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Berlin, 5 December 2001




Statement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Mrs Mary Robinson,

at the Annual Meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group


Responding to the human rights needs of Afghan men,
women and children





Afghan men, women and children have, for too long, suffered the most appalling human rights violations. Some 1.5 million people are estimated to have died as a direct result of the ongoing conflict. Another 4 million have fled as refugees to Iran and Pakistan, with many others living as exiles elsewhere, and a large proportion of its population internally displaced. Summary executions and massacres, torture, rape, persecution of women and minorities, repression, discrimination, and arbitrary detention have all ravaged Afghanistan. Today, millions of Afghans are denied enjoyment of their rights to adequate food, housing, health and physical security.

However, Afghanistan now finds itself at a turning point: a new nation may result. If the efforts of the Afghan people and the international community are to succeed, that future must be built upon strong foundations of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

This will require the integration of human rights in all aspects of the international community’s response to the crisis in Afghanistan - political, humanitarian, reconstruction and development. The human rights dimension should be based upon certain principles. These are:

- non-discrimination (gender, ethnicity, region, religion),
- attention to the needs of the most at risk ,
- free and meaningful participation of all sectors of Afghan society, including women,
- the political and economic empowerment of Afghan men and women (including Afghan civil society),
- accountability and justice for the victims of gross violations of human rights, war crimes and crimes against humanity
- respect for international human rights and humanitarian law standards
- and respect for the national aspirations, and the political, cultural and economic needs of the women and men of Afghanistan.

In short a comprehensive approach is required. Such an approach will respond to the urgent protection needs of the present, will build the institutional infrastructures for the sustained protection of human rights and the rule of law in Afghanistan’s future, and will address the past by tackling impunity and bringing perpetrators of gross violations of human rights, war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.

UN action will be required in four principal areas:

First, while the protection of human rights of all in Afghanistan should be pursued, particular attention must be paid to especially vulnerable groups, such as the populations in territories where political control has changed, women, children, especially girls, prisoners, ethnic and religious minorities. These objectives will require the setting up of a strong human rights component as part of the UN’s effort in Afghanistan. A well defined and well funded human rights presence needs to undertake human rights monitoring and reporting, provide protection and advice on the ground, promote human rights capacity building and guide transitional justice initiatives.

Second, the integration of human rights in all UN humanitarian assistance, development cooperation, political affairs and security support in Afghanistan to ensure sustainable peace and development in Afghanistan.

Third, UN support to the Afghan people for the reconstruction and strengthening of domestic institutions of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, based upon international standards, yet tailored to domestic Afghan needs, aspirations and realities, and under the authority of the men and women of Afghanistan themselves. We must encourage the development of a culture of respect for human rights. These processes should maximize the use of Afghan national capacities from within the country and in the Diaspora.

Fourth, sustainable peace, reconciliation, reconstruction and development cannot be built on impunity. Thus, there is a need to ensure accountability for past abuses, (and thereby to deter future abuses and restore the security and confidence of the people), through monitoring, investigation, documentation, and the bringing to justice of perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gross violations of human rights through appropriate mechanisms, in a process based upon international standards, and reflecting the needs, aspirations and realities of the Afghan people.

In seeking to ensure the full integration of human rights in all aspects of the UN’s response to the crisis in Afghanistan, OHCHR is currently undertaking a number of initiatives, in full coordination with the UN family.

OHCHR is seeking to ensure that human rights concerns are woven into the design of the new complex UN mission in Afghanistan and that the mission’s human rights component has appropriate authority, resources, personnel and mandate to effectively respond to and address the human rights challenges. It is also essential that the full machinery of the UN’s human rights programme and the wider human rights community, including NGOs, play a central role in and provide support to, the human rights component of any future UN presence in Afghanistan.

In seeking to assist Afghanistan to build democracy, development and respect for human rights, the UN, and in particular, OHCHR, will rely on the generosity of donors to implement and support its human rights initiatives and activities. The international community must remain vigilant, however, as the risk of re-igniting widespread conflict in Afghanistan still looms. As we bring about a lasting end to the suffering of Afghan men, women and children, it is only through the establishment of strong human rights foundations that the efforts of the Afghan people and of the international community to achieve peace and justice in Afghanistan will prevail.

Thank you.



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