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Rule of Law, Human Rights and Impunity: The Case of Afghanistan

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Abstract

This article seeks to explain the complicated relationship between human rights and the rule of law in a country that is unable or unwilling to advance the rule of law. Islamic principles and Afghan legal traditions complicates the already complex relationship between the rule of law, human rights and impunity. The rule of law and human rights are two sides of the same principle, the freedom to live in dignity. The rule of law and human rights therefore have an indivisible and intrinsic relationship. The Afghan government’s promotion of impunity, for warlords and others accused of war crimes, hampers the advancement of rule of law and human rights and negatively affects the path of reforms in the area of human rights and rule of law in Afghanistan.

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Notes

  1. See Suhrke (2011).

  2. UNAMA receives petition on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, 27 May 2017, available at https://unama.unmissions.org/unama-receives-petition-gulbuddin-hekmatyar.

  3. Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Law on Amnesty, National Reconciliation and Stability, (Official Gazette no. 965), 3 December 2008.

  4. What is the Rule of Law, The World Justice Project https://worldjusticeproject.org/about-us/overview/what-rule-law. Four universal principles are upheld in the rule of law system. Along with accountability, the remaining three are: that the laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just, are applied evenly, and protect fundamental right, including the security of persons and property; the process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient; and justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are sufficient in number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.

  5. Wang (2014), see also Goldstone (2014).

  6. WJP Rule of Law Index 2017–2018, http://www.worldjusticeproject.org.

  7. Corruption Perception Index of 2017, Transparency Int’t, available at https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruptionperceptionsindex_2017, see also Integrity Watch Afghanistan, National Corruption Survey 2016, Afghan Perceptions and Experiences of Corruption, available at http://www.iwaweb.org.

  8. Rubin (2003); see also AREU (2016).

  9. International Criminal Court, The Office of the Prosecutor, Public Notice of the ICC Prosecutor, 20 November 2017, available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=171120-otp-stat-afgh.

  10. Id.

  11. Id. See also Mehidi, The ICC and Afghanistan—Time to end Impunity, available at http://www.yjil.yale.edu/forum-the-icc-and-afghanistan-time-to-end-impunity/. The United States is vocally resisting any scrutiny of its own potential liability for war crimes in Afghanistan, see Bolton’s Attack on the International Criminal Court May Backfire, available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/10/john-bolton-castigate-icc-washington-speech.

  12. United Nations and the Rule of Law, available at https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/rule-of-law-and-human-rights/.

  13. Saikal (2012); Kaye (1847); Dalrymple (2014).

  14. The Afghanistan Justice Project: Casting Shadows-War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, 1978–2001, available at https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/ajpreport_20050718.pdf.

  15. Nadery (2007).

  16. Futamura (2013).

  17. Drumbl (2004).

  18. Maley (2009).

  19. Afghanistan, one of UN's Greatest Challenges, at 'Most Urgent Stage', Says Secretary-General, at Day-Long Security Council Meeting available at http://www.un.org/press/en/2001/SC7210.doc.htm.

  20. Nadery, supra note 15 p. 175, available at https://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k2/.

  21. Human Rights Watch, World Report 2001 (2002).

  22. S/RES/2405, 8 March 2018, available at https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/document/sres2405.php.

  23. The Office of the Prosecutor, Public Notice of the ICC Prosecutor: Victims of crimes allegedly committed in the context of the armed conflict in Afghanistan have until 31 January 2018 to make representation to the ICC in The Hague on the Opening of an investigation, pp. 1–16; available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/2017-PE-rep/2017-otp-rep-PE_ENG.pdf, see also S/RES/2405, 8 March 2018.

  24. Shah (2005); Kfir (2014).

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  26. Chesterman (2002).

  27. S/RES/1378, 20 December 2001.

  28. UN Information Centre, Press Briefing by Ahmad Fawzi Spokesman for the SRSG for Afghanistan, Königswinter 26 November 2001, available at https://www.unric.org/de/frieden-und-sicherheit/26343.

  29. The Agreement is annexed to a letter from the UN Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council, S/2001/1154, 5 December 2001, available at https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/../Afgh%20S2001%201154.php.

