(Transcript Covers Only The Portion Of The Briefing By The DSRSG)

DSRSG: Thank you very much. Thank you Nader for your presentation. Nader has given you the gist of the findings of the Verification Campaign during the reporting period between July and August. I think he has given you quite a lot of details already and we can answer questions if you have any. However, let me perhaps summarize our conclusions with respect to this report and also some of the ideas that we are putting forward by way of recommendations to the various actors, stakeholders, in the political process for the weeks and months to come.

This report covered essentially a period, in which in terms of exercise of political rights, two very important processes took place. One is the conclusion of the [voter] registration process and second is the process of nomination of presidential candidates. Both processes took place during the reporting period. There are positive conclusions that we draw from observing the processes and the environment in which they took place.

The high number of people registering for election shows support and enthusiasm on the part of the Afghan public. Positive signs also because the field of candidates is varied from the political point of view, from the ethnic point of view, from the gender point of view and this is a very encouraging sign because the debate is moving from fighting and conflict to a democratic discussion.

We are still in the process as the report shows but the trend has begun definitely. Now observing and monitoring the political environment or the environment in terms of exercise of political rights during these two important steps of the process also indicate some more negative, some less positive trends that we believe can be summarized in three points. First, that there is and continues to be intimidation especially in the South and Southeast and East linked to the anti-government offensive. The offensive of those who want to destabilize the processes, who want to derail the Bonn process in its most crucial phase by creating a climate of insecurity and also by intimidating voters. There have been many incidents affecting the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) personnel including several incidents of fatal casualties.

Second, there has been what I would call “local pressure” on the electoral process. These have been manifested in many ways that have been mentioned by Nader; including unfortunately in some cases, forcible confiscation of cards, for example, presumably to increase the number of [voter registration] cards that were to be presented by Presidential candidates or for other purposes – simply perhaps to assert the authority of a given commander for example in a certain area. So these types of local intimidations have been observed and show that the electoral process is vulnerable to this type of intimidation. Third, this is a different aspect, there continues to be a large deficit of information with respect to the electoral process. People don’t know yet, and this is very understandable, all the complicated details of the electoral process and this lack of information plays into the hands of those who don’t want the electoral process to succeed. This is also a trend that we have observed throughout the country and particularly in those areas outside the cities and outside of Kabul.

Now given these conclusions that we draw from the report, we [AIHRC and UNAMA] are making a series of recommendations to all those who have a stake in the process. The first set of recommendations is made to the JEMB, the UN itself, and to political candidates and other actors directly involved in the process. It is very important to step up and intensify the information campaign stressing in particular that the vote will be secret, that people will be able to vote without others knowing for whom they vote, and the counting process will also not expose people from the political point of view. It is necessary that people understand this better and by the way the Press also has a responsibility in this respect as well.

We have invited the JEMB to better inform the public on electoral procedures and to further improve the already established complaint mechanisms that Nader mentioned.

We believe also that political candidates have also the responsibility to inform or to speak out publicly in a correct manner about the electoral process. Manoel [Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Spokesman for the Special Representative] mentioned earlier that UNAMA has met the presidential candidates, indeed we have met almost all of them and to all of them we have conveyed this message. Also the JEMB will make the effort to educate the candidates themselves about the intricacies and complexities involved in the voting process.

Another set of recommendation concerns, in particular, the Government and the authorities. We are pleased that both the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence have issued codes of conduct or instructions, at least, to their own personnel on how to behave with respect to the electoral process- no interference, no intimidation, etc. But we would like this to be extended to the entire range of Government, the Provincial authorities, and this needs to be reiterated constantly by the Government.

Another key area (and Nader has given you a long list of units non- compliant with DDR yet) is of course continuing the process of disarmament. I don’t want to get into this now, I can answer questions if you wish but we are trying to revitalize and give impulsion to the DDR process, which is key in creating a better environment for the Presidential election but also down the line for the parliamentary and local elections that will take place in the spring.

A strong recommendation is made by the report to the international community to strengthen, accelerate and increase the deployment of observers, especially international observers or other experts that will not observe technically but be present during the voting period. We believe that this is the wish of Afghans and this is the key issue. The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Secretary General is in town precisely to discuss this topic and it is a key recommendation if abuses and intimidations are to be deterred or reported upon at some stage.

Finally, of course we continue to recommend that security be provided to the electoral process. We are working with our security partners on that because insecurity is a key element of intimidation and limitation of exercise of political rights and is very relevant here - this is a recommendation directed to the Government and to the international community.

We will continue, in conclusion, to follow up on issues that the first report raised and of course new issues brought to the floor by this current report. We hope that there will be another report before the Presidential Election that will focus essentially on the campaign period, which will be begin the day after tomorrow (7 September). And we also believe, and you must understand, this process is not a process that will end. The process of verifying the exercise of political rights is a gradual process, and will continue after the Presidential Election throughout the electoral period to parliamentary elections and maybe beyond. So stay tuned to this process which is very important and we are available for questions. if you have them

Question and Answers [Questions to the DSRSG have been transcribed]

Question: The Commission has taken note of misuse and control over media by local commanders and authorities but have they also taken note of illegitimate misuse of Government machinery and media by the President? So much so that almost all the presidential candidates have threatened to boycott the election.

DSRSG: We have of course noted this and other complaints by a number of presidential candidates. This is also noted in the report by the way. The response that JEMB is giving to these complaints is the standard issuance of regulations for the campaign. A number of regulatory mechanisms have been mentioned by Manoel in his briefing today (5 September) concerning media and other regulations and I understand that further regulations concerning the conduct of campaign itself, for example rallies and posters, etc. and the use of private and public resources for the conduct of campaign will be issued, hopefully, in the next few hours just ahead of the beginning of the campaign. The campaign has not officially started yet and regulations will include points that respond to the concerns of the candidates.

Question: [in Dari] Some of the presidential candidates have accused President Karzai of misusing the State resources for his own campaign. If President Karzai makes a commitment not to use these resources, what is the mechanism to guarantee that he fulfills his commitment?

DSRSG: [Nader Naderi of AIHRC responded followed by the DSRSG] I just want to add one point perhaps. It is always of course very difficult to monitor the use of State resources, not necessarily only by the President if he is a candidate, but by anybody. How do you decide that a certain resource of the State is used for the campaign or for normal State work? This is a very difficult determination in any election. So the JEMB is striving to define what resources can be used and cannot be used and of course once this is defined, which, as I said, will be today or tomorrow, and the regulation is published, then the JEMB will itself monitor compliance with these regulations. These are also mechanisms for complaints, which are the different channels through which anybody can file complaints. But it is always a very difficult situation, when you have one of the candidates who is also the incumbent president.

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