Afghanistan: Justice for War Criminals Essential to Peace

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/f68942e8dca4976b3209191012e9397c.htm

12 Dec 2006 00:34:12 GMT

President Hamid Karzai should immediately enforce a program to provide truth, reconciliation and accountability for war crimes and major human rights abuses over the past 30 years in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said today. The Afghan government should establish a special court to try those responsible, some of whom hold high office, as soon as possible, Human Rights Watch said. The Afghan government approved the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice on December 12, 2005, but delayed implementing it in part because Kabul and its international backers feared that calling for justice would further weaken Afghanistan's precarious security situation.

"The Afghan government and its foreign allies are finally moving against those who have brought such devastation for so long," said Sam Zarifi, Asia research director at Human Rights Watch. "Justice is vital for long-term stability. Afghans need to know the government can tackle the warlords and provide basic security, despite Taliban claims to the contrary."

For the past five years, the Afghan government, the United Nations and the international community, led by the United States, have pursued a counter-productive policy of relying on war criminals, human rights abusers, and drug-traffickers instead of prosecuting them, Human Rights Watch said. Karzai mistakenly tried to bring all political forces under his umbrella, while the US worked with many such individuals as part of its "war on terror."