  30. Rubin (2003).

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  33. Thier (2010).

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  36. Rubin (2003); see also Their (2010), p. 549.

  37. S/2001/1154, 5 December 2001.

  38. Rubin, supra note 36, p. 573.

  39. Bonn Agreement V, Final provision.

  40. Their, supra note 33, p. 541.

  41. S/2001/1154, 5 December 2001.

  42. S/2002/278, 18 March 2002.

  43. Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Law on Amnesty, National Reconciliation and Stability, (Official Gazette no. 965), 3 December 2008.

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  45. See Their supra note 33.

  46. Id, p. 538.

  47. Id. p. 536.

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  50. Sadat (2004).

  51. Wardak (2016).

  52. Smith (2008).

  53. Ewans (2001).

  54. Suhrke, supra, note 1, p. 187.

  55. Tondini, Justice Sector Reform in Afghanistan: From a ‘Lead Nation’ Approach to a ‘Mixed Ownership’ Regime? Available at https://research.vu.nl/files/2594266/231644.pdf; see also Suhrke, id. p. 188.

  56. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Jan. 3, 2004 art. 130, hereinafter Afghan Constitution 2004, available at http://www.afghanembassy.com.pl/afg/images/pliki/TheConstitution.pdf (unofficial English version); Johnson et al. (2003), see also Lau (2003).

  57. Id. Afghan Constitution 2004 art. 131.

  58. Rule of Law in Afghanistan, Conference Report, American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, June 2011, available at https://www.usip.org/programs/rule-law-afghanistan-0.

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  61. See Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Afghanistan National Development Strategy, National Justice Sector Strategy, 2008, pp. 15–17, available at https://info.publicintelligence.net/AfghanNJSS.pdf.

  62. TOLO News, 29 March “Remarkable Increase in Afghan Female Judge Number: AWJA” available at http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/remarkable-increase-afghan-female-judge-numbers-awja.

  63. Rafi, Judging Women’s access to justice—An Insider’s View, British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group, 29 September 2014 available at http://www.baag.org.uk/views-voices/judging-womens-access-justice-insiders-view.

  64. Afghan Time, July 8, 2015, “Jolesi Jirga rejects female member of Supreme Court”, available at http://afghanistantimes.af/wolesi-jirga-rejects-female-member-of-supreme-court/.

  65. Rasmussen, “First female nominee fails to win seat on Afghan supreme court” the Guardian, 8 July, 2015, available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/08/afghan-supreme-court-female-nominee-anisa-rassouli.

  66. Ginsburg (2011), pp. 89–114.

  67. See Smith, supra note 52, pp. 15–17.

  68. See Bonn Agreement III, B 6 and Afghan Constitution art. 58.

  69. Wardak, supra note 51, p. 8.

  70. Jones (2010), p. 131.

  71. Marten (2006/07).

  72. Chayes (2015).

  73. Johnson et al. (2003), see also Carothers (2003).

  74. Wardak (2011); see also Afghanistan Human Development Report. Bridging Modernity and Tradition: Rule of Law and the Search for Justice, 2007, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-human-development-report-2007.

  75. The Afghan Constitution 2004, art. 4.

  76. Coburn and Dempsey (2010); see also Wimpelmann (2013).

  77. See Wardak (2002).

  78. Coburn and Dempsey, supra note 76, p. 67.

  79. Wardak, supra note 51, at 13; see also Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization, Implementation of the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan: An Assessment, March 2014, p. 58, available at http://appro.org.af/publication/a-critical-assessment-of-napwa/.

  80. Hatem (2010).

  81. Afghanistan Human Development Report 2007—Bridging Modernity and Tradition: Rule of Law and the Search for Justice, Center for Policy and Human Development, 2007, pp. 1–176, available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/bridging-modernity-and-tradition.

  82. Aristotle is reported to have observed that the “rule of law” is “preferable to that of any individual” see Aristotle, The Politics (c. 350 BC), Stephen Everson (trans.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, available at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-politics/; see also Dicey (1982) [1885]; Hayek (1994).

