Torture rife in Afghanistan
UN: More detainees being abused by security forces despite new laws
KABUL: Torture and mistreatment of detainees by Afghan security forces is as widespread as ever, according to a new United Nations report, despite promises by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and new laws enacted by the government.
At least 39% of the conflict-related detainees interviewed by UN investigators “gave credible and reliable accounts” of being tortured or experiencing other mistreatment at the hands of Afghan police, intelligence or military personnel while in custody, according to the report released yesterday.
That compares with 35% in the last UN report, released in 2015.
In response to allegations in the past, the Afghan government has acknowledged that some problems could be caused by individuals but not as any national policy.
“The government of Afghanistan is committed to eliminating torture and ill treatment,” the government said in a statement.
The UN report comes as senior Afghan officials prepare to appear before the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva this week to face a review of Afghanistan's record of implementing anti-torture laws.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague is conducting a separate review of torture in Afghanistan.
“Notwithstanding the government’s efforts to implement its national plan ... the present report documents continued and consistent reports of torture and ill treatment of conflict-related detainees, mainly during interrogation, and highlights a lack of accountability for such acts,” UN officials concluded.
Over the past two years, investigators interviewed 469 detainees in 62 detention centres across Afghanistan.
The report’s authors noted an alarming 14% spike in reports of torture by Afghan National Police.
More than a quarter of the 77 detainees who reported being tor- tured by the police were boys under the age of 18, according to the UN.
A force known as the Afghan Local Police severely beat almost 60% of their detainees, according to the interviews.
Nearly 30% of interviewees held by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, said they had faced torture or mistreatment.
Afghan National Army soldiers were also accused of mistreating some detainees, but the prisoners held by the army usually fell under categories less vulnerable to torture, the United Nations noted.
The majority of those tortured said it was to elicit a confession and the ill treatment stopped once they signed a written confession, which in many cases, they could not read.
“Torture does not enhance security,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein said in a statement.
“Confessions produced as a result of torture are totally unreliable. People will say anything to stop the pain.” — Reuters