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Transitional Justice Challenging injustice, meeting accountability Introduction How should Afghanistan, a newly emerging democracy, cope with the legacy of the repressive authorities, armed groups and individuals? How can we redress the past abuses without creating new injustices? How can we peacefully integrate both the victims and the perpetrators? Afghanistan is a society confronted with a legacy of severe human rights abuse. How it responds to this situation and transitions into a new more democratic order are the concerns of transitional justice. Transitional Justice Defined Transitional justice considers the problems a society faces when transitioning from a repressive regime to a more democratic order or from a civil war with clops states to peace and state building. These problems are varied. For example, the new government (current) must distinguish itself from the old. It must decide on how to punish former armed groups and individual perpetrators of human rights violations. Swift and severe punishments may undermine democratic principles, but relying on the rule of law and justice may be slow and leave those who were committed with the grave violation of human rights unpunished. The government must also decide how to deal with followers of the groups and individuals who violated the peoples rights, including public officials, bureaucrats, administrators, and armed groups of old system and regimes. Similarly, the government must deal with how to reform the judicial and enforcement systems and decide whether to replace former police officials and change the laws. Citizens who suffered from violation of human rights may demand compensation, and the government must determine what is appropriate. And finally Transitional Justice refer to the development, analysis, and practical application of a wide variety of strategies for confronting the legacy of past human rights abuses in order to create a more just and democratic future. Developing a strategy of transitional justice will be not an easy task, it will defiantly combines with, enormous challenges and difficulties, security both for staff and those who comes in contact with commission, weak judicial system, lack of protection systems, presence of deep family linkages between victims and abusers are the main challenges which will arise in the process of transitional Justice. Developing a national strategy of Transitional Justice should be looked at as a process related to the promotion of the rule of law and linked to reform and to the development of security, good governance and an effective judiciary system. Vision The objective of this national program of transitional justice is to enhance respect for human rights and national reconciliation in the country. This will be done through investigation, recording and publication of the truth and through the establishment of accountability for the past crimes such as crime against humanity and gross violations of human rights in accordance with international law, Islamic principles, Afghan tradition and the will of the people of Afghanistan. Goals
A national consultation to learn the methods Afghan people support in dealing with those who committee the human rights violations. Background The enthusiasm for peace and justice in Afghanistan was visible in the first National Human Rights Workshop in Kabul on March 9, 2002. During the workshop members of civil society, elders, community representatives and international experts gathered to outline the strategies for the promotion and protection of human rights, justice, and the rule of law in Afghanistan. Mr. Hamid Karzi, Chairman of the Interim Authority, spoke of dealing with violations of the past his opening speech to the workshop. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) was created and mandated to develop a mechanism and a national strategy for transitional justice. The AIHRC will try its best to highlight the importance of reconciliation. It will also explore the traditional methods of confronting the past and promoting accountability in order to mold any transitional justice strategy to the particularities of Afghanistan. The commission will make final decision on which strategy or mechanisms to recommend the government only after a national consultation. It is up to the people of Afghanistan, not the Commission, to decide which mechanism to employ to deal with the past abuses of human rights. The Plan of Action The initial plan will be divided into two parts as follow:
Conducting National Consultation on Transitional Justice: To give the ownership of the transitional justice process to victims and to the people of Afghanistan. To find the fact and truth of past crimes of human rights, and to develop a mechanism for justice which the majority of the population supports. The process will go through an evaluation period every three months to ensure that the Plan is effective in achieving its goals.
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