  83. Raz (1979); Summers (1993, 1988).

  84. Fuller (1976).

  85. Tamanaha (2004).

  86. Dworkin (1978); see Bingham (2009), at p. 8 and p. 67; see also Sen, The Idea of Justice, Harvard University Press 2009, p. 355.

  87. Peerenboom (2005).

  88. Tomuschat (2014).

  89. Id. p. 93; see also Sourcebook Human Rights & Good Governance, Asialink Project on Education in Good Governance and Human Rights 2010, pp. 95–96, available at http://bem.law.ui.ac.id/fhuiguide/uploads/materi/human-rights-and-good-governance-(eng).pdf.

  90. Good Governance Practices for the Protection of Human Rights at 45, UN HR/PUB/074, New York 2007, available at https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/618018?ln=en, see also Carothers, The Rule of Law Revival, 77 Foreign Aff. 95, 1998, p. 96.

  91. Report of the Secretary-General: The rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies. S/2004/616, 23 August 2004; see also HR Res. 2005/32 Democracy and the rule of law.

  92. Sajjad (2013a).

  93. Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the 67th Session of the General Assembly on the rule of law at the national and international levels, A/RES/67/1, 30 Nov. 2012. See also European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission), Report on The Rule of Law, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 86th plenary session (Venice, 25–26 March 2011); CDL-AD (2016)007, Venice Commission, Rule of Law Checklist, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 106th Plenary Session (Venice, 11–12 March 2016).

  94. See supra note 4, the World Justice Project.

  95. Dworkin (2012).

  96. Wyler and Katzman (2010).

  97. See supra note 81, Afghanistan Human Development Report 2007, p. 41.

  98. Id. p. 42.

  99. Id. p. 43.

  100. Id. p. 43.

  101. Id. p. 43.

  102. Brahimi (2007).

  103. Id.

  104. Justice for All: A Comprehensive Needs Analysis for Justice in Afghanistan, Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Justice, Kabul, May 2015, available at http://www.cmi.no/pdf/?file=/afghanistan/doc/Justice%20for%20all%20MOJ%20Afgh.pdf, see also Wardak, supra note 68.

  105. Coburn, supra not 78, p. 23.

  106. Houlihan and Spencer (2017).

  107. Coburn, supra note 105 p. 23, see also Wardak, supra note 51, p. 17.

  108. Houlihan and Spencer, supra note 106 p. 11.

  109. Id. p. 11.

  110. Wimpelmann, supra note 76, pp. 406–422.

  111. Wardak, supra note 51, p. 17; see also Injustice and Impunity Mediation of Criminal Offences of Violence against Women UNAMA/OHCHR, May 2018, Kabul Afghanistan, available at https://www.ohchr.org/../UNAMA_OHCHR_EVAW_Report2018_InjusticeImpunity2.

  112. Wardak, A New Hybrid Model, available at http://criminology.research.southwales.ac.uk/research/wardak-afghanistan/.

  113. Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) 2017–2021, available at https://reliefweb.int/../afghanistan/afghanistan-national-peace-and-development-frame.

  114. SDG16 Progress Report. A comprehensive global audit of progress on available SDG16 indicators, Institute for Economics and Peace 2017, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/world/sdg16-progress-report-comprehensive-global-audit-progress-available-sdg16-indicators.

  115. Sustainable Development Goals available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld, see also Venice Commission, Rule of Law Checklist, CDL-AD (2016)007, 18 March 2016, p. 8.

  116. Bonn Agreement, supra note 21, C (6).

  117. Id., C, V (2).

  118. Id., Annex II, (6).

  119. Rubin, supra note 8, pp. 567–581.

  120. Id. Rubin, pp. 567–581.

  121. Id. Rubin, pp. 567–581.

  122. See supra note 56, Afghan Constitution 2004; see also SDG Index and Dashboard Report 2017, available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yvgzn5o4t19xigc/AACaTlUCxuwAe46z7Mj7iGg8a?dl=0&preview=Afghanistan-country-profile.pdf.

  123. Id. Afghanistan Constitution, art. 7.

  124. Houlihan and Spencer supra note 106 p. 34.

  125. A/HRC/25/41, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and on the achievements of technical assistance in the field of human rights in 2013.

