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	Afghanistan must do more to address impunity, advance human rights by Norah Niland Chief Human Rights Officer, UNAMA   18 March 2008   The Afghan Government must do more to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice, a senior United Nations official said today, warning that unless impunity is addressed, past crimes will continue to undermine the future of the young democracy.   During nearly three decades of conflict, thousands of Afghan men, women and children were subjected to various human rights abuses, including the right to life and safety, freedom of movement, and access to education and health. Many of those responsible for these crimes have yet to be brought to justice.   In 2005, the Afghan Government adopted an action plan to try to address the abuses of the past, achieve peace with justice and promote national reconciliation. However, during her visit to the strife-torn nation last November, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour expressed disappointment in the lack of progress in implementing commitments made under the plan.   “One often hears the phrase ‘action speaks louder than words.’ Here in Afghanistan, the lack of action speaks volumes,” said Norah Niland, Chief Human Rights Officer with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), stressing the need to “re-energize” the plan.   “At a minimum, there needs to be the space for a national dialogue that acknowledges the injustices and suffering that have occurred,” she told reporters in Kabul today. “The voices of victims need to be heard.”   She emphasized the need for political commitment and stronger leadership at both the national and international levels, noting that unless the issue of impunity is addressed, Afghanistan’s future will be threatened by its past. “Building an environment that is conducive to respect for human rights is fundamental to a peaceful and democratic society,” she stated.   Ms. Niland also cited the need for stronger commitment – both political and financial – to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, which threaten the right to life. In addition, while life is better for some Afghan women and girls, who are now able to go to school, work outside the home, and have access to basic health care, deep-rooted social, economic and political discrimination continues.   “It takes time everywhere to achieve gender equality but the severity of the situation here in Afghanistan demands much stronger commitments and more concerted action than is currently the case,” she noted.
	Deadly attacks in West Darfur breached international law – UN report by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights   20 March 2008   Recent attacks by militias and the Sudanese army on four villages in West Darfur that left at least 115 people dead and some 30,000 displaced violated international humanitarian and human rights law, a United Nations report released today has found.   The report, issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in cooperation with the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), describes attacks on four villages north of El Geneina, the regional capital.   The attacks on the villages of Saraf Jidad, Sirba, Silea and Abu Suruj were carried out as part of a push by the Sudanese Government in late January and early February to drive back an insurgent group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).   The 8 February attacks involved aerial bombardments by helicopter gun ships and fixed-wing aircraft, accompanied by ground offensives by soldiers and armed militia on horses and camels, the report says.   The report describes extensive looting during and after the attacks, and catalogues “consistent and credible accounts” of rape committed by armed men in uniform.   “These actions violated the principle of distinction stated in international humanitarian law, failing to distinguish between civilian objects and military objective,” the report concludes.   “Moreover, the scale of destruction of civilian property, including objects indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, suggests that the damage was a deliberate and integral part of a military strategy,” it adds.   UNAMID human rights staff were unable to investigate reports that similar ground and air offensives carried out on Jebel Moon and nearby areas on 18, 19 and 22 February also resulted in the killing of civilians, as the Government denied the UN access to Jebel Moon until 1 March.   According to the report, this was “in breach of its obligation to allow UNAMID officials freedom of movement under the Status of Forces Agreement signed between the UN and the Sudanese Government in February 2008.”   The attacks of the JEM rebel group, which precipitated the Government offensive, had previously been determined by the Darfur Ceasefire Commission to be in violation of the 2004 N’Djamena Ceasefire Agreement.   Meanwhile, UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative Henry Anyidoho travelled to one of the villages, Silea, to assess the security situation on the ground and to look at the possibility of the mission’s deployment there.   “The protection of civilians is our priority,” Mr. Anyidoho told community elders. “We will not abandon you. The UN will continue working to improve your living conditions,” he said, affirming that UNAMID would soon have a permanent presence in the area.   Currently, UNAMID conducts daily patrols from El Geneina to the conflict-affected areas, allowing humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) access to the population.   UNAMID took over from a previous AU force at the beginning of the year in a bid to quell the fighting and humanitarian suffering in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed in the past five years and at least 2.2 million displaced.   10 March 2008   UN expert decries human rights violations by both sides in Darfur.   Sudanese Government military forces and Darfur’s rebel movements have both committed human rights abuses in the war-wracked region, carrying out killings, acts of sexual violence, looting, the destruction of property, arbitrary arrests and forced displacement, an independent United Nations envoy said today.   Sima Samar, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in Sudan, issued a statement after completing a 13-day visit to the country in which she said she was “extremely disturbed” by the ongoing situation, especially in West Darfur, the scene of a major military offensive in recent weeks.   “The Government and the movements have failed in their responsibility to provide protection to civilians in areas under their control and are violating international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” Ms. Samar said. “I received reports of killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention and impunity for such crimes.”   She cited a Government air and ground attack, supported by allied militiamen, on 8-9 February on the West Darfur towns of Sirba, Silea and Abu Suruj in which at least 100 locals were reported killed and an estimated 12,000 forced to flee over the nearby border to neighbouring Chad.   “The attacks were marked by indiscriminate killings, destruction of property and looting and plundering,” she said, adding that the Sudanese armed forces carried out similar attacks on 18-19 and 22 February on villages in the Jebel Moon area of West Darfur.   “Bombs were reportedly dropped on several locations populated by civilians, including one near an internally displaced camp in Aro Sharrow.”   She called on the Government and the movements to comply with all obligations under international law and to protect civilians in areas they control in Darfur, the scene of fierce fighting between rebels, Government forces and allied militia since 2003.
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