The Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to expedite its preliminary inquiry on grave international crimes committed in Afghanistan.
According to a statement released by Human Rights Watch, the ICC prosecutor’s office in its November 2013 report has found that “War crimes and crimes against humanity were and continue to be committed in Afghanistan.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) international justice director, Richar Dicker said, “The ICC prosecutor’s finding that war crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed in Afghanistan should kick-start a full inquiry to spur justice in the country.”
He said, “This would signal to human rights abusers in Afghanistan that they can’t evade justice forever.”
The Human Rights Watch in its statement also added that the government of Afghanistan had little achievement in terms of its efforts towards accountability, especially its own security forces.
HRW also added that President Hamid Karzai suppressed the release of the sole major effort to follow the Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice, issued in 2005.
Large scale human rights abusers were granted effective amnesty under a National Stability and Reconciliation Law which was passed by a colaition of powerful warlords and their supporters in 2007, the Human Rights Watch said, adding, the urgent need for accountability is evident in the campaign ahead of the presidential election in April 2014.
It also added that several candidates for president and vice president have been implicated in serious rights abuses. “The clock is ticking for the Karzai administration to put accountability on the national agenda,” Dicker said.
He also insisted, “The government and its international supporters should endorse the ICC prosecutor’s efforts to keep justice on the table.”