  126. Kouvo and Clark (2013).

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  128. UN rights body ‘deeply concerned’ over appointment of new Afghan human rights commissioners, available at https://unama.unmissions.org/un-rights-body-%E2%80%98deeply-concerned%E2%80%99-over-appointment-new-afghan-human-rights-commissioners.

  129. Sadat, supra note 50, pp. 48–50.

  130. Id. pp. 48–50.

  131. Haress, Judicial Review in Afghanistan: A Flawed Practice, August 2017, available at https://areu.org.af/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1722E-Judicial-Review-PN-1.pdf.

  132. UN and Afghanistan, available at http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/un-afghan-history.shtml.

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  134. A/HRC/WG.6/18/AFG/2, 11 November 2013.

  135. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=1&Lang=EN, last visited 29 April 2018.

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  137. UNAMA, Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees: Implementation of Afghanistan’s National Plan on the Elimination of Torture, April 2017, Kabul, Afghanistan, p. 11.

  138. https://www.upr-info.org/en/review/Afghanistan.

  139. https://www.afghanembassy.us/news/afghanistan-2018-2020-candidate-for-the-un-human-rights-council/.

  140. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/afghanistan/31064/3rd-eu-%E2%80%93-afghanistan-high-level-meeting-human-rights_en.

  141. MoWA History, http://mowa.gov.af/en/page/1331/1332/mowa-history.

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  144. Drumbl, supra note 17, p. 108.

  145. AIHRC, Violence Against Women in Afghanistan, Biannual report 1391 (2012), p. 12, available at www.aihrc.org.af/media/files/VAW_Final%20Draft-20.12.pdf, see also Houlihan and Spencer, supra note 97 p. 11.

  146. CEDAW, art. 1.

  147. AIHRC, supra note 145, p. 1, see also Farhoumand-Sims (2009); see also UN doc. CEDAW/C/AFG/1-1, 23 September 2011.

  148. Art. 7 (g), Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

  149. Wimpelman (2017).

  150. Law on Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW), adopted, 1st August 2009 Issue No: (989), available at http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5486d1a34.pdf.

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  152. AIHRC, Violence Against Women in Afghanistan, Biannual report 1391 (2012), p. 11.

  153. Information provided by Afghanistan in follow-up to the concluding observations, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AFG/CO/1-2/Add. 1, 1 June 2016, para.4, see also Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its cause and consequences, Rashida Manjoo, A/HRC/29/27/Add.3 12 May 2015.

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  155. AIHRC, Violence Against Women in Afghanistan, Biannual report 1391 (2012), p. 11.

  156. National Ulema Council Afghanistan (AUC), 2017-06-07, available at http://www.afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=1218&task=view&total=3238&start=2969&Itemid=2.

  157. The Thompson Reuters Foundation, The world’s most dangerous countries for women 2018, available at http://poll2018.trust.org/country/?id=afghanistan. Seven countries are ranked in the following order: India, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

  158. AIHRC, Press Release on Violence against Women, The causes, Grounds, and Situation of Violence against Women in Afghanistan during 10 months of the fiscal year 1396, Jan–Oct 2017, available at http://www.aihrc.org.af/../Press%20Release%20on%20violence%20%20against%20women-.

  159. Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization (APPRO), Implementation of the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan: An Assessment, March 2014, p. 6, available at https://www.baag.org.uk/../APPRO%20Implementation%20of%20the%20NAPWA%.., see also, Injustice and Impunity, Mediation of Criminal Offences of Violence against women, UNAMA, May 2018, Kabul, Afghanistan, available at https://unama.unmissions.org/women%27s-rights-reports.

  160. Afghanistan’s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325-Women, Peace, and Security, 2015–2020, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Human Rights and Women’s International Affairs, available at

  161. AIHRC Submission by the AIHRC under the Universal Periodic Review process August 2013 available at https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=615&file.

  162. Committee Against Torture, Concluding Observations in the second periodic report of Afghanistan, UN CAT/C/AFG/CO/2, 12 June 2017, available at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/../CAT/../AFG/CAT_C_AFG_CO_2_Add-1_27793_E.do.

