1) Information package on Afghanistan; 2) Kabul government's attitude towards the open practice of the Muslim faith; 3) Effect of the Russian occupation on private business and the rights of individuals to own property and trade freely; 4) Legislation concerning illegal departure from Afghanistan and concerning individuals known to have claimed refugee status abroad

Detailed information about human rights violations in Afghanistan continues to be difficult to obtain and corroborate as a result of the ongoing war and the resulting social dislocations. Therefore, the information provided herewith does not purport to be neither exhaustive nor conclusive as to the recent political and economic conditions in the country.

1) General information on Afghanistan is to be found in the basic reference documents, such as the Europa Year Book, the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, and Amnesty International Annual Reports. These documents are available at the Montreal regional office.

2) The Basic Principles of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), issued in April 1980, guarantee freedom of religion stating that "The sacred and true religion of Islam will be respected, observed and protected in the DRA and freedom to practice religious rites is guaranteed for all Muslims". The provision further stipulates that citizens are not allowed to employ religion for anti-national and anti-popular propaganda as well as for committing any acts against the interests of the DRA and the people of Afghanistan.

FootnoteS

Albert P. Blaustein and Gisbert H. Flanz, eds., Constitutions of the Countries of the World: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., July 1980), Chapter 1, Article 5.

The Basic Principles of the DRA were reportedly superseded by a new Constitution ratified by the National Assembly in November 1987. A copy of this document is not available to the IRBDC at this time. However, according to a summary of the 1987 Constitution provided in The Far East and Australasia, an Europa publication, the right "to observe the religious rites of Islam and of other religions" is guaranteed [The Far East and Australasia 1989 (London: Europa Publications Ltd., 1989), p. 176.]

Regarding the government's respect for this constitutional right, The Far East and Australasia observes that "Under Babrak Karmal and the present government of Najibullah, there have been no open attacks on Islam. These leaders have attempted to woo religious Afghans to their side. They praise Islam in public while exercising control through the Ministry of Religion. Observance of Islam, moreover, is an obstacle to success in schools and in government employment and at times may lead to persecution, punishment, or arrest" [Ibid, 121.] Corroborating this view, the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988 states that "The regime's policy pronouncements routinely invoke religious terminology in a cosmetic effort to appeal to the populace". The Country Reports also notes of the prevalence of what it called "a traditional antipathy and discrimination on the part of Afghan Sunnis toward their [minority] Shi'a countrymen" [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), pp. 1272 and 1274.]

3) Since the overthrow of President Daud in 1978, successive governments of Afghanistan have been anxious to promote private business, but reportedly subject to government surveillance. To this end, one of the objectives of the government's Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plan, announced in January 1986, was to encourage private business people and local merchants under a government system of "state capitalism". [ The Far East and Australasia, pp. 167 and 170.]

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, one of its strategy was to depopulate the countryside in order to wage a more effective war against the anti-Kabul government opposition groups. Food was, therefore, used as a weapon against the rebellion [Ibid, p. 165.] According to a 1988 study by Lober and Rubin, "A Nation Is Dying": Afghanistan Under the Soviets 1979-87, "The Soviet-Afghan forces have pursued a determined campaign of destroying agriculture in Afghanistan...They employ various tactics, from killing of individual farmers, to the destruction of the delicate agricultural infrastructure. These tactics not only spread terror, but also destroy the food supplies in the villages upon which the [Mujahidin] resistance depends for sustenance" [Jeri Lober and Barnett R. Rubin, "A Nation is Dying": Afghanistan Under the Soviets, 1979-87 (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1988), p. 58.]

These actions exemplify the systematic destruction of Afghans' land and property by government and occupying Soviet forces. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of State's Country Reports for 1988 indicates that "Afghans complain that the [Kabul] regime and Soviet forces routinely confiscate property, including homes" [U.S. Department of State, p. 1271.]

4) IRBDC is unable to locate any information regarding Afghanistan government's regulations on illegal departure from the country or concerning Afghans known to have claimed refugee status abroad. There are, however, reports on government actions against people attempting to flee the country. In May 1988, Amnesty International reported that "Soviet and Afghan government forces appear to have been engaged in a policy of deliberately killing refugees fleeing Afghanistan". One case cited in the report is that of 100 Afghan families from Sherkudo village who were attacked twice during their long trek to the border with Pakistan in October 1987. Also, in September 1987, government soldiers reportedly "surrounded a group of refugees in the Pul-e Khomy area of Baghan province, shot two dead on the spot and took away others who had failed to escape" [Amnesty International, Soviet and Afghan Government Forces in Apparent Policy of Killing Refugees (London: Amnesty International Publications, 4 May 1988), pp. 1-3.]

The U.S. Department of State's Country Reports for 1988 states that since 1988, the Afghan regime has loosened its requirements for obtaining a passport for foreign travel [U.S. Department of State, pp. 1272-1273.] According to a 4 September 1989 article in The Globe and Mail, "An estimated 40,000 people have been leaving the Afghan capital of Kabul every month for Pakistan or other countries to avoid [military] conscription and rebel rocket attacks". The article further notes that while some wealthy Afghans take planes to India and Pakistan, the majority rely buses or an underground network linked to the opposition groups in Pakistan ["Myriads Join Exodus From Afghanistan", The Globe and Mail, 4 September 1989, p. A3.]

Although the penalties for leaving the country illegally are not known to IRBDC, Afghans fleeing in order to avoid military service are apparently breaking the law. Military conscription into the army is reportedly mandatory for every able-bodied Afghan male between the ages of 15 and 55 years. Service lasts for three years or more, and religious scholars and preachers are exempted, according to The Europa World Year Book 1989 [The Europa World Year Book 1989 (London: Europa Publications Ltd., 1989), pp. 278-279.]