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E/CN.4/1999/40
24 March 1999
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-fifth session
Item 9 of the agenda
QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND
FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD
Report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan submitted
by Mr. Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur in accordance with
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/70
Introduction
1. A Special Rapporteur was first appointed to examine the human rights
situation in Afghanistan in 1984 (Economic and Social Council resolution
1984/37 of 24 May 1984). Since then the mandate has been renewed regularly.
Mr. Felix Ermacora served as Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan from 1984
until his death in 1995. Mr. Choong-Hyun Paik was appointed in April 1995
and his mandate was renewed in 1996 and 1997. However, he resigned towards
the end of 1998.
2. Before his resignation, Mr. Paik submitted to the Commission on Human
Rights a report (E/CN.4/1998/71 of 12 March 1998) referred to below as
the 1998 report. An interim report (memorandum) prepared by him was
transmitted to the General Assembly with a note by the Secretary-General
(A/53/539 of 26 October 1998), referred to below as the 1998 interim report.
3. The present Special Rapporteur was appointed by the Commission on Human
Rights in December 1998. He received some of the background documentary
material in New York in January 1999 and indicated the need urgently to
schedule a visit to Afghanistan in order to be able to submit his report
to the Commission at its next session. He visited Geneva in the first week
of February 1999 and had the benefit of background briefing in the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He met
the High Commissioner and other senior officials. He also met the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and senior officials of UNHCHR.
4. The visit to Afghanistan remained subject to a security assessment
being conducted by the United Nations following the withdrawal of all
international United Nations agency personnel from Afghanistan after a
United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) official was killed
in 1998. The return of United Nations personnel was to take place when
"the security situation proved conducive to their return". The Special
Rapporteur scheduled a visit for mid-February 1999 but was advised to
defer his visit for a few weeks. Ultimately, he visited Afghanistan from
16 to 18 March 1999. He was in Islamabad on 15, 16, 19 and 20 March and
in Peshawar on 18 and 19 March 1999.
5. In Kabul, the Special Rapporteur held meetings with the Deputy Minister
for Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Health, the Minister for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and senior officials of the
respective ministries. He had a round-table meeting with representatives
of United Nations agencies. He also met representatives of NGOs and a
cross-section of citizens. The Special Rapporteur visited the Maiwand
Hospital and went to different parts of the city and saw the
devastation caused by the protracted armed conflict.
6. In Islamabad, the Special Rapporteur had meetings with the Minister
for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and senior officials of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, with United Nations officials and NGO representatives
engaged in humanitarian assistance operations in Afghanistan. In
Peshawar, he met a cross-section of Afghan refugees - men and women -
representatives of NGOs and United Nations agencies and government officials.
7. The Special Rapporteur, in these circumstances, was presented with
an impossible time constraint in preparing a report which he was advised
had to be submitted by 22 March 1999. Given significant developments
which had taken place since the submission of the 1998 report by his
predecessor, the Special Rapporteur felt it was important for him to
submit a written report, even if only in an abridged form, in order to
review the impact of those developments on the human rights situation
in Afghanistan. The present report, therefore, highlights the key facts
and issues, which could subsequently be elaborated upon in a detailed
report to the United Nations General Assembly. In view of the time
required for translation and circulation, the Special Rapporteur was
requested to limit the present report to around 12 pages.
8. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express his sincere appreciation
to the authorities of Afghanistan and the Government of Pakistan for
having extended full cooperation and to officials of the United Nations
and its agencies, and to NGO representatives whom he met in connection
with his mandate. He would, in particular, like to thank the United
Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan and the staff of the Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations
in Islamabad and Kabul for their invaluable assistance, without which
it would have been impossible for the Special Rapporteur to carry out
his mission.
I. OUTLINE OF EVENTS RELATING TO THE POLITICAL SITUATION
IN AFGHANISTAN SINCE THE SUBMISSION OF THE 1998 REPORT
9. The period under review (1 September 1998-20 March 1999) witnessed
the continuation of the armed conflict. Its major features are
reviewed in the United Nations Secretary-General's report on the
situation in Afghanistan of 23 November 1998 (A/53/695-S/1998/1109)
and in related documents.
10. After taking control of Mazar-I-Sharif on 8 August 1998, the
Taliban went on to capture Bamyan on 13 September 1998, completing
their sweep of northern Afghanistan, with the exception of a few
provinces in the north-east. As the Taliban advances continued in
northern Afghanistan, tension between the Taliban and the Islamic
Republic of Iran began to mount along the Iranian-Afghan border. The
situation deteriorated sharply after it was acknowledged on 10
September 1998 that, in the course of the military operations carried
out by the Taliban in Mazar-I-Sharif, eight Iranian diplomats and one
journalist were killed on the premises of the Iranian Consulate General.
