U.N. Afghanistan Envoy's Sacking Highlights Abuses, Secrecy

[struggle4progress]

William Fisher

NEW YORK, Apr 29 (IPS) - Cherif Bassiouni, the ... Egyptian-born law professor and 1999 nominee for the Nobel peace prize accused U.S. and coalition forces of detaining prisoners without trial, refusing to allow him to interview alleged Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at the Kandahar and Bagram U.S. bases, and barring independent human rights monitors from visiting these bases. <snip>

The report said that U.S. and coalition forces and special units of the Afghan security agencies and police ''act above and beyond the reach of the law by engaging in arbitrary arrests and detentions and committing abusive practices, including torture.'' <snip>

Bassiouni delivered his report last week and was informed by e-mail the same day that the 53-member U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva had decided not to renew his mandate. <snip>

Appointed a year ago by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Bassiouni is a law professor at U.S.-based DePaul University, president of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences in Siracusa, Italy, and honorary president of the International Association of Penal Law, based in Paris, France.

http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=28505