New human rights commission in Herat praised

The Afghan Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has praised the establishment of a human rights body in the western province of Herat, following disturbing reports of abuses there by Human Rights Watch (HRW). "This is very encouraging and a positive move, because it shows that the new administration is willing to have such a body within its framework to deal with human rights issues," the AHRC deputy chairwoman, Fahim Hakim, told IRIN from the capital, Kabul on Monday. Comprising six people, two of them women, the AHRC was set up over the past few weeks by the Herat governor, Ismail Khan, who had been criticised in two recent HRW reports for abuses, particularly of women. According to one of the reports, females are facing increasing harassment to the extent of being compelled to undergo "chastity checks" by religious police and a "youth police", who are allegedly hauling women and girls to hospitals for gynecological examinations. "We have had some individual complaints from people who told us that they have been humiliated in the same way the Taliban used to treat women, and this is worrying," Hakim said. Welcoming the new commission, Hakim said it set a good example for other provinces to follow. He noted that in addition to this, the central government would be setting up its own human rights offices in seven provinces, including Herat, pointing out that it was important to have an independent body present. "What we are seeing in Herat is a level of responsibility," she said, adding that it was important for the authorities to work closely with HRW and other watchdog groups. "We should understand our differences. But we should start with sharing our commonalities," she said, highlighting the importance of working with the provincial authorities. Human rights abuses, such as massacres and gross violations of women's rights, have been widespread in Afghanistan during the many years of civil war, which has left the country in tatters. Created under the Bonn agreement, the AHRC was established to put an end to this. The AHRC had sent a mission to Herat several weeks earlier, but was unable to enter the women's jail in the city due to the inaccessibility of the governor. "We don't want to push the authorities into a corner as we need to work with them," Hakim stressed. Commenting on the overall situation of human rights in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, she said: "It's very difficult to point out one specific province as being the worst for human rights, but times have changed and people have hope now." Hakim pointed out that it was important not to lose sight of the country's history of human rights violations. "We need to learn from the past if the situation is to continue to improve," she said.