CASR

Canadian
American
Strategic
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Afghan Mission  -  Women's Rights  -  NATO / ISAF  –  October  2003 Do  the  Nations  of  NATO / ISAF,  including  Canada, have the power to guarantee Afghan women's rights? Excerpts  from  a  recent  report  by  Amnesty  International [ Update:  On  04  April 2009,  at the NATO summit in Strasbourg,  Prime Minister Stephen  Harper  asserted,  with  deep  conviction,  that  the equality of  men and women "goes to the heart" of  Canada's system of  values.  He  spoke out against the  attempt  by  President  Hamid  Karzai  to  codify  a  ' marital  custom '  into  the legal structure  of  the  Islamic  Republic  of  Afghanistan  –  a  law  which  would, in the long  run,  undermine the basic  human rights of  Afghan women and girls.] [ Ed:  Amnesty  International  is justifiably  concerned  that  not enough  effort is being made to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls.  There is always the possibility that the 'international community' will cut a deal with some of the more 'cooperative'  warlords.  Everyone is eager  to build  a new  'nation- state',  but AI argues that there can be no legitimate,  modern  nation-state  without a guarantee of  human rights, especially,  in this case,  the rights of  Afghan  girls and women. Below is an edited  version of  the Introduction  to  their  report of  October  2003. The full text of the report can be found on their website at Amnesty International. A warning: Some  parts of this report are difficult  to  stomach,  so  brutalized  has Afghan  society  become after  a quarter of  a century  of  nothing  but  civil  war.] The  New  Afghanistan:   Will  justice  for  women  and  girls  be  championed? "The  recovery  of  Afghanistan  must  entail  the restoration  of   the   rights  of   Afghan   women. Indeed,  it  will  not  be  possible  without  them." –  Colin  Powell,  [then]  US  Secretary  of  State Rigid  social,  moral, and behavioural codes were imposed  under  the Taleban.  Well - publicized, they  included  severe  restrictions  on  women's access  to  freedom  of   movement,   expression, and  association.  But, during  this  same  period, there  were  widespread   human   rights   abuses committed  by  regional  commanders [warlords] of  the  Northern  Alliance.   [These]  were  little publicized outside Afghanistan.  Many of those [warlords now]  hold  powerful  positions  in  the regions,  and  within   the  Afghan   Government. The  Status  of  Afghan  Girls  and  Women  Today Two years after the end of the Taleban regime, the international community and the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA),  led by President Hamid Karzai, have proven themselves unable to protect women. Amnesty  International  is concerned by the extent of violence faced by women and girls  in  Afghanistan.  The  risk of  rape and  sexual violence by members of armed  factions  and  former  combatants  [ militias ]  is  still  high. Forced marriage,  particularly of girl children,  and violence against women in the family are  widespread  in many areas of  the country.  These  crimes of  violence continue  with the active support,  or passive complicity,  of state agents,  armed groups,  families,  and  communities.  This  continuing  violence  against  women causes  untold  suffering,  and  denies  women  their  fundamental  human  rights. Weak judicial institutions The criminal justice system is too weak to offer effective protection of women's right to life and physical security, and itself subjects them to discrimination and abuse.  Prosecution  for  violence against women,  and protection  for women at acute risk of violence, is virtually absent. Those women who overcome powerful barriers and seek redress are unlikely to have their complaints considered, or their rights defended.  In certain regions of Afghanistan, women accused of adultery are routinely detained, as are those who attempt  to  assert  their  right,  under  Afghan  law  and  international  standards, to  marry  a  spouse  of  their  choice. Legal reform and more effectice justice system required The criminal justice system will have to play a central role if women are to realize their rights in Afghanistan. The role of an effective, functioning criminal justice system is  to provide remedy  to victims of  human  rights abuses  and  to bring accused people to justice in accordance with international standards for fair trial. Legal  reform,  the  rebuilding  of  the  police  force,  and  the  restructuring  of  the judicial  system,  with  international  support,  are  currently  being  taken  forward in  Afghanistan.  Such  measures  offer  a  significant  opportunity  to  build  the [ local ]  capacity  to  protect  the  rights  of  Afghan  women  and  girls. Amnesty International is, however, concerned that despite certain positive steps this  vital  opportunity  will  be missed.  No clear strategy  appears to be  in place to ensure  that  discrimination  against  women  –   within  existing  structures  – will  be ended,  or that the capacity  to protect the rights of  women  will be built. Pressure from donor states needed to hold Afghan authorities to account Key donors supporting reform of  the police and judiciary have failed to ensure that  their  intervention  will  support  protection of  women's  rights.  In certain instances, international intervention may even be perpetuating and condoning gender discrimination. Protection and shelters for women at risk  have not been created,  and legal aid  provision  remains  entirely  inadequate. In both planning and implementation,  donors funding  the reconstruction of  the justice system have displayed an alarming lack of attention to the specific needs of women who come into contact with the justice system,  as well as to  violence against  women [ in general ].  These issues are key  to the  protection of  human rights  and  to  [ the  long - term ]  development of  Afghanistan. The Role of the UN Security Council The  UN  Security  Council  has  expressed  its  commitment  to  giving  gender  equality  a  central  place  in  post-conflict  reconstruction  and  peace  operations  through  its  adoption  of  UN  Security  Council  Resolution  1325  addressing :  "Women,  Peace  and  Security". The international community's  involvement in Afghanistan  is an important test case for seeing  whether the will and resources  to ensure such commitments are, in  fact,  implemented. Afghanistan's commitments under international law In early 2003, the ATA made a legally binding commitment to respect and ensure respect for women's rights through ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Afghanistan is a party to other important human rights treaties and has thus undertaken to guarantee that the rights contained in these instruments are afforded to all Afghans without discrimination. The ratification of CEDAW was a major development. Afghanistan has made a specific commitment to address women's rights in law and practice; in public, political, social and cultural life; as well as in personal status laws, education, health and work. The ATA has also ratified the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC), which contains gender sensitive definitions of crimes and procedures to protect vulnerable victims and witnesses. This constitutes a model for domestic legal reform. Afghanistan's difficulties cannot excuse failure to defend women's rights Amnesty International recognizes the difficulties facing Afghanistan as it seeks to recover from over 23 years of conflict. However, it is vital that measures to protect the rights of women are built into legal and constitutional reform, and integrated into policing and criminal justice processes. A system of justice that meets the needs of women and merits their trust will be essential if this critical challenge is to be met. Amnesty International believes that the rebuilding of the criminal justice system in Afghanistan must be designed with the intention to protect women from violence and to create the capacity to offer justice to victims. Amnesty International calls on the ATA and the international community to act with urgency to protect women from violence, and to build a criminal justice system that is able to defend women's right to live free from violence. The organization believes that international standards offer Afghanistan a strong and coherent framework to undertake this essential task.