KABUL - Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Wednesday called on government to ensure justice and protection of human rights during peace negotiations with Hizb-e-Islami party of Afghanistan.
"Decisions made by the Afghan government without thinking about their implications on justice and human rights can be evaluated as a major backslide in the country's political sphere and development process," said Musa Mahmoudi, an official of the AIHRC.
It is said that over the past 15 years, the issue of judicial impunity of certain individuals accused of war crimes has sparked strong controversies. Many fear that the issue may become routine in the volatile nation.
"If we are not able over the past 15 years to implement the law on the violators of human rights and war criminals in Afghanistan, then it would be a very difficult task to do it on some exceptional cases," said political commentator Hamid Saboori.
There are rumors that these elements also hindered the implementation of transitional justice in Afghanistan after integrating in government structure.
"Unfortunately there are individuals working in the present and previous governments who have been involved in crimes, corruption, bribes and violation of the law," said MP from Kandahar Abdul Rahim Ayubi.
The remarks come after the AIHRC said it believes that government has been quite weak in implementing justice on the perpetrators accused of war crimes and human rights violations and that it has failed to help the commission publicize the report.
The AIHRC's calls for human rights protection come just hours after a document revealed that the Afghan government and one of the country's militant groups, Hizb-e-Islami, had mapped out a draft peace deal in which government has committed to providing impunity to the members and leaders of the group and to take steps to remove its leader from the UN blacklist.
With the downfall of the Taliban regime and the establishment of a democratic system in Afghanistan in 2001, the Afghan political leadership laid out their vision for promoting human rights and social justice in the war-hit country.
As part of government's commitments to the world, the Afghan political leaders committed to do whatever they can to promote justice and bring an end to the culture of impunity.