Minister of Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Kasumigaseki 2-2-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8919
Re: Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan and Human Rights
Dear ForeignMinisterGemba,
We write to you in advance of the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan on July 8, 2012to recommend ways in which Japan can help improve the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
At the outset, we would like to recognize the major commitment Japan has made to support Afghanistan and acknowledge in particular Japan’s steadfastness in meeting its aid pledges to Afghanistan even in the face of the huge challenges Japan has faced after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
As you are aware, the human rights situation in Afghanistan remains poor. While there has been important progress since 2001 in areas such as freedom of speech and association, education, health care, andwomen’s participation in public life, the situation remains extremely difficult. Ongoing problems include abuses by the security forces and the Taliban and other non-state armed groups; gender and ethnic discrimination; victimization of vulnerable groups including women, children and refugees;violence against women; major problems in the criminal justice system, including torture; and impunity for warlords and suspected war criminals, some of whom are in the highest echelons of government. As the international community decreases its attention and support, there is now a serious risk that the limited progress that has been achieved could be lost.Declining aid, increasing insecurity, and poor governance could lead to reversals in key indicators such as school attendance, literacy, life expectancy, and infant and maternal mortality rates.
Human Rights Watch is asking Japan and other key donors to Afghanistanto makehuman rights and the basic needs of Afghans a priority. The protection of human rights requires strong political engagement with senior Afghan government officials and policymakers. With declining aid, there is a real risk to the supply of essential services to protect human rights,including education, healthcare, legal aid, and shelters to protect women against violence.
We hope Japan will take a leadership role and take some key steps to protect and promote human rights in Afghanistan. We request that the Japanese government:
1.Urgethe Afghan government at the highest-levels to respect human rights
The Afghan government’s inconsistent record on human rights means it is critical for donors to insist that President Hamid Karzai and his government comply with their international legal obligations to promote and protect human rights. Japan should join together with other key donor countries in complementing the provision of aid with forceful and consistent political support for human rights at the highest levels, including in all discussions with President Karzai himself and other senior government officials. President Karzai has shown that he takes steps to protect rights when he is pressed by his allies and donors. The international community, including Japan, should make human rights issues an ongoing topic of discussionand send a strong message that continued support depends on human rights progress with no backsliding.
2.Make women’s rights a priority
The Afghans most at risk as the international community reduces its presence in Afghanistan are women and girls. The gains made in girls’ education and maternal mortality reduction have been some of the most important achievements of the last 10 years in Afghanistan. International support has literally saved many tens of thousands of women’s and children’s lives. The participation of girls in education and women in the work force and in public life are integral to Afghanistan’s future economic and political development.
However, these gains are at risk. President Karzai has long demonstrated that he is willing to bargain away women’s rights for political gain. His support for women has often been directly related to the amount of pressure he is under and from whom. When he wants to please the international community, he has taken strong positions like supporting the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan and adopting the Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women. When it is more important to him to please conservative forces in Afghan society, he takes positions like his endorsement of the Shia Personal Status Law and the Ulema Shura’s March 2012 guidelines for women.
Press for enforcement of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women: The 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW Law) represented a landmark legislative step towards protecting Afghan women. Unfortunately, the law has been almost entirely unenforced and violence against women continues to go largely unpunished. President Karzai, while deserving of commendation for signing the EVAW Law, has failed to provide the leadership necessary for the law to be enforced. One of the key obstacles to enforcement of the EVAW Law is the great difficulty Afghan women face in obtaining help from the police. Only 1 percent of Afghan police officers are female, for reasons including security threats and sexual harassment of female police.Human Rights Watch has documented cases of women being raped bypolice officers, including in situations where the women sought to report violence. Simply having female police officers will not solve the problem of violence against women in Afghanistan, but they are needed to enforce the EVAW Law.For instance, without female police officers, women are less likelyto report crimes, given Afghanistan’s cultural context. As a major donor to the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), we request Japan to link its support for LOTFA to specific conditions regarding increased recruitment, retention, and supportfor female police officers and training on violence against women for all police officers in the Afghanistan National Police.
Ensure acentral role for women in peace-building: The role of women in the peace-building process is of crucial importance in that process, as recognized by UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Yet Afghan women have had to struggle again and again, with very limited success, for a place at the table where key decisions are being made about Afghanistan’s future. The conspicuous absence of Afghan women at the NATO Summit in Chicago was just the latest example. Security is not a subject that only affects men. Japan and other countriesshould insist that all Afghan delegations attending internationallysupported meetings or events include a significant proportion of women. Japancould set a good example by sending delegations with large numbers of women.In addition, Japan should press for strengthened representation – in both numbers and functions – by women on the High Peace Council as well as in any negotiations with the Taliban.
