AFGH Committee Report

Supplementary Report

New Democratic Party of Canada

The protection and promotion of human rights in Afghanistan is a stated priority for our engagements in the country.  Presentations by Canadian officials at the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, however, indicate a lack of focus on human rights.

The government has argued that Canada’s commitment to human rights in Afghanistan is reflected in one of Canada’s six priorities for Afghanistan: to help advance democratic governance by supporting effective, accountable public institutions.

As part of this priority Canada is helping to strengthen justice institutions by providing training to judges, education on legal aid, and direct support to the Ministry of Justice. Furthermore, one of Canada’s most significant engagements in Afghanistan is in the area of training Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP).

Canada also provides financial support to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) to perform its important role of monitoring the respect for human rights in Afghanistan and promoting their advancement.

However, once the New Democrat member of the committee raised the findings of AIHRC’s report titled “The causes of torture by law enforcement agencies”, Canadian officials indicated that they had not read the report.  Furthermore, it became apparent that Canada is not aware of the findings of the report and therefore has not taken any steps in addressing the concerns that were raised.

Of important findings in the AIHRC’s report on the incidents of torture by the same law enforcement agencies that Canada supports and trains, the following should be noted:

• Torture and cruel, inhumane and belittling behaviour is widespread in majority of law enforcement agencies in Afghanistan. 
• Majority of alleged incidents have taken place by the police.
• Only 17.4% of law enforcement officials are aware of the constitutional and human rights of the accused not to be tortured.
• Majority of judges do not inform the accused of their rights.

Therefore, the New Democratic Party supplements the recommendations of this with the following recommendations:

Recommendation 1: The Government of Canada must increase its support for the important work of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and put in place mechanisms for the timely translation and distribution of the Commission’s reports between Canadian officials so that immediate steps can be taken in addressing concerns raised by the Commission.

Recommendation 2: Canada’s training of Afghan officials must include training on human rights, Afghan constitution and laws on the rights of the accused.  Furthermore, in its quarterly reports to the parliament, the Government of Canada should include its most assessment of Afghanistan’s human rights situation and explain Canadian efforts and results in addressing the human rights concerns in the country.