Quis custodiat ipsos custodes?

It’s hard to imagine what must be going through the minds of Afghan women as the drawdown of ISAF troops begins. The agencies tasked with protecting them  – the  ANA and  ANP (police) – are increasingly being identified as part of the problem. This latest report from Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission does nothing to restore confidence!

EXTRACT: “Nearly 15 percent of so-called honour killings and sexual assaults were committed by police, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said in a report, citing findings gathered from more than two years of data.

“This issue can harm public confidence and trust (in our) national police,” the commission said.

Honour killings are attacks by a member of a family or a tribe, usually carried out by a man, against another member, usually a women, because of a perception that the victim brought dishonour to the group.

The commission said it had documented 163 cases of sexual assault and 243 honour killings throughout the country from the beginning of 2011 to the end of May 2013.”

See Reuters for full report.