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24 October 2000
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Fifty-fifth General Assembly
Third Committee
New York, 24 October 2000
ITEM 114 (C) Human Rights Questions
Human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives
STATEMENT BY DR. KAMAL HOSSAIN
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN
AT THE FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
I welcome this opportunity to present my fourth report as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. Since this session of the UN General Assembly was preceded by the Millennium Summit in which the world ' s leaders took stock of the overall global situation, it is appropriate that my report should attempt to present the human rights situation in Afghanistan as one of the challenges which the international community has been struggling to meet - thus far with only limited success. The Secretary-General in his report on the situation in June 2000 described the predicament of the Afghan people as follows:
" The situation of the Afghan people remains deplorable. Four years after the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, visitors compare the city to a bombed-out city a few years after the end of the Second World War, except that no reconstruction is in sight and its people have little hope for improvement. There is a growing process of pauperization throughout Afghanistan, exacerbated by the most severe drought in 30 years. More than 20 years after the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the billions of dollars expended to feed successive war efforts, Afghanistan remains in a state of acute crisis - its resources depleted, its intelligentsia in exile, its people disfranchised, its traditional political structures shattered and its human development indices among the lowest in the world. "
This deplorable situation continues despite repeated UN Security Council resolutions urging the parties to end armed conflict in Afghanistan, to refrain from providing support to those engaged in the armed conflict and to engage in peace negotiations aimed at establishing a broad-based, multi-ethnic, truly representative government acceptable to all of the Afghan people. My basic mandate as Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan as it was originally formulated in 1984 called for examination of the human rights situation in Afghanistan "with a view to formulating proposals which could contribute to ensuring full protection of the human rights of all residents of the country before, during and after the withdrawal of all foreign forces. " The Geneva Accords which had come into force on 15 May 1988, in the words of Under-Secretary-General Cordovez (8 April 1988) had raised hopes and expectations, still unfulfilled, thus:
"Throughout the negotiations, it has been consistently recognized that the objective of a comprehensive settlement implies the broadest support and immediate participation of all segments of the Afghan people and that this can best be ensured by a broad-based Afghan government. It was equally recognized that any questions relating to the government in Afghanistan are matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of Afghanistan and can only be decided by the Afghan people themselves. The hope was therefore expressed that all elements of the Afghan nation, living inside and outside Afghanistan, would respond to this historic opportunity. "
The peace initiatives taken in 1999, first in Ashkabad in March and then in the six-plus-two meeting in July, had, however, aborted with the military offensive in the Central Highlands, including Bamyan, in May and the Shamali Plains in July, followed by the resignation of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi. The appointment of the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Francesc Vendrell, saw fresh initiatives to develop a dialogue through extensive consultations with concerned governments, all of which have have acknowledged the central role of the United Nations in restoring peace to Afghanistan and expressed support for his efforts. The Organization of the Islamic Conference sought to contribute to the peace process by facilitating talks which resulted in an agreement on exchange of prisoners. In June 2000, delegations were exchanged to inspect each others jails in preparation for exchange of prisoners.
The exchange of prisoner exercise was, however, abruptly interrupted by the resumption of externally-supported armed conflict which started in the Shamali Plains in early July 2000 and continued to spread northwards. The offensive launched by the Taliban on 28 July in the provinces of Baghlan and Takhar resulted in the capture of the subdistrict of Bangi on 6 August and the fall on 6 September of Taloqan.
This lead to further large-scale internal displacement following that caused earlier this year by one of the worst droughts in decades which had destroyed the livelihood of large sections of the population. According to an international assessment, Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian and environmental disaster. Applying the yardstick provided by the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement approved by the Human Rights Commission and the Economic and Social Council, Afghanistan would rank as having produced not only one of the largest refugee populations in recent times but also one of the largest numbers of internally displaced persons.
