is at risk of genocide,” said Juya, referring to the attacks on Hazara Shiites in Afghanistan
“In the international arena, two actions can be taken for protecting Hazara Shiites against crimes. The first is to ask the International Court of Justice to investigate these crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice, which is one of the inherent duties of this court. Another step is to call on the international community to protect the Hazara Shiite population in accordance with international standards. This has already been done for the Kurds, Yazidis, and Muslims of Bosnia, and they have been protected by the international community,” he continued.
“We are faced with ambiguity in dealing with the perpetrators of crimes against the Hazara Shiites, and the perpetrators of these attacks are not clear. The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for many of the attacks, and although Daesh is present in Afghanistan, it does not have a specific address. The solution to this problem is to set up a commission of experts, which was set up in courts such as the Nuremberg Trials, in which defendants were arrested and interrogated,” added the faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University.
“The enforcement of rulings by the International Court of Justice in The Hague is low, and the punishment imposed by the tribunal has little deterrence. We must introduce the genocide of the Hazara Shiites of Afghanistan to the world as an international catastrophe so that the international conscience realizes this genocide and intervenes to solve it,” Juya said, referring to the Hague tribunal.
“There are many and at the same time contradictory international documents in this case. Genocide is a set of actions taken to destroy all or part of a racial, ethnic, or religious group. Hazara Shiites have been subjected to genocide in Afghanistan since the time of Abdul Rahman, and since then, a series of actions have been taken against Hazara Shiites, the latest example being the attack on the Sayed Al-Shuhada (a.s.) school, west of Kabul. These measures are aimed at marginalizing and gradually destroying an ethnic group,” he noted, considering the genocide as one of the internationally recognized crimes.
A faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University said, “Since 2001, we have witnessed widespread and organized attacks against Hazara Shiites. The attacks targeted mosques and Hazara educational centers. Afghanistan’s Hazara Shiite population is at risk of genocide.”
On Monday, May 17, 2021, a scientific meeting entitled “Study of the legal aspects of the terrorist attack on the Sayed Al-Shuhada (a.s.) school, west of Kabul” was held by the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, in the conference hall of the Assembly in Qom.
Referring to the “crime against humanity”, Hojat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Ali Juya, a faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University stated at the beginning of the meeting, “The crime against humanity is an international crime. At first, its concept was vague. But then, international talks made it identifiable and provable.”
“The first document on crimes against humanity is the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal. The tribunal was set up by victorious governments in World War II to try Nazi war criminals. The Nuremberg Charter stated that international premeditated murder, and the extermination of a civilian population, is a crime against humanity,” he continued.
“123 countries are member states of the International Criminal Court. The task of this court is to investigate crimes against humanity. Under the International Criminal Court, it can try crimes such as massacre, genocide, and expulsion of nations. That is, crimes committed in the context of a large-scale and organized attack on a civilian population. The condition for examining such crimes in the International Criminal Court is that they be widespread, organized, and against civilians,” added the faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University.
“Since 2001, we have witnessed widespread and organized attacks against Hazara Shiites. The attacks targeted mosques and Hazara educational centers. Afghanistan’s Hazara Shiite population is at risk of genocide,” said Juya, referring to the attacks on Hazara Shiites in Afghanistan
“In the international arena, two actions can be taken for protecting Hazara Shiites against crimes. The first is to ask the International Court of Justice to investigate these crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice, which is one of the inherent duties of this court. Another step is to call on the international community to protect the Hazara Shiite population in accordance with international standards. This has already been done for the Kurds, Yazidis, and Muslims of Bosnia, and they have been protected by the international community,” he continued.
“We are faced with ambiguity in dealing with the perpetrators of crimes against the Hazara Shiites, and the perpetrators of these attacks are not clear. The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for many of the attacks, and although Daesh is present in Afghanistan, it does not have a specific address. The solution to this problem is to set up a commission of experts, which was set up in courts such as the Nuremberg Trials, in which defendants were arrested and interrogated,” added the faculty member of Al-Mustafa International University.
“The enforcement of rulings by the International Court of Justice in The Hague is low, and the punishment imposed by the tribunal has little deterrence. We must introduce the genocide of the Hazara Shiites of Afghanistan to the world as an international catastrophe so that the international conscience realizes this genocide and intervenes to solve it,” Juya said, referring to the Hague tribunal.
“There are many and at the same time contradictory international documents in this case. Genocide is a set of actions taken to destroy all or part of a racial, ethnic, or religious group. Hazara Shiites have been subjected to genocide in Afghanistan since the time of Abdul Rahman, and since then, a series of actions have been taken against Hazara Shiites, the latest example being the attack on the Sayed Al-Shuhada (a.s.) school, west of Kabul. These measures are aimed at marginalizing and gradually destroying an ethnic group,” he noted, considering the genocide as one of the internationally recognized crimes.