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Afghanistan: Bush Should End Support to Warlords, Work to Expand ISAF

Karzai Should Insist on Equality, Stand Up for Rights

(New York) -- When U.S. President George W. Bush meets with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Tuesday, he should commit the United States to withdrawing financial support and arms deliveries to regional warlords and military commanders responsible for human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to President Bush today.

In a separate letter, Human Rights Watch urged President Karzai to announce his support for provisions in the new Afghan constitution that will protect the human rights of all persons in Afghanistan, with special emphasis on women and on religious and ethnic minorities, and to initiate an investigation into alleged threats made recently by senior government officials and others against the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

"President Karzai should ask the United States once and for all to end the supply of arms and money to the warlords who are destabilizing Afghanistan and intimidating Afghans throughout the country," said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division. "President Bush should encourage President Karzai to do everything in his power to ensure that the new constitution protects women's rights and religious freedom while creating a judiciary that will ensure those rights have meaning in real life and are not just nice words on paper."

Since leading the military effort to remove the Taliban from power in 2001, the United States has attempted to support the government in Kabul while providing arms and money to regional warlords and military commanders who have joined the continuing fight against Taliban remnants and al-Qaeda. In a series of reports, Human Rights Watch has documented systematic rights violations by gunmen under the warlords' command and the deteriorating security situation that has ensued. These developments have called into question many of the gains made since the ouster of the Taliban.

"It is crucial that the United States immediately end its unsuccessful policy of supporting the national government and regional warlords at the same time, as this policy has been both destabilizing and contributed to human rights abuses," said Adams. "President
Bush should order the Departments of State and Defense and United States intelligence agencies to implement this policy consistently and in a coordinated manner."

In its letter to President Karzai, Human Rights Watch urged him to make human rights the centerpiece of his administration.

"While President Karzai faces a very complicated political situation, it is crucial that he speak in a clear and consistent voice in favor of press freedom, the rights of women, and the safety of human rights defenders," said Adams.

Human Rights Watch requested President Karzai to "take all measures within your legal and moral authority to ensure that those political or military figures responsible for human rights abuses do not hijack the constitutional drafting process to intimidate delegates, legitimize their own positions, or limit the rights of women and religious and ethnic minorities."

Human Rights Watch also urged both President Bush and President Karzai to press for the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the international peacekeeping force currently stationed only in and around the capital, Kabul. Human Rights Watch also called on the United States to offer the logistical, intelligence, and political support needed to make it happen.

"Improved security, which only an expanded ISAF can deliver in the immediate future, is necessary for a credible constitution-drafting process and national elections scheduled for next year," said Adams.

When President Karzai spoke to the U.S. Senate on February 26, 2003, he rejected the need for the expansion of ISAF and suggested that a reconstituted Afghan army could provide security for the country's citizens. "The deteriorating security and human rights situation over the past nine months has shown just how critical ISAF expansion is for the security of the country," said Adams.

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