Is Justice in Sight for Victims of Past and Present War Crimes in Afghanistan?

  • April 30, 2019
  • Zohra Safi

The conflict in Afghanistan has continued for nearly 40 years now, leading to the disintegration and weakening of the rule of law across the country. As a result, millions of victims of violence and of serious crimes over a prolonged period of conflict have been deprived of any opportunity to seek redress, or bring those responsible for atrocious acts to justice.

In May 2003, Afghanistan became a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), enabling the Afghan government to exercise criminal jurisdiction over individuals accused of international crimes. Under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, if the Afghan government fails to take action, the ICC Prosecutor can investigate and prosecute such crimes at its own initiative.

There is well-documented evidence of widespread violence committed against Afghans by various groups at different periods in the conflict. As an example, during the Soviet Union occupation alone, between 1979 to1989, an estimated 870,000 Afghans were killed, three million wounded or incapacitated, and a record high of five million were forced to flee the country. The civil war similarly claimed thousands of lives and left thousands of others horribly afflicted and maimed for life. In spite of clear evidence, there has been a sense of reluctance among officials, to formally probe the crimes of the 80s and 90s, let alone criminally prosecute its perpetrators. In fact, most of the perpetrators of such horrific crimes continue to operate inside the country with complete impunity.