  163. AIHRC, Shadow Report on the Realization and Implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Afghanistan, 61st session of Human Rights Council, 12 April 2017, p. 3, available at www.refworld.org/docid/5948e54a4.html.

  164. AIHRC Shadow Report to the Committee against Torture on the Occasion of the Examination of the Second Periodic Report of Afghanistan at its 60th Session, March 2017, Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSRN), p. 6, available at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CAT/../INT_CAT_COC_AFG_27463_E.pdf.

  165. Id. AIHRC Shadow Report, p. 4, See also ICC Public Notice of the ICC Prosecutor: Victims of Crimes Allegedly Committed in the Contexts of Armed Conflict in Afghanistan Have Until 31 January 2018 to make Representations to the ICC in the Hague on the Opening of an Investigation, pp. 2–3; see also, Shadow Report to the Committee against Torture on the Occasion of the Examination of the Second Periodic Report of Afghanistan at its 60th Session, March 2017, Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), pp. 6–7.

  166. See Presidential Decree 129 of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to implement the Afghan fact-finding delegation’s suggestions on the presence of torture and ill-treatment in detention centres, 16 February 2013.

  167. Shadow Report to the Committee against Torture on the Occasion of the Examination of the Second Periodic Report of Afghanistan at its 60th Session, March 2017, Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), p. 7; see also, Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees: Implementation of Afghanistan’s National Plan on the Elimination of Torture, UNAMA OHCHR, April 2017, Kabul, p. 5 available at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/../UNAMA_OHCHR_Detention_Report_Feb2015.pdf.

  168. See CAT/C/AFG/CO/2, 12 June 2017, supra not 162.

  169. The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security. Report of the Secretary-General, A/72/268*-S/2018/165*, 27 February 2018, available at https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/document/s2018165.php, pp. 25–32.

  170. AIHRC, Causes and Consequences of Bachabazi in Afghanistan (National Inquiry Report) 1393 (2014), available at https://www.loc.gov/item/2016349056/.

  171. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of Justice, Penal Code, Official Gazette # 1260, May 15, 2017, (English unofficial translation on record with UNHCR).

  172. American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, Conference Sept. 23–24, 2010, Rule of Law in Afghanistan, available at https://www.bu.edu/aias/conferences.html, p. 13.

  173. Hobson (2004).

  174. The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security: report of the Secretary-General A/56/681-S/2001/1157, 6 December 2001, para. 83, available at https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/454026?ln=es.

  175. Hossain (2002); see also UNGA doc A/56/681-S/2001/1157, 6 December 2001, available at https://reliefweb.int/../emergency-international-assistance-peace-normalcy-and-recons.

  176. Id. UNGA doc A/57/309, 13 August 2002.

  177. International Crisis Group, Afghanistan: Judicial Reform and Transitional Justice, Vol 59, No 4, January 2003, available at https://www.crisisgroup.org/../afghanistan/afghanistan-judicial-reform-and-transitiona, p. 13.

  178. UNAMA, Transcript of Impromptu Remarks by the Special representative of the Secretary General, Lakhdar Brahimi, at the Closing Ceremony of the Constitutional Loya Jirga, January 4, 2004, available at http://www.unama-afg.org/docs/Docs.htm.

  179. Engle (2015).

  180. Kumar (2017).

  181. Kriz (1996); also, Cassese (1986, 2003).

  182. Definition of “Impunity” Black’s law dictionary Abridged fifth edition, ST Paul. Minn. West Publishing Co. 1983.

  183. Report of Diane Orentlicher, independent expert to update the Set of principles to combat impunity—Updated Set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, E/CN.4/2005/102/Add. 1, 8 February 2005, available at http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/alldocs.aspx?doc_id=10800.

  184. Id.

  185. Cassese (2003), at 312.

  186. Rubin, supra note 30 pp. 571–572.

  187. UN Guidance Note of the Secretary General, United Nations Approach to Transitional Justice, March 2010, available at https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/TJ_Guidance_Note_March_2010FINAL.pdf.