Make women and girls a priority in funding decisions: Japan has played an important role in supporting advances in the areas of education and health care for women and girls through a large number of school and clinic/hospitalconstruction projects, training programs, and direct assistance programs. We encourage Japanto place greater emphasis on assisting women and girls in the years ahead by increasing funding for programs specifically targeting support for women and girls and by ensuring that all Japan-funded education and health projects have a large proportion of program resources set aside for support directly benefiting women and girls. Education programs should give priority to schools and teachers for girls, and health-related projects should ensure security for women health workers, provide emergency obstetric care to all women including rape victims, and provide special assistance to female victims of violence including acid attacks and burns. In addition to education and healthcare services benefiting women and girls, we also encourage Japan to support shelters for women and girls fleeing violence, legal services for women, and Afghan human rights organizations that promote women’s rights.
Japan is a major contributor to paying the salaries of Afghan police through the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan. Japan should consider making a similar commitment to supporting workers in the education and health sectors. Japanese support to paying salaries of essential education and healthcare workers, in a sustained and predictable manner, could make a huge difference in the years to come. Conversely, without key donors, such as Japan, making this a priority, there is a great risk that the buildings constructed by Japan to serve as schools, clinics and hospitals could sit empty for lack of staff.
3.Link support for the security forces to security force accountability
Afghanistan’s security forces have long had a record of committing serious human rights violations. Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses by the Afghan Local Police and militias, including murder, torture, rape, and extortion.Torture and other ill-treatment in prisons and jails run by the Ministry of Interior and National Directorate of Security has been consistently documented over many years, including in recent reports by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)/Open Society Foundation and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. The Afghan government has yet to take any meaningful steps to end these practices.
The Afghan government’s approach to dealing with civilian casualties from hostilities is also a growing concern as the security transition moves ahead. At present there is no simple and consistent way for families or communities to make a complaint about civilian casualties. Internal accountability mechanisms within the security forces are weak, and external oversight is almost entirely absent. Compensation is provided in an ad hoc manner, if at all.
Research by the United Nations and Integrity Watch Afghanistan has shown that police officers are among the most corrupt government officials in Afghanistan.Japan’s high levels of support to LOTFA give Japan a key stake in the conduct and professionalism of the police, whose salaries are largely paid with Japanese funds. We request that Japan push the Afghan government to take decisive actions to appropriately discipline or prosecute any government official, regardless of rank, involved in torture.
We also ask Japan to join Human Rights Watch in calling for a robust external complaints body, housed within the AIHRC, with the power to receive complaints about abuses by members of any government-backedsecurity force. This body should be empowered to fully investigate these complaints, make findings, and issue recommendations, including for prosecution and compensation.
4.Provide support for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission
The AIHRC is a criticalinstitution for the protection of human rights in Afghanistan. The work that the AIHRC does, both through research and advocacy and through assisting individuals, is essential and will become far more so as the international presence in Afghanistan is reduced. President Karzai has taken several actions recently that have had negative consequences for the effectiveness of the AIHRC. In December 2011, he announced plans to dismiss three AIHRC commissioners, but then took no further action, leaving the AIHRC in limbo for many months. The terms of all of the commissioners expired in December 2011, and while they continue to report to the office, the AIHRC’s work has been undermined and largely frozen until the issue of appointments is resolved. Japan and other countries should make it an urgent priority to press President Karzai to reappoint or replace the commissioners. They shouldensure that he keeps capable commissioners and that any new appointments are of people with impeccable backgrounds of protecting and advocating for human rights.
5.Closely monitor the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program
As one of the lead donors to the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program (APRP), Japan has made a major commitment to supporting reintegration of ex-combatants in Afghanistan. While reintegration has a crucial role to play in any peace process, there are some serious questions about the effectiveness of APRP. There have been problems of low enrollment, particularly in the areas where Taliban fighters are most commonly present, raising concerns that the program is not achieving its goals and that those joining the program are not actual insurgents. These problems may relate to the fact that effective reintegration programs typically operate following, or parallel to, a negotiated peace process – something absent in Afghanistan at present. Human Rights Watchencourages Japan to ask tough questions about the real impact that APRP is having on the conflict and human security, and demand proof of real progress or reforms in the program.
In closing, please accept our appreciation for the generous support Japan has provided to Afghanistan since 2001. Japan’s support has already changed the lives of many Afghans. Continued and targeted assistance combined with public and private pressure in the years to come has the potential to make a major difference. My colleagues and I would be honored to help Japan in any way possible in this endeavor.
Very truly yours,
Brad Adams, Asia Director
Human Rights Watch
Kanae Doi, Japan Director
Human Rights Watch
CC:
Mr. Yutaka Arima, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Mr. Masashi Nakagome, Second Middle East Division, Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Mr. Kouji Abe, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Division, Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
H.E. Mr. Reiichiro Takahashi, Embassy of Japan in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
South Asia Division 2, South Asia Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency
