Dear Mr. Secretary:
In light of your forthcoming trip to Pakistan, Human Rights Watch would like to bring to your attention several human rights issues critical to the emergence of a tolerant, democratic society in that country. In your meeting with President Musharraf, we ask you to: 1.) seek specific progress in establishing accountability for violence and discrimination against women; and 2.) advise him against amending the constitution unilaterally prior to holding elections. In short, we hope you will seek to advance in Pakistan the principles President Bush outlined last month in his commencement address at West Point: that "a thriving nation will respect the rights of women, because no society can prosper while denying opportunity to half its citizens" while "a truly strong nation will permit legal avenues of dissent for all groups that pursue their aspirations without violence."
We provide the following by way of background on these two important issues.
Violence and discrimination against women
The 2001 State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices document the widespread nature of domestic and sexual violence against women in Pakistan. Similarly, in its annual human rights report, the nongovernmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan recorded 430 reported cases of "honor killings" of women from just two major provinces of the country. President Musharraf pledged in April 2000 to put an end to violence against women, especially honor crimes, but Pakistani human rights and women's rights groups report that the government has taken inadequate measures to address this issue.
To protect and promote women's human rights in Pakistan, legal and institutional reforms will be needed. In Human Rights Watch's October 1999 report on Pakistan, Crime or Custom? Violence against Women in Pakistan, we documented how women's unequal and subordinate status under the law, perpetuated by biased officials at all levels of the criminal justice system, contributed to high levels of violence against women. Such violence remains largely unremedied because of practical and legal barriers that prevent women from accessing the legal system.
Recent cases attest to the continuing discrimination women face in both law and customary practices. In May of this year, a Pakistani rape victim, Zafran Bibi, was charged with adultery and sentenced to death by stoning under the discriminatory Hudood Ordinances, which criminalize extramarital sex and place the burden of proof on the victim to show that sex was coerced, thus discouraging rape victims from filing charges. After an active campaign by national women's rights groups, the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan overturned the sentence. However, the law that led to her conviction remains in effect. It is a major source of abuse against women victims of violence, who are often wrongly charged when unable to meet the discriminatory evidentiary requirements needed to prove rape.
Customary and extra-judicial practices are also a source of abuse against women in Pakistan. On June 22, during a tribal council meeting in southern Punjab, four men, including one of the tribal council members, allegedly raped Mukhtaran Bibi, a thirty-year-old woman. The rape, which occurred in the presence of a large number of villagers, was intended as "punishment" for the conduct of her brother, Abdul Shaqoor, who had been seen with an unchaperoned woman from another tribe. In the same case, her brother was also raped and the police are said to have asked for a bribe before releasing him from police custody. Although some of the perpetrators have been arrested and an investigation is underway, the role of the police in this and other such cases and, more broadly, the exercise of authority by tribal councils must be addressed to prevent future abuses.
You can make an important contribution to addressing these problems by highlighting the Pakistan government's inadequate response, and by encouraging the government to repeal discriminatory provisions of the Hudood Ordinances. In addition, we ask you to urge the Pakistan government to ensure that tribal councils act in accordance with the law, in a manner that respects women's rights, and without usurping the proper judicial authority of the state.
Concerns over proposed constitutional amendments
President Musharraf has proposed a series of far-reaching amendments to the Pakistan constitution that, if implemented, would dramatically strengthen the power of the presidency, formalize the role of the army in governance, and diminish the authority of elected representatives. The amendments would also significantly curb freedom of association and the freedom of individuals to stand for elected office. These provisions will limit the opportunity for moderate voices representing the majority of Pakistani citizens to exercise political leadership.
At the heart of the proposed amendments-which were announced on June 26, 2002, and are open for public comment until July 31-are provisions constraining the office of the prime minister and establishing a military-dominated National Security Council to oversee the functioning of the government. Human Rights Watch is particularly concerned by the following proposals that would: ·
- Grant the president power to dismiss the prime minister on a variety of grounds, including "failure to check corruption," and to dissolve the National Assembly if governance "cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution." This provision is modeled on an earlier amendment to the constitution under the martial law regime of General Mohammad Zia-ul Haq, which was repealed by an act of parliament in 1997. Under President Musharraf's proposed language, the president would also be under no obligation to hold new elections within the ninety-day time frame presently required by the Constitution.
- Grant the president discretion to appoint provincial governors, who in turn would appoint provincial chief ministers with the approval of the president. The chief ministers head the provincial administrations in Pakistan and, under the constitution, should have the confidence of the majority of the members of the democratically elected provincial assemblies. Requiring presidential consent for their appointment would significantly erode the powers of the provincial assemblies.
- Create a National Security Council that would not only serve as a consultative body on strategic matters, but would also advise on structures of governance, the removal of federal or provincial cabinets, and the dissolution of national or provincial assemblies. Under the proposed amendment, the National Security Council would be dominated by serving military officers, including General Musharraf in his dual capacities as Army Chief of Staff and President - in effect creating a "super-cabinet" that would shadow the work of the civilian cabinet.
- Circumscribe the right to form or be a member of political parties by the government's interest in maintaining "public order." In Pakistan, preventive detention under public-order laws has routinely been used to quell political protests, including planned demonstrations by political parties across the country last year in support of the restoration of democracy. The proposed amendment could apply the same ill-defined criteria to the right to form or operate political parties.
- Limit candidates for election to the National Assembly or Senate to persons who have attained a bachelor's degree. Given the poor educational infrastructure in the country and sharp social and gender inequalities, this provision would inevitably bar all but a small percentage of the citizenry from holding parliamentary office.
Taken together, President Musharraf's proposed amendments would result in elected governments at the federal and provincial level that are effectively subordinate to-indeed, exist at the discretion of-the president and the military. When meeting with President Musharraf and in your public remarks, we urge you to raise the troubling implications of these amendments for democratic governance in Pakistan. As the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said, the question of amending the constitution should reside with the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding our findings or recommendations. Thank you for your attention to these concerns.
Sincerely,
LaShawn R. Jefferson
Executive Director
Women's Rights Division
Mike Jendrzejczyk
Executive Director
Asia Division