  188. Id.

  189. Roht-Arriaza and Popkin (1995).

  190. Steiner and Alston (2007).

  191. See article 38, Statute of the International Court of justice.

  192. ICRC, Amnesties and International Humanitarian Law: Purpose and Scope, Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law, October 2017, available at https://www.icrc.org/en/../170545_amnesties_factsheet_october_2017_clean_en.pdf, see also OHCHR, Rule-of-Law Tools for Post-Conflict States, Amnesties, HR/PUB/09/1 (2009), available at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Amnesties_en.pdf, p. 41.

  193. UN General Assembly, Res 47/114, (adopted without a vote), 18 December 1992, Res. 48/152 (adopted without a vote) 20 December 1993, Res. 49/207 (adopted without a vote), 23 December 1994.

  194. See ‘Related Practice’ under Rule 159 of the ICRC Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol. 1: Rules, (Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck eds.) Cambridge University Press 2005, see also; EU, Secretary General/High Representative CFSP, Communiqué No. 0039/02 (18 March 2002); Elphick (2016).

  195. Id. Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck, Rule 159, p. 611.

  196. Id. Rule 159.

  197. Id. Rule 159.

  198. ICC-OTP, Report on Preliminary Examination Activities (2015), https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-PE-rep-2015-Eng.pdf, p. 27.

  199. Preamble para 10, arts. 1 and 17(1)(a) Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, UN Doc. A/CONF.183/9; see also Roche (2005).

  200. Art. 5, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, UN Doc. A/CONF.183/9.

  201. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Signed at Vienna, 23 May 1969, Art. 53; Brownlie, I., Principles of Public International Law, Oxford sixth edition 2003, p. 488.

  202. Knoops (2002).

  203. Greppi (2016).

  204. Schabas (2011).

  205. Id. pp. 1–20.

  206. Id. pp. 1–20.

  207. Nidal (2011).

  208. Id. p. 31.

  209. Art. 17(1)(a), Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, UN Doc. A/CONF.183/9; see also; Informal expert group, The principle of complementarity, ICC-01/04-01/07-1015-Anx 01-04-2009 1/37 VW T, available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/RelatedRecords/CR2009_02250.PDF.

  210. Id, Rome Statute, art.17(2).

  211. Id. art. 17(2)(a).

  212. Id. art. 17(2)(b).

  213. Id. art. 17(2)(c).

  214. Id. art. 17(3).

  215. E/CN.4/2003/3/Add.4, 3 February 2003, 47–56; see also E/CN.4/2002/749 January 2002.

  216. Regina v. Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, No: 200505339/D3, Court of Appeal Criminal Division, 7 February 2007 [2007] EWCA Crim 279, 2007 WL 261182, see also The Afghanistan Justice Project, supra note 9.

  217. Clark, “Afghan War Criminal Zardad Freed: No protection for witnesses”, AAN, 14 December 2016, available at https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/assadullah-sarwari-freed-from-prison-what-chances-of-war-crimes-trials-inafghanistan/?format=pdf; see also Nidal, supra note at p. 31.

  218. Regina v. Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, supra note 216.

  219. Id.

  220. Tolo News, Ex-Warlord Faryadi 'Regrets Committing War Crimes' available at https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/ex-warlord-faryadi-regrets-committing-war-crimes.

  221. Human Rights Watch, Dec. 15. 2016 available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/15/afghanistan-torturers-deportation-uk-poses-threat-witnesses.

  222. Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan, available at http://www.iec.org.af/pdf/candidates-list-1397/kabul.pdf.

  223. The Public Prosecutor v. Heshamuddin Hesam, 07/10063 (LJN: BG1476); The Public Prosecutor v. Habibullah Jalalzoy, 07/10064 (LJN: BC7418) both cases decided 8 July 2008; see also Garrod (2018).

  224. See supra note 7.

  225. ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III, Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, No.: ICC-02/07, 20 November 2017, available at https://www.icc-cpi.int/../Afghanistan/171120-afgh-art_15-app-summ_ENG.pdf.

