PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN

PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION

OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN

Although girls now make up 45 per cent of school-going children in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul and 30 per cent across the country, recent rocket attacks on several girls’ schools indicate that pockets of opposition to women's education remain, Kamal Hossain, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

Briefing correspondents following the presentation of his report to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on Monday, Mr. Hossain said that seven girls schools had reportedly been attacked recently, two of them in the Wardak province, three in south-eastern Afghanistan and two in the north-east.  During his time in the country, four schools just 35 miles from Kabul had been hit, he added.

The problem was not so much that the girls did not want to attend school, he said, but that some people opposed the idea of female education and were now distributing leaflets saying it was not desirable.  But the good news was that following the rocket attacks, local elders had got together and asked for funds to rebuild the schools.  The urge for education, and even for girls to attend school, was widely shared, Mr. Hossain said.

He said that women were now teaching in schools and at the university level and that he had seen large numbers of them working in government ministries and other public employment.  However, resources were required to open up opportunities in the health and education fields.  The highest maternal mortality rate in the globe had been reported from one part of Afghanistan and, for a time, teachers had not been paid for six months, he added.

Calling upon the international community to fulfil its pledges to help in the reconstruction and humanitarian process in Afghanistan, Mr. Hossain said that the fulfillment of international commitments to provide resources was vital for the next phase in the country's recovery process.  He noted that with     1.8 million refugees -- out of an estimated total of 5 million -- having returned home, it had been suggested that there was a need to slow the pace of return because sources of livelihood had not been fully restored.

He stressed the need to meet resource commitments so that the rule of law could replace the rule of the gun, and he said that outside Kabul, local commanders still resorted to predatory raids and extortion to sustain themselves.  Such actions led to criminal activities, assault and abuse of women and looting of property.

Mr. Hossain said that 90 police officers were being trained and a recruitment drive had begun, but it would take 18 months to three years for such security plans to materialize.  In the meantime, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), with 5,000 officers, was providing security in and around Kabul.  In addition, Afghanistan aspired to be landmine-free in five years and would need about $60 million annually to achieve that goal.