TBD
UN calls for repeal of Afghan amnesty law
The United Nations has called for the repeal of an amnesty law in Afghanistan that shields alleged war criminals from prosecution.
The Reconciliation and General Amnesty Law was passed by parliament in 2007 and quietly published in an official gazette in December 2008.
The law was heavily criticised by Afghan and international human rights groups after it surfaced in the news earlier this year.
Norah Niland, who represents the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Afghanistan, told journalists in Kabul that the UN was asking for the law to be repealed because it relieves Afghan authorities of their obligation to investigate and prosecute those allegedly responsible for gross violations of human rights.
"This law is likely to undermine efforts to secure genuine reconciliation which is of course about bringing together different elements of a fractured society in a manner that allows them to overcome, or deal with harmful and divisive policies, practices and experiences. At the very minimum there must be an acknowledgement of the grave injustices that have occurred if the long and notorious pattern of abuse is to end in this country."
Under Afghanistan's legislative laws, a draft must be ratified by the parliament, signed by the president and published in an official gazette before it becomes law.
In the case of the amnesty law, government officials say Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai apparently did not sign the document, notably because of the criticism.
Despite that, the Afghan constitution allows draft laws to take effect as law, should the president refuse to approve it within a certain amount of the time.
The law offers blanket amnesty to individuals involved in past hostilities mostly committed during Afghanistan's three decades of conflict. It was drafted and ratified by the parliament.
Diane Bailey, United Nations
(duration: 1'51")