Till early August, the response of the international community to the request for US$ 67 million for humanitarian assistance to alleviate the effects of the drought had only been met to the extent of 59% of the amount requested. Meanwhile, the response to the consolidated appeal for 2000, which had till then only been funded to around 43%, continued to be inadequate. The urgent need for enhanced humanitarian assistance needs to be strongly underscored. Without additional funding, even mine action operations, as of 1 September 2000, had to be reduced by 50%.
I had in July this year visited the Islamic Republic of Iran, principally to review the situation of large numbers of refugees who still remain in Iran (some 1.4 million). A similar number still remain in Pakistan. I had an opportunity to observe the working of the Joint Agreement on the Voluntary Repatriation of Afghan Refugees from Iran which was scheduled to end in early October 2000. Given the numbers involved, the October deadline presented the risk that those whose cases had not been processed by that time would face deportation. I had appealed that having regard to humanitarian considerations, the Iranian Government may consider extending the deadline. I was gratified to learn in my meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that the deadline has now been extended by three months. I would urge that at the end of the three-month period, if large numbers of cases still remain unprocessed, as is likely, the Iranian Government may be moved to grant further extensions, as may be necessary. It may here be emphasized that only when there is a significant improvement in the human rights situation in Afghanistan could there be a significant increase in voluntary repatriation.
.In Mashhad, I visited a screening centre for refugees, where I was surrounded by throngs of interviewees making plaintive appeals that they should be allowed to remain in Iran. They claimed that they had fled in the face of threats to their lives and did not wish to return to a situation where they feared that they might be targets of persecution and discrimination, and their lives and personal security could be at risk.
I had also visited the Golshahr locality in Mashhad, which has one of the largest concentrations of Afghan refugees. There I visited a centre where girls were receiving training in computer and other skills. The trainees made very strong appeals that they should not be repatriated to Afghanistan unless conditions there changed so that they could expect to continue to receive education which, according to information they had, would be denied to them in Afghanistan as would the prospect of employment.
Acute resource shortages face programmes serving the refugee population in Iran. A heart-rending example of this was the threat of closure faced by the kindergarten school for war orphans in Mashhad, run by Afghan women teachers, who had not received salaries for six months.
I turn now to the impact on the overall human rights situation (a) of armed conflict and violations of international humanitarian law; and (b) of Taliban edicts and their application.
Civilians continued to bear the brunt of the fighting. In addition to the damage caused by sporadic indiscriminate bombing, large numbers of civilians have been displaced as they were obliged to abandon their homes and their meager possessions.
Around mid-July reports were received of human rights violations, in particular of the summary execution of prisoners in Taliban-held areas in the north of Afghanistan. The Taliban authorities have denied these reports. These allegations call for verification and are a matter which needs to be taken up further with all parties concerned.
I was able to interview General Ismail Khan, a former Governor of Herat, and two others who had escaped from a maximum security detention centre in Kandahar. They described their place of detention in Kandahar as the headquarters of Taliban intelligence called Istikhbarat, where there were cells which had no windows and where they were continuously kept confined in fetters except when they were allowed to go out to use toilet facilities. They had no opportunity to send or receive any letters or visits. Two of the interviewees gave harrowing accounts of torture (to which they were subjected). One of the interviewees reported that he had learnt that one of the prisoners who had been brought there, Suleiman Zirak, who was visiting the country relying on a general amnesty declared by the Taliban, was taken out and summarily executed.
The impact of the edicts in the period under review includes the arrest in July of Pakistani soccer players who had come to play football in Kandahar. They were arrested for having appeared on the football field in shorts, which was considered a violation of the " Islamic " dress code enforced by the Taliban which forbade the wearing of shorts. Subsequently, they were released and returned home. The Taliban authorities apologised for the occurrence and reported that the person responsible had been removed from his post.
In early July, an edict was issued banning Afghan women from working in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies. Since women workers played an important part in relief and other work, this adversely affected the work of NGOs and UN agencies including the World Food Programme, where over 600 women workers were being trained. This training programme was abruptly stopped.
