AFRICANEWS
Views and news on peace, justice and reconciliation in Africa
November 2001
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Action and contactsJoint statement by Kenya’s civil society on the events of september 11th in the U.S. and subsequent developments in Afghanistan
(Released November 1, 2001) We the undersigned civil society organizations in Kenya wish to reiterate the calls for respect and upholding of the rule of law and human rights following the tragic events of September the 11th in the United States. We express deepest sympathy and condolences to all those who lost relatives and friends in this tragedy. Once again like in many places around the world millions of innocent people are victims of conflict and aggression that is beyond their control. We applaud and pay tribute to the citizens, civil society organizations and rescue workers whose acts of kindness, bravery and volunteerism sum up the best of our common humanity. We urge continued support for the important work being done by a range of civil society organizations seeking to address the plight of those affected by this crisis as well as the increasing political violence around the world. We add our collective voice to the calls for peace, justice and the rule of law. We are opposed to violence in all its forms. Those who have planned, carried out or abetted these appalling crimes must be brought to justice. The international justice system reliant on rules of evidence, proof of guilt and due judicial process must be allowed to prevail.
The Situation in AfghanistanAfghanistan faces a deepening humanitarian crisis and the situation continues to deteriorate by the day. The current military strike actions, which have followed the events of September 11th, have further compounded the effects of the country’s years of war, drought and human rights abuses. There is a mounting evidence of an increasing number of civilian casualties with the persistent attacks, contrary to the assertions that military action does not target civilians. The resultant conflict has undermined and constrained humanitarian relief efforts within Afghanistan.We note with concern the followingThe inconsistencies and double standards, which have marked the US and its allies responses to the events of September the 11th. The unilateral manner in which the US has taken action in our view marks a break down on the rule of law and is an affront on democratic principles. International legal structures and mechanisms for peaceful conflict resolution have been ignored and undermined. International humanitarian law clearly prohibits attacks on civilians or other such attacks, which while aimed at military targets can have indiscriminate impact on civilians.The potential backlash of this abrogation will be a long-term reversal of gains made in human rights and democracy. Locally as well as internationally, we are already witnessing the exercising of blanket victimization and condemnation of the Muslim community in the professed crack down on ‘terrorism’. Outright threats, intimidation and extortion are being meted on certain groups under the guise of cracking down on terrorism. Corruption and other attendant ills are being abetted in the process. Locally as well as internationally we must as civil society organizations speak out against mass victimization and labelling of certain groups of people. Our RecommendationsWe STRONGLY condemn the indiscriminate attack on Afghanistan, which continues to impact on civilian lives. The gains made internationally around human rights, women, children and minorities’ rights are all being reversed and undermined in the current spate of events in Afghanistan. Civil society organizations must defend these rights and affirm the rights of Afghanistan people to exercise these rights.Therefore we demand for an immediate halt to the military strikes to allow for a concerted response to the humanitarian crisis. We call upon the warring parties to tone down the war cries and rhetoric and instead appeal for peace. In the present context of war, the real issues are obscured and blurred. Innocent women, men, children are bearing the brunt of this war. We call upon the international community to intensify efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis inside Afghanistan and neighbouring countries. We appeal to States bordering Afghanistan to open up their borders to refugees fleeing Afghanistan and for the international community to increase humanitarian aid to assist the refugees and the host countries to cope with the influx. We urge the intervention of the UN Security Council to prevail upon all parties to the conflict to uphold principles of humanitarian law, justice and peace. Finally, in urging civil society organizations to maintain vigilance in defending the core values of human rights, social justice and peace, we encourage CSOs to organize peaceful demonstrations, vigils and petitions to urge governments to put pressure for a halt to the indiscriminate attack on the peoples of Afghanistan. The values and principles of justice, the rule of law, human rights and peace must prevail.
SIGNED:
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