By Brendan Sweeney
“Unfortunately, the campaigns being run by the main candidates have not dealt with the real problems facing Afghanistan,” said Malek Sitez, Senior Programme Adviser at the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
“I have heard none of the main candidates discuss strategies to tackle the serious economic, social and cultural challenges in the country, and no mention of any programmes to alleviate these problems. Very little has been said about the economy for instance. The complex social and ethnic conflicts haven’t really been dealt with and candidates have not confronted the issues raised by the various warlords who still wield power in Afghanistan,” explained Mr Sitez, who travels frequently to Afghanistan where he coordinates the activities of a major human rights network, the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN).
Mr Sitez also pointed out that there had been no debate on the role of the international community in the country and how this impacts on Afghan national interests. He is sceptical about the importance being placed on increasing military action against the Taliban and would prefer a greater focus on supporting civil society, and networks such as CSHRN.
“The Civil Society and Human Rights Network that we organize in Afghanistan consists of 60 human rights NGOs who are working at different levels. These include civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, but the majority of our member organizations are working in the field of civil and political rights.”
CSHRN released a statement calling on all Afghans to avoid fraud and support the elections. The network also called for complete media freedom and requested all armed forces to stop fighting in order to promote democracy and human rights:
“The tolerance demonstrated on the day of election for the rights of citizens and the respect for the culture of democracy will have a positive effect on the trust of people in elections. The people will accept and officially recognize that elections can bring political sustainability as well as social and economy stability. For that reason, CSHRN requests from all the candidates and their campaign teams to respect the choice of the people and to avoid any kind of activity which would cause harmful effects on the social environment.”
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