It is with great pleasure that UNAMA participates today in the opening, in Jalalabad, of the fourth satellite office of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

Now the Commission has offices in Herat, Bamyan and Mazar-I-Sharif. Today Jalalabad is added to this list. Soon there will be additional offices in Kandahar, Gardez and Fayzabad. This human rights network will enable the Commission to make a major contribution to the implementation of the Bonn Agreement.

Despite the many efforts devoted last year to the establishment of new institutions at national level, too little of this work is visible outside Kabul. We are therefore particularly gratified that, as the new Afghan year begins, the Human Rights Commission is taking the lead in expanding its presence throughout the country. We congratulate Dr. Sima Samar and her colleagues on this achievement.

The Independent Human Rights Commission has a daunting agenda to fulfill.
Daunting because of the responsibilities that the AIHRC has undertaken: the Commission will educate Afghan men and women about their rights, investigate violations of those rights and help strengthen institutions needed to defend them. It will also lead consultations to determine how the nation wants to address the issue of past human rights abuses.

But more daunting even because of the environment in which it must work. The Commission has come into being in a country in which the institutions which are, ultimately, responsible for the protection of human rights – the judiciary, the police, the educational system, the media – are still barely functioning. Security remains fragile. At the level of the ordinary citizen, Afghans throughout the country continue to suffer from the abuse of power by far too many people who use their position not to protect the rights of citizens but, more often, to abuse them.

Facing these complex challenges will not be easy for the AIHRC. But, the Commission is not alone.

First and foremost, it enjoys the support of an overwhelming number of Afghans who want to know and defend their rights, who want those rights to be upheld and are prepared to support the work of the Commission.

Like them, the United Nations welcomes the establishment of this office. UNAMA and all UN agencies in Jalalabad are keen to assist the Commission in its work here. Within its own mandate to monitor the human rights situation, to investigate violations and to promote corrective action, the Mission is keen to replicate the partnership that it has established with the Independent Commission at national level.

In the partnership to improve and enforce the exercise of human rights, the central government and the local authorities must play a key role. The authorities – local and national – have a primary responsibility to ensure that abuses are prevented and corrected.

In that sense, we welcome the commitment made by the President to a reform process that aims to create a more effective and accountable state. The government’s recent decision to accede to the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, and to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women are a positive sign of its commitment to human rights. By the way, I should add that the Convention entered into effect in Afghanistan yesterday, 4 April.

But an improvement of the situation of human rights in the country will take much more than an improvement in the legislation alone. It is of paramount importance that progress be made this year in addressing the lack of security in the country. Reforms of the military and police must be achieved to ensure that these institutions represent the entire country, are well trained, disciplined. Simultaneously, the courts must be rehabilitated and judges must be empowered so that justice is administered properly and without outside interference.

Constitutional reform will also take place this year. The Constitutional Commission will consult Afghans across the country to find out their concerns and wishes regarding the constitution, before finalizing a draft, which will be submitted to a Loya Jirga before Ramadan. This consultation will serve to put across and balance the particular concerns of the various parts of the country, the legal, social and cultural history of the nation, and the norms of international law that Afghanistan will need to incorporate as a member of the international community. The constitution will serve as the fundamental law protecting human rights and that is why the advice and involvement of the Human Rights Commission in the constitution making-process will continue to be needed.

In many countries, protecting and promoting the human rights of citizens mean primarily protecting them against the abuse of power by the state. In Afghanistan, the most immediate task is to build institutions capable of protecting individuals from abuses by those who wield power and act outside and against the legitimate authority of the state. In that sense, the work of the Independent Commission is an integral part of ongoing efforts to set up effective and legitimate national institutions.
We trust that here, in Jalalabad, and in the rest of the country, this undertaking will mobilize everyone: the Commission, the local authorities and the communities. The United Nations, and in particular the personnel of UNAMA, pledge their full support to this national effort.