New Afghan bill concerns human rights organizations

Last week, the lower house of parliament in Afghanistan approved a bill that could provide amnesty to all individuals involved in combat in the country over the past twenty-five years, the PakTribune reported on Tuesday. The bill states that those who fought in Afghanistan over the last two and a half decades "should not be dealt with through legal and judicial channels."

The bill has United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbor concerned that human rights violations may be permitted to slip through the cracks without those who committed the crimes being brought to justice.

The approval of the bill seemingly contradicts the Action Plan on Peace Reconciliation and Justice, launched by Afghan President Hamid Karzai last December to ensure that war criminals were not given amnesty.

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