UN EXPERT RECOMMENDS INTERNATIONAL INQUIRY INTO GRAVE RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN OVER LAST 23 YEARS

24 October 2002



The following statement was issued in Kabul on 23 October 2002 by Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Ms. Jahangir carried out a field mission to Afghanistan from 13 to 23 October.


"My mandate as Special Rapporteur is that of an independent expert. I have been mandated by the Commission on Human Rights – the member states – to report on the situation regarding extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions around the world. During my tenure of four years, I have keenly followed the events and taken up incidents of extrajudicial and summary executions in my reports to the Commission on Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Dr. Kamal Hossain, encouraged me to carry out the present mission, and the Transitional Islamic Administration of Afghanistan has kindly welcomed it.

During my 10 day mission I met with Government representatives, including President Hamid Karzai, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior, the Attorney-General as well as other officials. I also met with the Chief Justice, members of the judiciary, and members of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. I had discussions with various representatives of the international community, officials from UNAMA – including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi - the agencies and programmes of the UN, as well as members of civil society. I also met with families of victims and witnesses of extra-judicial killings, as well as internally displaced persons. I undertook brief visits to Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Paghman.

I would like to sincerely thank the Afghan authorities for providing me full and free access during my mission. I am grateful to UNAMA, and in particular the Human Rights Unit, for facilitating the mission despite the very limited resources at their disposal.

I will soon be submitting my report to the Commission on Human Rights, which will convene in March 2003. In the meantime I will continue to communicate my concerns and recommendations to the Government in order to assist them in their endeavour to protect and promote human rights.

The situation in Afghanistan is unique as the Transitional Administration, the international community and, most importantly, the people of Afghanistan are collectively rebuilding a society and a country, which has suffered from 23 years of conflict and a series of grave human rights violations. This spirit should be shared. The circumstances are bound to be complex, as the legacy of the past cannot be wiped away in a matter of months. At the same time, I feel encouraged at the political will shown by the people and the Government of Afghanistan to build peace and secure justice. I do not find them alone, as the international community stands firmly behind the rebuilding of a democratic and just society in this country.

The progress is truly admirable, and I urge the friends of Afghanistan to put even greater resources and expertise at the disposal of the Government and the people so that their institutions are strengthened in order to effectively respond to their urgent need for justice as the cycle of violence has not completely ended and impunity remains entrenched. In this context I am very much encouraged by the assurance given to me by President Karzai that he will shortly recommend to the cabinet that Afghanistan accede to the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

My information indicates and my impression is that incidents of extrajudicial and summary executions have dramatically decreased. However, an atmosphere of fear prevails, especially in areas outside Kabul. A proper assessment of the situation is rendered particularly difficult due to the still very weak structures for monitoring violations of human rights.

There are a number of incidents which have come to my attention where extrajudicial and summary executions allegedly continue to be carried out with impunity. I will be enumerating these in my report. To give some examples: I received information that in Kandahar Province an individual suspected of murder was allegedly apprehended by the local police and subsequently summarily executed by the same police officers on their way back to the police station. Another example concerns a man from a village in the North, who was killed by a local militia for intervening in a dispute over factional control of access to water sources. The leadership intervened and the militia leader apologized to the other villagers by offering compensation for the crime. The villagers have refused and are requesting that the militia leader be arrested and charged – so far no action has been taken. There are a number of such examples.

The lives of women remain vulnerable and there are reports of killings of women by their family members in the name of morality. Despite interventions by local NGOs the authorities have looked away, and have taken no action to investigate such murders. Such gender-based impunity by any State is a clear discrimination of the right to life of women.

During my visit I met a number of men and women who have witnessed summary executions carried out by the previous Taliban regime. The accounts were horrifying. There are a number of mass graves lending credibility to their accounts. Incidents of large-scale extrajudicial executions of the pre-Taliban period were also reported. The numbers of people executed in the last 23 years are staggering. In addition, the spectre of impunity of the alleged extrajudicial executions of prisoners during the fall of the Taliban who are allegedly buried at Dasht-e-Laily is disturbing. Allegations of indiscriminate and excessive use of force by Coalition Forces in villages in Uruzgan province during July 2002 are also a matter of grave concern.

The lack of capacity in the domestic judicial system has time and again been pointed out and indeed been observed by me during a well-publicized trial. I am concerned that the safeguards and restrictions according to international standards for imposing capital punishment cannot be observed at this stage. I therefore urge that the punishment of death penalty be suspended and a moratorium on executions be implemented until such standards can be met.

I am convinced that the cycle of violence cannot be broken unless impunity ends. I find a consensus for justice for the past and present violations of human rights. There has to be accountability across the board in an impartial and transparent manner. The mechanism for delivering such justice should be independent so that there is no possibility of selective accountability.

I am hopeful that all these shortcomings will be addressed in due course, but the process for accountability must be addressed without delay. I am particularly concerned about bringing to justice perpetrators of crimes against humanity. It is not the obligation of the people and Government of Afghanistan alone, but of the entire international community to ensure justice where such grave human rights violations have been committed.

I recommend that an independent and impartial international commission of inquiry be constituted to take the first step in mapping and documenting a comprehensive account of grave human rights violations committed during the last 23 years. The findings of this commission of inquiry will be a stepping stone towards setting up a mechanism of accountability so that perpetrators are brought to justice. Such an international commission of inquiry would ensure complete impartiality and non-selectivity.

In parallel to this process the ongoing efforts to strengthen the legal and judicial system must be speeded up. This would ensure that current perpetrators of extrajudicial and summary executions are held accountable. In addition, the Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission should be supported in accelerating the process of identifying a transitional justice strategy for Afghanistan so that the international commission of inquiry can benefit for the experience and thus be in a better position to recommend the nature of a mechanism of justice which will be effective and respond to the needs of the people of Afghanistan.

The next step in this process could be led by the international commission of inquiry in consultation with the Government, the Independent Human Rights Commission and civil society so that the envisaged mechanism for justice is devised out of this shared experience.

In sum, justice is essential to break the cycle of violence and for sustainable peace. The transitional period of Afghanistan must only go forward. Its reversal can be detrimental not only to the people of Afghanistan but to the entire population and security of the region and could lead to new mass outflows of refugees.

The people of Afghanistan deserve peace and justice and it is incumbent on all democratic forces to remain fully behind them so that they can make their aspirations a reality.

Thank you"



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