1. Prevention of Torture What NHRIs Can do
The 20th Annual Meeting and Biennial Conference of the APF
Ulaanbaatar
28 August 2015

2. Torture prevention mechanism in Afghanistan, the AIHRC work and achievements
Afghanistan’s context before
Law and policy before
AIHRC intervention
Findings,
Verification mechanism
Establishment of a baseline
Achievements
Current state of affairs
Work to do
Lessons learned

3. Afghanistan’s Context
A very fragile state
No functioning government institutions
Absence of rule of law and justice
The prevalence culture of impunity
Systemic practice of torture
Torture as a tool and as an effective instrument to get suspects confession
No awareness raising program on torture
No mechanism to prevent torture

4. Law and Policies before the AIHRC Intervention
Afghanistan signed and become party to the UN convention on prevention of torture on 1987 with some reservation on article 20 and paragraph 1 of article 30.
No major domestic legislation on torture
Provision of constitution and penal code very general not very specific and adequate
No policy to prevent torture

5. The AIHRC intervention
Monitoring mechanism
Reporting mechanism
Centrally maintained database
Complain handling and case management procedure
Research and reports
Public statement and media conferences
Strong advocacy for law and policy changes
Education, training to police and NDS

6. The AIHRC verification
A strong verification mechanism,
Intensive interviews, review of cases, documents
Investigation of all allegations thoroughly
Corroboration of testimonies and allegations
Verification of documents

7. The AIHRC findings Torture was practiced systematically
Torture was accepted as a tool and instrument to get confession
No legal provision sufficient to deter perpetrator of tortures
No government policy to prevent torture
Cases of torture in all provinces
No legal and court mechanism to prosecute perpetrators

8. No education for police on torture prevention
No accountability mechanism, rather culture of reward and authority

9. The AIHRC baseline Conducted a survey, produced a report in 2005
Created a baseline
Reported regularly

10. The AIHRC Acheivements
Attention to UNCAT, robust law changes
The government has prepared the first report to treaty body, UNCAT, yet to be submitted
The government drafted a law on prevention of torture and a stronger provision on the new Afghan Criminal procedural code
The government prepared a national action plan on prevention of torture, yet to be implemented
Courts have become more sensitive to cases of torture
Two officers have been prosecuted and tried in court
Several officers were investigated, demoted or under investigation
Torture victims are protected, provided with relieve

14. The current state of affairs
Torture cases have decreased substantially
More access to detention centers, improvement in the NDS centers
No systematic torture taking place
Law has been drafted and accountability mechanism is in place
Sensitivity toward torture has increased
More cooperation from the government
More high ranking officials under investigation( Najibullah Case)
Regular monitoring of NDS and Police custodies

15. Work To do The AIHRC has urged the GoIRA To sign the optional protocol
To bring more transparency and more access to detention centers
Facilitate Education to its personal
Adopt the law on prevention of torture
Implement the action plan on prevention of torture
Implement and comply with the UNCAT including signing the optional protocols

16. Lessons Learned
NHRIs could play as a national mechanism on prevention of torture
Robust monitoring of police costudy and national security directorate is essential
Education and training is very important
Sensitivity of judges, politician, media and CSOs is very important
Reporting and press conference could put pressure on the government
Verification of cases of torture
Assistance to the victims