  226. Although frequently used, the phrase “blanket amnesty” is rarely defined and does not appear to be used consistently. Still, a working definition can be derived from the way the phrase has been used. Blanket amnesties exempt broad categories of serious human rights offenders from prosecution and/or civil liability without the beneficiaries’ having to satisfy preconditions, including those aimed at ensuring full disclosure of what they know about crimes covered by the amnesty, on an individual basis, see OHCHR Rule-of-law tools for post-conflict states: Amnesties UN 2009, available at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Amnesties_en.pdf.

  227. See Amnesty Law, supra note 3.

  228. Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Factsheet, Afghanistan and the International Criminal Court, last updated 21 November 2017, available at http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/document/afghanistan-and-international-criminal-court; see also CAT/C/AFG/CO/2, 12 June 2017, supra not 156, par. 7.

  229. Id CAT/C/AFG/CO/2, 12 June 2017, par.7.

  230. Amnesty International, Afghanistan: Re-establishing the Rule of Law, Amnesty International 14 August 2003 AI Index: ASA 11/021/2003, available at https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/84000/asa110072005en.pdf, p. 47.

  231. See Statement by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

  232. Is transitional justice a forgotten issue in Afghanistan? Published by Peace Direct, 10 February 2014, available at https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/transitional-justice-forgotten-issue-afghanistan.

  233. AIHRC, A Call for Justice: A National Consultation on past Human Rights Violations in Afghanistan, 25 January 2005, available at aihrc@aihrc.org.af. Hereinafter referred to as “A Call for Justice”.

  234. Id. A Call for Justice p. 20.

  235. Id. A Call for Justice p. 19.

  236. Id. A Call for Justice p. 21.

  237. Id. A Call for Justice p. 21.

  238. Id. A Call for Justice p. 17.

  239. Peace, Reconciliation and Justice in Afghanistan: Action Plan of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, 7 June 2005, http://www.aihrc.org.af/media/files/Reports/Thematic%20reports/Action_Pln_Gov_Af.pdf, hereinafter “Action Plan”.

  240. Id. “Action Plan”, p. 2.

  241. Id. “Action Plan”, p. 3.

  242. Afghanistan has since 2001 opened four war crimes memorials or museums. The most recent one, the Afghanistan Centre for Memories and Dialogue, was inaugurated on 14 February 2019, AAN, available at https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/.

  243. Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s Legacy of Impunity, HRW, July 6 2005, pp. 31–98, available at https://www.hrw.org/report/2005/07/06/blood-stained-hands/past-atrocities-kabul-and-afghanistans-legacy-impunity.

  244. See The Afghanistan Compact, London 31 January–February 2006, p. 8, available at https://reliefweb.int/../afghanistan/afghanistan-compact-london-conference-afghanista.

  245. S/Res. 1868 (2009) Adopted by the Security Council at its 6098th meeting, on 23 March 2009, available at http://dag.un.org/handle/11176/12367.

  246. See, Kouvo and Gossman (2013). See also Kouvo (2012); IRIN News, Human Rights Justice action plan heading for oblivion, 14 April 2010, available at http://www.irinnews.org/report/88807/afghanistan-justice-action-plan-heading-oblivion.

  247. Afghanistan Justice Project, Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes Against: Humanity: 1978–2001, Kabul, Afghanistan Justice Project, 2005, available at https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/../casting-shadows-war-crimes-and-crimes-a.

  248. Grossman (2012).

  249. See Amnesty Law, supra note 3.

  250. Id. Amnesty Law art 1.

  251. Id. Amnesty Law art 3(2).

  252. Id. Amnesty Law art 3(3).

  253. UNAMA, Protection of civilians in Armed Conflict Annual Report 2016, Kabul Afghanistan 2017 available at https://unama.unmissions.org/protection-of-civilians-reports.

  254. CAT/C/AFG/CO/2, Concluding observations on the second periodic report of Afghanistan, 12 June 2017.

  255. UNAMA welcomes Afghanistan’s new penal code-calls for robust framework to protect women against violence, available at https://unama.unmissions.org/news.

  256. Id. at https://unama.unmissions.org/unama-welcomes-afghanistan%E2%80%99s-new-penal-code-calls-robust-framework-protect-women-against-violence.

