SAHR held a Regional Consultation on Rule of Law Perspectives on Detention and Treatment of Detainees in Kabul, Afghanistan, on 16th December 2012. The consultation focused on a theme very relevant to Afghanistan, particularly given the impending withdrawal of international forces, and the subsequent handing over of detention facilities to the control of Afghan forces. This meeting brought together human rights activists from around South Asia, to discuss and seek ways to combat impunity for torture, learning from each others’ problems and solutions. The participants noted that despite being signatories to various international treaties that demand humane treatment of detainees, all of the South Asian countries have serious rights violations that need to be addressed with their prisons and treatment of detainees. Torture and lack of transparency remain major issues, along with other problems experienced in some of the South Asian countries, including overcrowding of prisons, the use of capital punishment, and lack of adequate oversight whether by the judiciary or independent institutions.
The full report can be accessed here