Armed conflicts mostly stem from injustices in societies. When governments in general and legal and judicial institutions in particular fail to deliver justice to citizens, they feel alienated and when their peaceful struggle to get justice does not pay off, they take up arms and fight, which in turn leads to further injustices. Although the implementation of law of war is an issue, experience has shown that crimes and violations of the rights of civilians or people not involved in conflict are linked to the continuation of war.
A lot of human rights violations and war crimes have occurred over four decades of war in Afghanistan, in which all sides were involved. Neither side has been able to pay necessary attention to the lives and property of non-combatants by implementing rules of engagement or the law of war. All human rights abuses and war crime claims must be impartially investigated, and those found guilty should be brought to justice.
The Human Rights Watch has levelled charges of human rights abuses and war crimes against Asadullah Khalid, the newly appointed acting defense minister. In a statement, the human rights group has said the donors must convey to Afghan government that the appointment of such individuals is not acceptable to them.
Khalid is not the only person in Afghanistan accused of committing war crimes. There are a lot of people who also hold key positions in the Afghan government implicated in human rights violations, and even have cases in the country’s legal and judicial organizations. There should not be any discrimination in transitional justice. Generally speaking, Afghan people want all individuals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the last four decades to be brought to justice. The Human Rights Watch or any group that believes in justice and wants to deliver justice to the victims of war crimes should speak out against all individuals who have committed war crimes, regardless of how strong they are. Also, they have to continuously and practically fight for a fair trial of these people and sides, and should not deem their responsibility to have been fulfilled by just issuing a statement.
