Open Letter from Human Rights Watch to the International Afghanistan Support Conference on June - 2008

Most Afghans continue to live in an insecure environment where many of their basic rights remain unfulfilled. --- Violence against women and the absence of effective redress for victims, whether through informal or formal justice mechanisms, is a pervasive human rights problem in Afghanistan.

Impunity for serious human rights violations remains the norm, as the government does not prosecute perpetrators of abuses who have protection from government officials, parliamentarians, or warlords. This has a profound impact on public attitudes about the government.

Afghan civil society organizations have repeatedly called for a clarification of the status of the international military presence in Afghanistan through a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). While the deployment of the NATO-led international Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is mandated by the UN, the US-led “Operation Enduring Freedom” (OEF) operates in a legal vacuum. This has created significant problems regarding the detention of individuals in extra-legal facilities, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, lack of accountability for deaths and injuries to civilians, and inadequate compensation schemes for persons harmed by US forces.
Open Letter from Human Rights Watch to the International Afghanistan Support Conference on June 12, 2008
Afghanistan: Paris Donor Conference Should Prioritize Human Rights
(Urgent Need to Address Women’s Rights, Freedom of Expression, Impunity)