Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, G.A. res. 50/189, U.N. Doc. A/RES/50/189 (1995)


 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and accepted
humanitarian rules, as set out in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and
the Additional Protocols thereto, of 1977,
 
      Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to fulfil the obligations
they have freely undertaken under the various international instruments,
 
      Recalling all its relevant resolutions, as well as the resolutions of
the Commission on Human Rights and the decisions of the Economic and Social
Council, 
 
      Taking note, in particular, of Commission on Human Rights resolution
1995/74 of 8 March 1995, in which the Commission decided to extend the mandate
of its Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan for
one year and requested him to consider submitting a report to the General
Assembly at its fiftieth session, and of Economic and Social Council decision
1995/285 of 25 July 1995, in which the Council approved the Commission's
decision,
 
      Noting that armed confrontation persists in certain parts of the
territory of Afghanistan,
 
      Aware that peace and security in Afghanistan are conducive to the full
restoration of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, the voluntary return
of refugees to their homeland in safety and dignity, the clearance of
minefields in many parts of the country and the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Afghanistan,
 
      Deeply concerned at reports of human rights abuses and violations of
humanitarian law and human rights, including the rights to life, liberty and
security of person and to freedom of opinion, expression and association,
 
      Concerned in particular at reports of abuses and violations of the human
rights of women, including acts of violence and denial of access to primary
and basic education, training and employment, affecting their effective
participation in political and cultural life throughout the country,
 
      Concerned that a unified judicial system cannot be established
throughout the country under the prevailing circumstances,
 
      Commending the activities carried out for the welfare of the Afghan
people by various agencies and programmes of the United Nations and by the
International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations,
 
      Noting with satisfaction that the voluntary repatriation of the Afghan
refugees has resumed,
 
      Taking note with appreciation of the interim report of the Special
Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights
in Afghanistan, of the conclusions and recommendations contained therein and
of the translation of previous reports into the Dari and Pashtu languages,
 
      1.    Welcomes the cooperation that the Government and local authorities
in Afghanistan have extended to the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on
Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and to
humanitarian agencies;
 
      2.    Urges all the Afghan parties to work with the United Nations
Special Mission to Afghanistan with a view to achieving a comprehensive
political solution leading to the cessation of armed confrontation and the
eventual establishment of a democratic Government elected through free and
fair elections based on the right to self-determination of the people of
Afghanistan;
 
      3.    Recognizes that the promotion and protection of human rights
should be an essential element in the achievement of a comprehensive solution
to the crisis in Afghanistan, and therefore invites the Special Mission and
the Special Rapporteur to exchange relevant information and to consult and
cooperate with each other;
 
      4.    Also urges all the Afghan parties to respect accepted humanitarian
rules and all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights of
women and children, and calls upon the Afghan authorities to take measures to
ensure the effective participation of women in social, political and cultural
life throughout the country;
 
      5.    Calls for the unconditional and simultaneous release of all
prisoners of war, wherever they may be held, including former Soviet prisoners
of war, and for the tracing of the many Afghans still missing as a result of
the war; 
 
      6.    Calls upon the Afghan authorities to investigate thoroughly the
fate of those persons who have disappeared during the conflict, to apply the
amnesty decree issued in 1992 by the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
in a strictly non-discriminatory manner, to reduce the period during which
prisoners await trial and to treat all suspected, convicted or detained
persons according to relevant international instruments;
 
      7.    Urges the Afghan authorities to provide sufficient and effective
remedies to the victims of grave violations of human rights and accepted
humanitarian rules and to bring their perpetrators to trial in accordance with
internationally accepted standards;
 
      8.    Appeals to Member States and to the international community to
continue to provide adequate humanitarian assistance to the people of
Afghanistan and to the Afghan refugees in the neighbouring countries, pending
their voluntary repatriation according to relevant international instruments,
in particular through the support of activities such as mine detection and
clearance and repatriation projects undertaken by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, the Coordinator for Humanitarian and Economic
Assistance Programmes Relating to Afghanistan as well as by United Nations
agencies or non-governmental humanitarian organizations;
 
      9.    Strongly urges all parties to the conflict to take all necessary
measures to ensure the safety of all personnel of humanitarian organizations
and representatives of the media in Afghanistan;
 
      10.   Invites the United Nations to offer, upon the request of the
Afghan authorities and with due regard for Afghan tradition, advisory services
and technical assistance concerning the drafting of a constitution, which
should embody internationally accepted human rights principles, and the
holding of direct elections;
 
      11.   Encourages the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization to study, with the contribution of its competent committees,
appropriate ways and means to restore the Afghan system of education and the
Afghan cultural heritage, in particular the restoration of the Kabul Museum;
 
      12.   Urges the Afghan authorities to continue to extend their full
cooperation to the Commission on Human Rights and its Special Rapporteur;
 
      13.   Requests the Secretary-General to give all necessary assistance to
the Special Rapporteur;
 
      14.   Decides to keep the situation of human rights in Afghanistan under
consideration at its fifty-first session, in the light of additional elements
provided by the Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social
Council. 
      

 

 



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