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Long-term Commitment to Human Rights Essential for Success of Canadian Mission in Afghanistan

MONTREAL – Mar. 10, 2006 – Canada and its international partners must ensure that their military operations in Afghanistan are matched by a commitment to long-term assistance for the advancement of human rights, peacebuilding and gender equality, says Rights & Democracy.

Violence and intimidation are facts of everyday life for Afghanistan ’s struggling human rights movement. Extremist groups continue to target Afghans involved in the promotion of women’s rights, and the burning down of dozens of schools for girls and the murder of at least two male teachers in recent months are reminders of both the perilous security situation and the extreme opposition to human rights that persists in Afghanistan .

Canadian International Development Agency funding for Rights & Democracy’s Women’s Rights in Afghanistan Fund (WRAF) is one example of how the Canadian government is supporting efforts by Afghanistan ’s courageous human rights movement to overcome such opposition. From its office in Kabul , Rights & Democracy works in partnership with Afghan women to develop and implement projects concerned with, among other things, the promotion of gender equality in education, peacebuilding and the establishment of women’s information networks, including a new women’s resource centre in Kandahar.

Initiatives such as these are essential to Afghanistan ’s future stability and support for Afghan women and Afghan civil society as a whole should form the basis of Canadian policy. Accordingly, the Government of Canada and its international partners must plan beyond current military operations for a sustained commitment to the country’s reconstruction, including continuing assistance for the entrenchment of gender equality and efforts to promote justice and bring an end to impunity.

“If Canadians are united on anything regarding Canada ’s involvement in Afghanistan , it is support for the courageous Afghan women engaged in the struggle for human rights,” said Jean-Louis Roy, President of Rights & Democracy. “The Government of Canada and its international partners must recognize that the long-term development of justice and human rights in Afghanistan is fundamental to lasting peace.”