  257. The four pillars of the Bonn Agreement, see Suhrke, supra note 1, p. 186.

  258. Roggio, Another Afghan district falls to the Taliban, available at https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/10/another-afghan-district-falls-to-the-taliban.php.

  259. Qaane and Kouvo (2019).

  260. The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) is the largest single source of on-budget financing for Afghanistan’s development and is delivering results within key sectors including education, health, agriculture, rural development, infrastructure, and governance. The ARTF is supported by 34 donors and administered by the World Bank. The ARTF was succeeded by the National Solidarity Program that was established in the mid-2003, available at http://www.artf.af/. See also Afghanistan’s Theorist in Chief, by Parker, G., The New Yorker, 4 July 2016, available at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/04/ashraf-ghani-afghanistans-theorist-in-chief.

  261. See supra note 7.

  262. See supra note 157.

  263. See supra note 4.

  264. Wardak, supra note 51, p. 18.

  265. See Kfir, supra note 24, p. 135.

  266. Ahmadi, Theory vs. Practice: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Afghanistan, 18(2) J. Gender Race & Just. 361, 24(2) Transnat’L L. & Contemp. Probs. 313 (2015), pp. 361-380.

  267. Kfir, supra note 24, p. 87.

  268. Suhrke and Borchgrevik, Negotiating justice reform in Afghanistan, Crime Law Soc Change, 2009, 51: 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-008-9154-0; Wimpelmann, T. Adultery, rape, and escaping the house: The protection and policing of female sexuality in Afghanistan, CMI Working Paper, No 9. December 2017, pp. 4–13.

  269. See e.g., the ANPDF and SMAF; see also Chayes, supra note 80, p. 62.

  270. AIHRC, Biannual report supra note 155.

  271. See supra note 9; see also Afghanistan and the International Criminal Court Questions and Answers, 20 Nov, 2017, available at https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/q_a_afghanistan_icc_final.pdf.

  272. Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Afghanistan and the International Criminal Court, Fact Sheet, last updated 21 Nov 2017, available at www.coalitionfortheicc.org/document-type/factsheet; see also Afghanistan and the International Criminal Court Questions and Answers, 20 Nov, 2017, available at https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/q_a_afghanistan_icc_final.pdf.

  273. Sultani, The Peace Process Should Not Be At The Cost Of Human Rights, 22 January 2019, available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/01/the-peace-process-should-not-be-at-the-cost-of-human-rights/.

  274. Ghani and Lockhart (2008).

  275. Id. p. 125.

  276. Id. p. 126.

  277. Qaane and Kouvo, Peace in the Air, But Where is Justice? Efforts to get transitional Justice on the Table, AAN, 28 February 2019, available at https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/peace-in-the-air-but-where-is-justice-efforts-to-get-transitional-justice-on-the-table/.

  278. See Peerenboom, supra note 87, pp. 144–152.

  279. See Cassese, supra note 185, p. 312.

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    Per Sevastik

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In memoriam: This article is dedicated to the memory of John H. Mansfield (1928–2014), Harvard Law School Professor.

Per Sevastik holds a LL.M. from Stockholm University, a LL.M. in International Legal Studies from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in Public International Law from Uppsala University. He has worked for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for more than twenty years with human rights and rule of law related issues in African and Asian countries. He has been guest professor at Peking University Law School, teaching International Human Rights law (2006–2007 and in 2009–2012). He was posted at the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand (2015–2016) and as Head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan (2016–2017). In August 2017, he was a Visiting Scholar at SOAS School of Law and Social Sciences, University of London, where the current article on Afghanistan took shape. I thank Matthew Seccombe, Michael Frühling, Paul Lappalainen, Richard Sannerholm, Stephen Linsky, and Thomas Ruttig for valuable comments on the earlier draft of the manuscript. I would also like to thank the reviewers of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law for valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. The views in the present article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Swedish government.

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Sevastik, P. Rule of Law, Human Rights and Impunity: The Case of Afghanistan. Hague J Rule Law 12, 93–145 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-019-00089-z

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