Report - United States Department of Defense

UNCLASSIFIED
which Afghanistan is a party. However, ROLFF-A continues to support USAID programs
continue to work with the informal justice system, primarily linking it to the formal governance
processes. These improvements bear fruit one community at a time by helping improve the
decision-making of traditional dispute-resolution councils (shuras) through training on Afghan
and human rights law, particularly as it relates to women’s rights.
Targeted assassinations of justice sector personnel, general threats, and the lack of personal
security while traveling or in courthouses remain persistent problems that GIRoA refuses to
address systemically. Except for the U.S. Marshal’s Service-supported Judicial Security Unit,
which only operates in Kabul and Parwan, protection of justice sector personnel is largely
dependent upon transient local solutions. The transient solutions also illustrate the lack of
cooperation between different justice sector personnel; with coaxing and mentoring, these actors
sometimes work together, but truly cooperative efforts to achieve justice appear to be the
exception, not the rule.
Lack of progress on mining, land, local governance, access to information, and anti-corruption
legislation continued to impair economic development in Afghanistan. In fact, no draft laws tied
to the 2010 Kabul Conference commitments were sent to the National Assembly. The
administration collected public comments on draft amendments to the Electoral Law and Land
Management Law, and it is drafting a new Local Governance Law. Differences between the
administration and the National Assembly may be slowing down consensus building. Those
differences led to the President’s veto of amendments to the law on organizing the courts. When
the government moves slowly to enable change, when governance and rule of law fail to support
development, and when the government unevenly provides basic legal services, the trust of
Afghans in their government diminishes, thereby impairing transition. The Afghan Senior
Leader Protection (ASLP) program has a provision for the protection of judges, and a tashkil has
been approved; unfortunately, the MoI has made no movement for selection and training of
protection personnel.
The Taliban justice system is arguably the most effective way the Taliban are able to maintain
influence, especially in rural areas, and regions where GIRoA justice systems are lacking or
corrupt. In these areas, Taliban justice is often considered timelier, more impartial, and less
corrupt then the GIRoA justice system. In some cases, the local populace will also seek out
Taliban justices, even if GIRoA justices are available, because the Taliban system is more
consistent with rural traditions. While Taliban justice systems are most prominent in areas of
southern and eastern Afghanistan, these systems represent a residual, competing Taliban
influence among the populace that undermines GIRoA's credibility.
The Justice Sector
Overall, RoL progress continues to be mixed. Although difficult to determine whether there is
greater support for the justice sector, the December 2012 Afghanistan Nationwide Quarterly
Assessment Research (ANQAR) survey data results indicate an increased popular willingness to
refer disputes to Afghan justice officials for resolution.
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