RECOMMENDATIONS

To the International Community:
· Support the expansion of the mandate and duration of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan to include areas outside Kabul, most urgently northern Afghanistan. Pledge troops and other support for an expanded ISAF.

· Support the timely creation of an Afghan national army that is representative of Afghanistan's diversity, is professional, and respects the rights of civilians.

· Insist that Afghan commanders and combatants responsible for war crimes or other serious human rights violations are not allowed to serve in any capacity in law enforcement or military roles.

· Immediately cease any direct or indirect military support, financial support, or technical cooperation with commanders and forces that are implicated in war crimes or serious human rights violations.

· Increase funding for human rights monitoring in Afghanistan, including the Afghan Human Rights Commission that is to be established under the provisions of the Bonn Agreement, and the various human rights monitoring mechanisms of the United Nations.

· Establish permanent training programs in human rights and humanitarian law for Afghan police and military forces.

· Support efforts to establish accountability for past and current abuses committed in Afghanistan, including efforts at promoting international justice as well as the strengthening of Afghan institutions of justice that respect internationally recognized norms.

· Publicly denounce human rights abuses against ethnic Pashtuns and other communities and urge respect for the rights of all Afghans as one of the principle objectives for the international community in Afghanistan.

· Provide international protection and assistance to ethnic Pashtuns who flee Afghanistan for fear of persecution, as well as those who are internally displaced. In particular, urge neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to open their borders to asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

· Ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches Pashtuns and other communities in northern Afghanistan that have been internally displaced as a result of ethnically-targeted violence, including urban displaced persons and persons living in unregistered displaced persons' settlements.

To the United Nations Security Council:
· Expand the mandate of the ISAF in Afghanistan to include areas outside Kabul, most urgently to northern Afghanistan.

· Establish a committee of experts to investigate past and current crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other grave abuses committed in Afghanistan, and to recommend appropriate measures of accountability.

· Establish an effective and comprehensive U.N. human rights monitoring presence throughout Afghanistan, as envisioned under the Bonn Agreement.

To the Afghan Interim Administration:
Human Rights Watch appreciates that the Afghan Interim Administration is for the moment a relatively weak body, with only limited effective authority outside Kabul. In order to adequately address the tasks it faces, the Interim Administration will need extensive support from the international community.

· Work toward the timely establishment of an Afghan national army that is representative of Afghanistan's diversity, is professional, and respects the rights of civilians.

· Ensure that former commanders and combatants responsible for war crimes or other serious human rights violations are not allowed to serve in any capacity in law enforcement or military roles.

· Prosecute commanders and combatants responsible for war crimes or other serious human rights violations.

· Initiate a national process to resolve competing land and property claims between ethnic communities in Afghanistan, and to foster better relations between ethnic communities.

To Junbish-i Milly-yi Islami, Jamiat-e Islami, and Hizb-i Wahdat:
The three main ethnically-based armed militias in northern Afghanistan are also represented in the interim government. In particular, Defense Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim is in command of the Jamiat forces; Deputy Defense Minister Abdul Rashid Dostum is in command of Junbish; and planning minister and co-chairman of the Interim Cabinet Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq is the senior leader of Hizb-i Wahdat in northern Afghanistan. As such, these officials bear a special responsibility to ensure compliance by the respective forces under their command to implement the following recommendations:

· Respect international humanitarian law by prohibiting all attacks on civilians, including looting, extortion, beatings, killings, and sexual violence, and prosecuting those responsible for such abuses.

· Investigate the actions of commanders and soldiers accused of involvement in attacks against Pashtuns or members of other communities, and inform the Afghan Interim Administration of the result of such investigations and the identity of the persons responsible for such attacks.

· Fully cooperate with criminal investigations and prosecutions by Afghan interim authorities.

· Suspend from active duty and disarm any personnel who have been accused of attacks against Pashtuns or civilians, pending the outcome of investigations.

· Meet with Pashtun civilian leaders to work out strategies for better relations among the different ethnic communities in northern Afghanistan, and publicly condemn all acts of violence targeting Pashtun communities.

· Support the creation of national Afghan civilian and military institutions, and work toward the demobilization and disarming of factional militias.