On 8 July, Mary MacMakin, an American aid worker, aged 71 years, who had worked for over 20 years in Afghanistan, running a Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre, was arrested along with seven Afghan female workers on allegations of "spying and spreading anti-Taliban propaganda" . In response to representations, Ms. MacMakin, along with seven aid workers were released, but Ms. MacMakin was directed to leave Afghanistan within 24 hours, which she did. The larger issue of female employment affected by the edict continues to be pursued by the UN Coordinator.
According to some reports, the strict ban on female education imposed by the Taliban edicts after their takeover of Kabul in 1996 appeared in some measure to be softening. Girls up to high school age, it is reported, may attend informal schools, that are private or funded by international organizations. In some parts of the countryside, far from the eyes of the religious police, families can set up home schooling for girls with the support of village elders and tribal leaders. International NGOs help to fund some of this informal education.
Some other instances of relaxation that are reported are that on 8 March 2000, for the very first time in the recent history of Afghanistan, a formal public celebration of International Women ' s Day was held in Kabul, the capital. Seven hundred women of all ages, including former university professors, engineers, teachers, doctors, nurses and school principals, attended the celebration.
In a seminar in Kabul of provincial representatives and other officials of the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture, a proposal was discussed for relaxation of the ban on television, so that TV may be used to promote Islam, since edicts banning television, cinemas and music four years ago being still in force.
In mid-August, the Taliban ordered the United Nations to close down bakeries run by women in Kabul, selling subsidised bread to the capital ' s poorest women. This order was subsequently revoked.
A Statute on the Activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan was promulgated by the Taliban authorities around 15 August 2000 introducing substantial restrictions on the operations of the United Nations and specialized United Nations agencies which provide humanitarian, economic, rehabilitation and development assistance in Afghanistan. This measure could obstruct UN operations including humanitarian assistance and could impede access of the United Nations to all of the people of Afghanistan.
What then is needed to make measurable progress in improving the situation?
While taking note of the relaxations, caution needs to be exercised to guard against the inclination to read into these "relaxations" real progress which one would truly like to see. I had in my earlier reports made specific recommendations with regard to human rights violations involving inhuman and degrading punishment, violations of international humanitarian law, and above all restrictions imposed on women ' s rights, denying them access to employment, to education and to health facilities. I had urged that the edicts which were inconsistent with Afghanistan's obligations under international instruments to which it is a party, should be repealed.
The allegations regarding violations of international humanitarian law and the reports of alleged torture and summary execution need to be addressed by the Taliban authorities. I had intended to seek the comments of the Taliban authorities on these allegations in the course of my proposed visit to Afghanistan. My request for a visit in September was denied, but the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has written supporting my renewed request for a visit. If such reports prove to be correct, those responsible for summary execution and torture would incur international criminal responsibility, and the international community must consider appropriate measures in this regard. The allegations of summary executions and torture warrant further inquiry.
The United Nations and the international community are now actively focusing on the basic issues to which I had drawn attention in my earlier reports, namely, the need for a framework change, through resolute efforts to end the armed conflict and to move forward with a peace process, which would be inclusive and involve all segments of the Afghan population, inside and outside the country. The objective would be to to restore the country to all of its people through the establishment of a broad-based, multi-ethnic and truly representative government.
Such a broad-based government could undertake the rebuilding of the country, its economy and its institutions. It could be expected to repeal the "edicts" violative of human rights, to create conditions of confidence, enabling several million refugees to return to their homeland, and assure to women, men and children of Afghanistan enjoyment of their human rights to which they are entitled by virtue of the fact that Afghanistan is party to the main international human rights instruments.
More than ten years after the Geneva Accords (1988), the United Nations and the international community should not be content with half measures and inadequate steps which would prolong the agony of the Afghan people, who continue to be victims of a prolonged conflict, supported and promoted by external forces. They have too long been denied protection from external interference assured by the Geneva Accords and repeatedly urged by the United Nations Security Council as also the protection of their human rights guaranteed by international instruments.
