20 October 2005

AIHRC Press Release on Burning of 2 Taleban Members in Gonbaz Village, Kandahar Province by Coalition Forces

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) regards the burning of 2 Taleban members in Gonbaz Village of Kandahar Province by the Coalition Forces as contradictory to the countrys Islamic beliefs and traditions and a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and the International Humanitarian Law.

The Commission has always called on the Coalition Forces to respect the Islamic and local beliefs and traditions of the Afghan people during their military operations and to adjust their performance in accordance with the law of the war, the four Geneva Conventions and other internationally-agreed standards.

The AIHRC expects all parties to the conflict to seriously avoid those acts that undermine human dignity, desecrate religious beliefs and harm the civilian population and those who are no longer part of the conflict according to the international treaty obligations.

The Commission hopes that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Coalition Forces will take serious and immediate measures to identify and try those involved in this incident in order to effectively prevent such violations of human rights and national and international law in the future.