After conducting initial military exercises on the border, involving
some 70,000 troops, in early September, the Islamic Republic of Iran
announced on 12 September 1998 that it would conduct military
manoeuvres involving an additional 200,000 troops. To counter this, the
Taliban moved some 10,000 fighters to the border areas from other front lines.
11. In spite of this development along the Iranian-Afghan border, the
Taliban engaged in operations to take over the remaining areas
controlled by forces of the United Front (UF) in the north. However,
their multi-pronged offensive against the forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud
of the UF did not succeed. On 17 October 1998, the UF forces
re-entered Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province, which had fallen
to the Taliban in August.
12. In his report, the Secretary-General went on to record:
"Throughout the period, there had been many allegations as well as
credible reports of external, mostly covert interference for both
sides of the war. One of the stark examples of such outside
intervention was the recent interception by the Kyrghyz authorities
of a full train load of weapons and ammunition said to be destined
for UF factions. Also, sources reported to UNSMA on sorties of
unmarked aircraft to UF air bases and heavy military supplies ferried
across the Oxus River to reinforce Massoud forces. The Taliban were
in no way immune to similar allegations. There have been persistent
reports of massive amounts of support, in terms of military equipment,
know-how and funds, that their militia has allegedly received from
outside sources." (A/33/695-S/1998/1109, para. 10).
13. In the context of these developments, the Secretary-General's
Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, has been engaged
in consultations with all the Afghan factions and leaders of the
Governments and authorities concerned. He undertook missions in
September and October 1998 and in February and March 1999 on a range
of issues extending from the allegations of massacres in 1997 and 1998,
to the flare-up of fighting in northern Afghanistan and the tension
between Iran and the Taliban. The core issue in these consultations,
however, has been to work out a process and develop a framework for
achieving lasting peace in Afghanistan.
14. These consultations led to the initiation of talks in Ashkabad
on 14 March 1999 between representatives of the Taliban and the UF.
Kabul Radio reported on 15 March 1999 that the Taliban and the UF had
accepted a two-point peace accord that called for a cease-fire and for
talks on a power-sharing formula. On 14 March 1999, the spokesmen for
the two sides had told reporters that they had agreed to share power
and to work for a permanent cease-fire. The Taliban spokesman had
stated that they had agreed on the main principles of forming "a
unified and widely representative government" and had spoken of
establishing "a shared legislature, shared executive and shared
judiciary". The next round of talks is expected to be held shortly.
15. These developments raised issues touching upon the operations
of the United Nations in three major areas: (a) humanitarian
assistance operations, (b) its responsibility in relation to the
protection of human rights and (c) its role in securing the
resolution of the armed conflict and in achieving lasting peace.
II. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE IMPACT OF THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC
AND POLITICAL FACTORS ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION
16. The overall situation at the end of 1998 was characterized by
continuing armed conflict, the political crisis resulting from lack
of agreement on the framework for durable peace, the continuing
violations and denial of human rights and the deteriorating
humanitarian situation, affected by the absence of international
personnel of the United Nations agencies as well as others engaged
in humanitarian work, and the reduction of resource flows.
17. A daunting challenge is presented by the economic and social,
and by the political realities on the ground. The economic and social
factors include: widespread loss of human life, destruction of social
and economic infrastructure, environmental degradation, food
insecurity and malnutrition -with the additional losses caused by the
floods and earthquakes which struck south-western and north-eastern
Afghanistan in 1998 - high levels of unemployment and poverty, and
further increases in illicit drug production. These factors are
reflected in some of the critical socio-economic indicators summarized below:
Food consumption per capita is still lower than before the war;
Chronic malnutrition exists in most parts of Afghanistan;
Hardly any girls and only 24 per cent of boys attend school;
Over 3 million refugees still live outside Afghanistan;
Over 2 million people are internally displaced;
Over 700 square kilometers are known to be contaminated with
landmines and unexploded ordnance;
The infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world;
One million houses need rebuilding;
Only five per cent of the rural population have access to safe water;
In most of the country, women suffer deprivation due to widespread
poverty, low literacy levels, limited opportunities to participate in
public life, limited availability of health care facilities and
restrictions on the employment of women in urban areas;
The country has acquired the dubious distinction of being the world's
largest producer of narcotic substances.
18. The present political context is defined by a lull in the fighting
as possibilities of a transition towards a negotiated peace are
explored. The Taliban authorities made significant military gains in
August 1998. While they seek international recognition, they continue
to pursue policies which are in conflict with international human rights
standards by which Afghanistan is bound as a party to the major
international human rights instruments. These include the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It has also signed
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
19. The Afghan people have suffered gross violations of their human
rights during 20 years of armed conflict, which was triggered by the
invasion of Afghanistan by foreign troops. The Geneva Accords, signed in
1988, envisaged that with the withdrawal of foreign troops (completed in
1989) the conditions would be created that would enable Afghan refugees
to return voluntarily to their country. Non-interference in the internal
affairs of Afghanistan and non-intervention were to be internationally
guaranteed and the United Nations was entrusted with a monitoring role
in relation to the interrelated set of obligations created by the Accords.