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Third Committee
New York, 24 October 2000
ITEM 114 (C) Human Rights Questions
Human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives
STATEMENT BY DR. KAMAL HOSSAIN
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN
AT THE FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
I welcome this opportunity to present my fourth report as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. Since this session of the UN General Assembly was preceded by the Millennium Summit in which the world ' s leaders took stock of the overall global situation, it is appropriate that my report should attempt to present the human rights situation in Afghanistan as one of the challenges which the international community has been struggling to meet - thus far with only limited success. The Secretary-General in his report on the situation in June 2000 described the predicament of the Afghan people as follows:
" The situation of the Afghan people remains deplorable. Four years after the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, visitors compare the city to a bombed-out city a few years after the end of the Second World War, except that no reconstruction is in sight and its people have little hope for improvement. There is a growing process of pauperization throughout Afghanistan, exacerbated by the most severe drought in 30 years. More than 20 years after the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the billions of dollars expended to feed successive war efforts, Afghanistan remains in a state of acute crisis - its resources depleted, its intelligentsia in exile, its people disfranchised, its traditional political structures shattered and its human development indices among the lowest in the world. "
This deplorable situation continues despite repeated UN Security Council resolutions urging the parties to end armed conflict in Afghanistan, to refrain from providing support to those engaged in the armed conflict and to engage in peace negotiations aimed at establishing a broad-based, multi-ethnic, truly representative government acceptable to all of the Afghan people. My basic mandate as Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan as it was originally formulated in 1984 called for examination of the human rights situation in Afghanistan "with a view to formulating proposals which could contribute to ensuring full protection of the human rights of all residents of the country before, during and after the withdrawal of all foreign forces. " The Geneva Accords which had come into force on 15 May 1988, in the words of Under-Secretary-General Cordovez (8 April 1988) had raised hopes and expectations, still unfulfilled, thus:
"Throughout the negotiations, it has been consistently recognized that the objective of a comprehensive settlement implies the broadest support and immediate participation of all segments of the Afghan people and that this can best be ensured by a broad-based Afghan government. It was equally recognized that any questions relating to the government in Afghanistan are matters within the exclusive jurisdiction of Afghanistan and can only be decided by the Afghan people themselves. The hope was therefore expressed that all elements of the Afghan nation, living inside and outside Afghanistan, would respond to this historic opportunity. "
The peace initiatives taken in 1999, first in Ashkabad in March and then in the six-plus-two meeting in July, had, however, aborted with the military offensive in the Central Highlands, including Bamyan, in May and the Shamali Plains in July, followed by the resignation of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi. The appointment of the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Francesc Vendrell, saw fresh initiatives to develop a dialogue through extensive consultations with concerned governments, all of which have have acknowledged the central role of the United Nations in restoring peace to Afghanistan and expressed support for his efforts. The Organization of the Islamic Conference sought to contribute to the peace process by facilitating talks which resulted in an agreement on exchange of prisoners. In June 2000, delegations were exchanged to inspect each others jails in preparation for exchange of prisoners.
The exchange of prisoner exercise was, however, abruptly interrupted by the resumption of externally-supported armed conflict which started in the Shamali Plains in early July 2000 and continued to spread northwards. The offensive launched by the Taliban on 28 July in the provinces of Baghlan and Takhar resulted in the capture of the subdistrict of Bangi on 6 August and the fall on 6 September of Taloqan.
This lead to further large-scale internal displacement following that caused earlier this year by one of the worst droughts in decades which had destroyed the livelihood of large sections of the population. According to an international assessment, Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian and environmental disaster. Applying the yardstick provided by the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement approved by the Human Rights Commission and the Economic and Social Council, Afghanistan would rank as having produced not only one of the largest refugee populations in recent times but also one of the largest numbers of internally displaced persons.
