UN RIGHTS EXPERT APPEALS TOINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY «NOT TO LET DOWN AFGHANISTAN»

21 January 2002

Following is the text of the appeal sent on 20 January 2002 by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the situation in Afghanistan, Kamal Hossain, to the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan:

«Pursuant to my mandate as Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Afghanistan, I am addressing this appeal to the Conference to extend the fullest possible support to the proposals presented to it for re-construction assistance to Afghanistan.

I have all along reported that the root cause of the deteriorating human rights situation had been prolonged armed conflict. I would now underline that the root cause of any failure to improve the human rights situation in Afghanistan would be the acute scarcity of resources.

The devastation of over two decades has inflicted untold suffering on the Afghan people. It has claimed countless lives and caused widespread destruction of property and sources of livelihood. Afghans have virtually been hostages in their own land, trapped in situations not of their making, and have been targets of lawless violence and massacres. The President of the United States in his statement of 12 October recognised that the Afghan people had been «victims of oppression and mis-rule» and that «there are few places on earth that faced greater misery» than Afghanistan.

The opportunity that is now presented for restoring Afghanistan to its people requires a massive national re-construction effort. The path to durable peace in Afghanistan necessarily involves the restoring of the human rights of the Afghan people, including in particular their right to life, personal security, sources of livelihood and property.

Sustainable improvement of human rights would involve replacing the rule of the gun by the rule of law. While life-saving humanitarian aid to meet survival needs must be accorded priority, I would like to report that during my recent visit to Kabul from 6 to 8 January, a consensus expressed by nearly all Afghans accorded the highest priority to security. Adequate resources are needed to restore the rule of law by putting in place a neutral and effective police force to ensure internal security. An administrative framework, based on transparency and accountability, must ensure due process and fairness. With regard to the situation of women, among the worst human rights victims, a recent press report makes the point that «cash not compassion is what women need».

I earnestly appeal to the Conference to ensure that the international community does not let down the Afghan people. The women, children and men of Afghanistan have the right to expect that the international community will make its historic contribution and will generously provide what is needed for national re-construction».


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