Human Rights and Civil Society in Afghanistan
| Date | Friday, April 24, 2009 |
| Location | Cannon House Office Building, Room 441 |
The Security for a New Century Study Group was honored to host Mr. Ahmad Nader Nadery, commissioner of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kabul, and Mr. Paul van Zyl, cofounder and executive vice-president of the International Center for Transitional Justice, for a discussion of human rights and civil society in Afghanistan.
Mr. Nadery focused his discussion on four interrelated issues facing Afghanistan in the coming months: elections, good governance, justice, and security. Stability in the region depends on the security and credibility of the upcoming presidential election. Security is important because in the last provincial election, an overwhelming 15 districts were not secure enough to register voters, and credibility determines participation. No international oversight exists in the independent election commission, which means that many candidates are never checked for past illegal activities or human rights abuses. This lack of vetting produces low confidence in the voting populace. To combat this problem, more resources could be given to the independent complaint commission. The underlying concern is that if human rights issues are not brought to the forefront, conservative politics are likely to prevail in the upcoming elections, which will lead to more Taliban encroachment.
Mr. Van Zyl furthered the discussion by addressing the necessity of human rights commissions in transitional societies. No country transitions to a sustainable democracy without ousting former leaders with poor human rights records. This process, however, is delicate and must be balanced. Excluding these individuals too abruptly from the system will cause them to turn on democracy and retake power, but bringing them right into the governing fold alienates the population. Using the treatment of Pinochet as an example, it can be useful to give the former leader a largely ceremonial position and then gradually marginalize them and ease them out of power. If this kind of system can be put into place in Afghanistan, it will help immensely as they transition to good governance with justice and credibility.
“Security for a New Century” is a bipartisan study group for Congress. We meet regularly with U.S. and international policy professionals to discuss the post-Cold War and post-9/11 security environment. All discussions are off-the-record. It is not an advocacy venue. Please call (202) 223-5956 for more information.