Till early August, the response of the international community to the request for US$ 67 million for humanitarian assistance to alleviate the effects of the drought had only been met to the extent of 59% of the amount requested. Meanwhile, the response to the consolidated appeal for 2000, which had till then only been funded to around 43%, continued to be inadequate. The urgent need for enhanced humanitarian assistance needs to be strongly underscored. Without additional funding, even mine action operations, as of 1 September 2000, had to be reduced by 50%.
I had in July this year visited the Islamic Republic of Iran, principally to review the situation of large numbers of refugees who still remain in Iran (some 1.4 million). A similar number still remain in Pakistan. I had an opportunity to observe the working of the Joint Agreement on the Voluntary Repatriation of Afghan Refugees from Iran which was scheduled to end in early October 2000. Given the numbers involved, the October deadline presented the risk that those whose cases had not been processed by that time would face deportation. I had appealed that having regard to humanitarian considerations, the Iranian Government may consider extending the deadline. I was gratified to learn in my meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that the deadline has now been extended by three months. I would urge that at the end of the three-month period, if large numbers of cases still remain unprocessed, as is likely, the Iranian Government may be moved to grant further extensions, as may be necessary. It may here be emphasized that only when there is a significant improvement in the human rights situation in Afghanistan could there be a significant increase in voluntary repatriation.
.In Mashhad, I visited a screening centre for refugees, where I was surrounded by throngs of interviewees making plaintive appeals that they should be allowed to remain in Iran. They claimed that they had fled in the face of threats to their lives and did not wish to return to a situation where they feared that they might be targets of persecution and discrimination, and their lives and personal security could be at risk.
I had also visited the Golshahr locality in Mashhad, which has one of the largest concentrations of Afghan refugees. There I visited a centre where girls were receiving training in computer and other skills. The trainees made very strong appeals that they should not be repatriated to Afghanistan unless conditions there changed so that they could expect to continue to receive education which, according to information they had, would be denied to them in Afghanistan as would the prospect of employment.
Acute resource shortages face programmes serving the refugee population in Iran. A heart-rending example of this was the threat of closure faced by the kindergarten school for war orphans in Mashhad, run by Afghan women teachers, who had not received salaries for six months.
I turn now to the impact on the overall human rights situation (a) of armed conflict and violations of international humanitarian law; and (b) of Taliban edicts and their application.
Civilians continued to bear the brunt of the fighting. In addition to the damage caused by sporadic indiscriminate bombing, large numbers of civilians have been displaced as they were obliged to abandon their homes and their meager possessions.
Around mid-July reports were received of human rights violations, in particular of the summary execution of prisoners in Taliban-held areas in the north of Afghanistan. The Taliban authorities have denied these reports. These allegations call for verification and are a matter which needs to be taken up further with all parties concerned.
I was able to interview General Ismail Khan, a former Governor of Herat, and two others who had escaped from a maximum security detention centre in Kandahar. They described their place of detention in Kandahar as the headquarters of Taliban intelligence called Istikhbarat, where there were cells which had no windows and where they were continuously kept confined in fetters except when they were allowed to go out to use toilet facilities. They had no opportunity to send or receive any letters or visits. Two of the interviewees gave harrowing accounts of torture (to which they were subjected). One of the interviewees reported that he had learnt that one of the prisoners who had been brought there, Suleiman Zirak, who was visiting the country relying on a general amnesty declared by the Taliban, was taken out and summarily executed.
The impact of the edicts in the period under review includes the arrest in July of Pakistani soccer players who had come to play football in Kandahar. They were arrested for having appeared on the football field in shorts, which was considered a violation of the " Islamic " dress code enforced by the Taliban which forbade the wearing of shorts. Subsequently, they were released and returned home. The Taliban authorities apologised for the occurrence and reported that the person responsible had been removed from his post.
In early July, an edict was issued banning Afghan women from working in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies. Since women workers played an important part in relief and other work, this adversely affected the work of NGOs and UN agencies including the World Food Programme, where over 600 women workers were being trained. This training programme was abruptly stopped.