It was expected that the human rights of the Afghan people would thus be
safeguarded. This legitimate expectation remains unfulfilled to date.
20. The 1998 report and the 1998 interim report (memorandum) of the
previous Special Rapporteur referred to alleged massacres and summary
executions, to outbursts of ethnic violence and other violations of human
rights ranging from the infliction of inhuman and degrading punishment
to systematic gender discrimination, including denial to women of access
to medical care and employment. The draft memorandum was sent to the
Taliban representatives who by their note verbale of 21 October 1998
contested these allegations, stating that they had not been verified
and that no mention had been made of cases in which, according to them,
"thousands of unarmed and peace-demanding Taliban were tortured". Their
response concluded with an appeal "to humanitarians of the world to
please heal the wounds of the Afghans".
21. The healing of the wounds of the Afghan people requires an end to
human rights violations. Such healing must embrace all Afghans,
regardless of ethnicity, religion and gender. During his visit to
Kabul, the Special Rapporteur observed some relaxation of the
restrictions imposed on the rights of women, as a few women doctors
and nurses were seen at work in a hospital attending to female patients.
A more flexible attitude was expressed by Taliban representatives with
regard to the access of girls to education, and a recent edict granted
exemption to needy widows from the restriction against the employment
of women in urban areas. It was urged that it was imperative to maintain
and enhance humanitarian assistance not only to meet basic human needs
and thus to uphold the right to life of millions of suffering Afghans,
but also to provide incentives for ending or significantly relaxing the
existing restrictions which were violative of human rights. A more
comprehensive assessment would be possible through further visits by
the Special Rapporteur and would be helped by visits of the thematic
Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
on torture and on violence against women. The United Nations
investigation into the massacres may also provide material which would
be useful for an overall assessment.
22. The Strategic Framework statement of September 1998 relating to
United Nations operations in Afghanistan describes the complex reality
of that country thus: "It mixes a volatile and violent political
crisis, a human rights and humanitarian emergency, and two decades
of missed development opportunities. The fragmentation of the country
and the collapse of practically all institutions of the State, also
constitute 'an emergency of governance'". The declared purpose of
the Strategic Framework, namely to enhance the synergy between the
political objective of building peace and international assistance
activities, and promoting greater effectiveness and coherence of
such activities requires a positive and flexible approach and
enhancement of resources for humanitarian assistance, not a negative
and rigid approach or the reduction of the resources committed to
humanitarian assistance.
23. In its resolution 1193 (1998) of 28 August 1998, the Security
Council identified a further relevant factor when it noted the fact
that despite repeated pleas by the Security Council, the General
Assembly and the Secretary-General to halt foreign interference in
Afghanistan, including the involvement of foreign military personnel
and the supply of arms and ammunition to all parties in the
conflict, such interference continued unabated.
24. The unceasing flow of arms to all sides in the conflict
has been recognized as a critical factor which contributes to
the persistence of human rights abuses by subjecting men, women
and children to the arbitrary rule of those who use those arms
and by making people virtual hostages in their own land.
Apprehensions have been expressed that the onset of spring may
see the resumption of conflict in a number of areas in Afghanistan,
as it has been reported that there are visible signs of fresh
military supplies being received by all sides. This would expose
the local civilian population to gross violations of human rights,
ranging from revenge killing to starvation from blockades.
25. The United Nations has recognized the central importance of
human rights in a strategy of peace building through a transition
process leading to the formation of "a representative transitional
government of national unity". The objectives of that policy are stated to be:
To achieve a cessation of hostilities;
To seek a regional political consensus in support of the peace process;
To seek direct negotiations between all parties on a political settlement.
26. It was expressly acknowledged that the strategy is based upon
the following assumptions: "that Afghanistan's neighbours need peace
as much as it does - the war in Afghanistan has had profound
implications for its neighbouring countries; that no peace is
possible in Afghanistan unless all arms and ammunition supply to
the warring factions is stopped; that an embargo on arms can only
succeed if the neighbouring countries actively assist in enforcing
it; that no single faction, at the present time, can govern the
totality of Afghan territory by itself and a government of national
unity, composed of the different factions, is therefore needed;
and, finally, that all factions must make significant progress in
the area of human rights, particularly the treatment of women and
minority ethnic groups, in order to attain sustainable peace,
international recognition and full-scale resumption of
reconstruction and developmental assistance".
27. The Security Council endorsed this strategy in its resolution
1214 (1998) of 8 December 1998 by reiterating its call upon all
States to take resolute measures to prohibit their military personnel
from planning and participating in military operations in Afghanistan
and immediately to end the supply of arms and ammunitions to all
parties to the conflict, and by demanding that all Afghan factions
put an end to discrimination against girls and women and other
violations of human rights as well as violations of international
humanitarian law, and adhere to international norms and standards
in this sphere.
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