Peace or Justice? Transitional Justice in Afghanistan

Abstract

The three decades of conflict in Afghanistan have taken the lives of more than a million people and the country and its people have suffered the gravest violations of human rights. There is a strong desire for justice among the Afghanis, but since the fall of the Taliban, the transitional government with its base of international support has intentionally ignored the calls to deal with these past injustices. While Afghanistan has come a long way towards establishing democratic institutions, such as parliament, failure to deal with the crimes of the past threatens the legitimacy and democratic foundation of these institutions. The country has started on a path dealing with these past injustices by conducting a comprehensive national consultation and developing a transitional justice strategy that is coherent, multidimensional and based on the views of the public. The success of this resulting strategy remains precarious, however, due to both the ongoing insecurity in the country as well as its dependence upon the unreliable political will of Afghanistan's leadership.