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March 17, 2010

Afghanistan Confirms Amnesty Law for War Crimes
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The Afghan government has confirmed it’s enacted a law providing blanket
amnesty for any war crimes or human rights abuses committed before 2001.
President Hamid Karzai had promised not to sign the measure when Afghan
lawmakers approved it three years ago. But an Afghan government
spokesperson said the measure was enacted anyway because it was approved
with a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which would remove the need
for Karzai’s signature. Human rights groups have voiced criticism in
recent years amidst speculation the law was enacted. Brad Adams of Human
Rights Watch called the law “a disgrace” and “a slap in the face to all
the Afghans who suffered for years and years of war crimes and
warlordism.”



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