CONTENTS Page Mariam A. Nawabi, Esq., Advisor to the Constitutional Drafting Commission of Afghanistan, Associate, Dechert, LLP T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia and Pacific, Amnesty International, Mark Schneider, Senior Vice President, International Crisis Group LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on the Middle East and The Honorable Elton Gallegly, a Representative in Congress from the State The Honorable Christina B. Rocca: Prepared statement The Honorable John V. Hanford III: Prepared statement AFGHANISTAN: DEMOCRATIZATION AND WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2003 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The Subcommittees met, pursuant to call, at 2:03 p.m. in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia] presiding. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. The Subcommittee will come to order. We are very happy to have with us-where is Maurice Shutmargo? Did he sneak out? Our former staff director who is now a big shot in the Department of Justice, who has joined us here for just a brief second. Timing is everything, Maurice. Welcome back. It is a pleasure to see you. And Yleem Poblete of our Subcommittee, I am sorry to say, is going to be leaving her staff director's post to join Secretary John Bolton, uncovering the weapons of mass destruction singlehandedly over in Iraq, so we wish her much success, but we will have more to do with that a little later. But thank you so much, Mr. Ackerman, as always, for being here. Thank you to all the witnesses. Sorry that just as we were about to start we got a series of votes. But what a wonderful day of a great Subcommittee hearing, and it is personally gratifying for me to be here today to discuss the process of rebuilding democracy and building democratic institutions in Afghanistan, and the path toward the constitutional Loya Jirga. A little over 2 years ago, on October 31st, in my previous capacity as Chair of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, we held a hearing entitled "Afghan People vs. the Taliban: The Struggle for Freedom Intensifies." Friends and colleagues such as Assistant Secretary Craner, who joins us today, and T. Kumar, who will testify today as well, along with a cross-section of exiled Afghans, detailed the deplorable conditions of human rights under the Taliban regime, the barbaric practice of beatings, of torture, rape, executions carried out by the Taliban's Department of Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Yikes, what a title. The shroud of misery placed on the people of Afghanistan when the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996 was removed and, today, Afghans are rebuilding their nation and preparing to usher in a new era of representative democracy in their homeland. While all is not perfect, the situation has changed dramatically. This progress was encapsulated by the International Crisis Group in a statement issued on March 14th of this year. The ICG statement said: "The creation of a Ministry of Women's Affairs, significant donor commitment, and the return of women to universities, schools and government offices heralded a new day for women in Afghanistan.” And it continued: "There is little reason to doubt the commitment of the Karzai administration and its international partners to address discrimination against women and improve their access to civic life." For many, this commitment is reflected in the draft constitution where in article 22 it states: and "Any kind of discrimination and privilege between the citizens of Afghanistan are prohibited," "The citizens of Afghanistan have equal rights and duties before the law." Articles 44, 83, and 84 of the Constitution mandate the promotion of women's education and the elimination of a illiteracy, while establishing requirements that seek to ensure female representation throughout the government. However, women's rights advocates still have serious concerns regarding the rights of female Afghan citizens, as currently stipulated in the draft constitution. Masooda Jalal, a former female presidential candidate in 2002, was quoted as saying that, after reading the draft document, she was not sure whether the constitution was supporting fundamental principles or liberalist, but would wait to see what the Loya Jirga discussions produced before making a final decision. Others focus on the context in which these provisions will be implemented, highlighting that women are often subject to physical and psychological harm, which has limited their ability to participate in civil society. Just last week, an Afghan Information Agency reported that, in two provincial districts, the election of women to the constitutional Loya Jirga was suspended, after opposition from Sunni sect religious scholars. This was reportedly confirmed by a member of the Constitution Commission of Afghanistan. These concerns increase as, according to some, the conservative religious tendencies of Afghan society are enshrined in the constitution and could, in its practical application, empower extremist elements in the country. For example, article 2 of the draft constitution begins by affirming: "Followers of other religions are free to perform their religious ceremonies," yet it ends by placing this guarantee, 66 within the limits of the provisions of law." This is followed by article 3, which highlights that: "In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam and the values of the constitution." So we look forward to hearing from Ambassador Hanford on the state of religious freedom in Afghanistan and how these and other articles in the constitution are reconciled to provide for and protect the fundamental freedoms of conscience and belief. Ultimately, as one member of the Constitution Commission has said, "The draft aims to balance modern needs with those of a Muslim-majority nation. The Vice President and the head of the Constitution Commission during a news briefing following the release of the text, said that the draft document aims to unite Afghanistan's often divided ethnic groups and promote the basic human rights so often abused during more than 20 years of war. The preamble and numerous articles clearly establish the parameters within which the Afghan government will operate, and those are according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They detail, as in article 24, that: "Liberty and the dignity of human beings are inviolable," and that: "The state has the duty to respect and protect the liberty and dignity of human beings." The draft document contains prohibitions on torture and inhumane forms of punishment; on crimes against humanity; and on forced labor. Concurrently, there are articles that protect freedom of expression; freedom of movement; and provide for due process of rights such as the presumption of innocence; guaranteed legal representation; protection against arbitrary arrests and detention; protection against unlawful search and seizure; and many others. With respect to the political process, article 35 articulates the right of all Afghans to form political parties, while requiring that the organizational structure and financial resources be made public; that its aims and structures not be military or paramilitary in nature; and that it has no ties to foreign political parties or foreign influences. This section seeks to prevent tribalism by prohibiting the formation and functioning of a party based on ethnicity, language, religion or region. Some would argue, however, that this article is internally contradictory, given that the formation of political parties is allowed, provided that: |