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Un rights chief warns Afghanistan situation worsening

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Afghanistan's human rights progress has been thwarted by armed conflict, censorship, abuse of power, and violence against women, according to a report delivered Thursday to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The report says that addressing these problems requires addressing poverty, and that the Afghan government has a responsibility to help national institutions protect human rights. Pillay's report recommends that Afghanistan's government create a human rights unit in the Ministry of Justice to combat poverty faced by groups burdened by discrimination. The government must also ensure an impartial judiciary and law-enforcement body, and promote open and peaceful elections, the report says. Under Afghanistan's constitution, men and women have equal rights, but, according to the report, women are being prosecuted for acts Afghan law does not define as crimes: "The Government is failing to adequately protect the rights of women in Afghanistan despite constitutional guarantees and its international obligations." Another report Pillay presented to the council Thursday suggests that 2008's food crisis, prompted by high food costs in the US, combined with the current economic crisis to negatively impact human-rights situations globally. Afghanistan continues to receive criticism for its human rights record. Last week, the US State Department (DOS) released its annual 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, criticizing Afghanistan for its continued use of child labor. In November, Pillay urged Afghan President Hamad Karzai to put a stop to executions and join nations calling for a death penalty moratorium after five prisoners were executed over the course of four days. Last March, Chief Human Rights Officer Norah Niland of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan called on the Afghan government to do more to protect human rights and see that human rights violators are brought to justice.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 05, 2009 (boomark / email).