On 8 July, Mary MacMakin, an American aid worker, aged 71 years, who had worked for over 20 years in Afghanistan, running a Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre, was arrested along with seven Afghan female workers on allegations of "spying and spreading anti-Taliban propaganda" . In response to representations, Ms. MacMakin, along with seven aid workers were released, but Ms. MacMakin was directed to leave Afghanistan within 24 hours, which she did. The larger issue of female employment affected by the edict continues to be pursued by the UN Coordinator.
According to some reports, the strict ban on female education imposed by the Taliban edicts after their takeover of Kabul in 1996 appeared in some measure to be softening. Girls up to high school age, it is reported, may attend informal schools, that are private or funded by international organizations. In some parts of the countryside, far from the eyes of the religious police, families can set up home schooling for girls with the support of village elders and tribal leaders. International NGOs help to fund some of this informal education.
Some other instances of relaxation that are reported are that on 8 March 2000, for the very first time in the recent history of Afghanistan, a formal public celebration of International Women ' s Day was held in Kabul, the capital. Seven hundred women of all ages, including former university professors, engineers, teachers, doctors, nurses and school principals, attended the celebration.
In a seminar in Kabul of provincial representatives and other officials of the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture, a proposal was discussed for relaxation of the ban on television, so that TV may be used to promote Islam, since edicts banning television, cinemas and music four years ago being still in force.
In mid-August, the Taliban ordered the United Nations to close down bakeries run by women in Kabul, selling subsidised bread to the capital ' s poorest women. This order was subsequently revoked.
A Statute on the Activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan was promulgated by the Taliban authorities around 15 August 2000 introducing substantial restrictions on the operations of the United Nations and specialized United Nations agencies which provide humanitarian, economic, rehabilitation and development assistance in Afghanistan. This measure could obstruct UN operations including humanitarian assistance and could impede access of the United Nations to all of the people of Afghanistan.
What then is needed to make measurable progress in improving the situation?
While taking note of the relaxations, caution needs to be exercised to guard against the inclination to read into these "relaxations" real progress which one would truly like to see. I had in my earlier reports made specific recommendations with regard to human rights violations involving inhuman and degrading punishment, violations of international humanitarian law, and above all restrictions imposed on women ' s rights, denying them access to employment, to education and to health facilities. I had urged that the edicts which were inconsistent with Afghanistan's obligations under international instruments to which it is a party, should be repealed.
The allegations regarding violations of international humanitarian law and the reports of alleged torture and summary execution need to be addressed by the Taliban authorities. I had intended to seek the comments of the Taliban authorities on these allegations in the course of my proposed visit to Afghanistan. My request for a visit in September was denied, but the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has written supporting my renewed request for a visit. If such reports prove to be correct, those responsible for summary execution and torture would incur international criminal responsibility, and the international community must consider appropriate measures in this regard. The allegations of summary executions and torture warrant further inquiry.
The United Nations and the international community are now actively focusing on the basic issues to which I had drawn attention in my earlier reports, namely, the need for a framework change, through resolute efforts to end the armed conflict and to move forward with a peace process, which would be inclusive and involve all segments of the Afghan population, inside and outside the country. The objective would be to to restore the country to all of its people through the establishment of a broad-based, multi-ethnic and truly representative government.
Such a broad-based government could undertake the rebuilding of the country, its economy and its institutions. It could be expected to repeal the "edicts" violative of human rights, to create conditions of confidence, enabling several million refugees to return to their homeland, and assure to women, men and children of Afghanistan enjoyment of their human rights to which they are entitled by virtue of the fact that Afghanistan is party to the main international human rights instruments.
More than ten years after the Geneva Accords (1988), the United Nations and the international community should not be content with half measures and inadequate steps which would prolong the agony of the Afghan people, who continue to be victims of a prolonged conflict, supported and promoted by external forces. They have too long been denied protection from external interference assured by the Geneva Accords and repeatedly urged by the United Nations Security Council as also the protection of their human rights guaranteed by international instruments.
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