KABUL - The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Wednesday asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to intervene and investigate war crimes and human rights violations in Afghanistan because the domestic system lacked the ability to undertake prosecutions itself.
AIHRC head Seema Samar expressed these views at a conference “Supporting the Rights of Victims of Terrorism and Violent Clashes” here. She said the ICC could intervene because the government had failed to try war criminals.
Samar stressed the need for international lobbing to pave the way for the ICC to investigate war crimes in Afghanistan, end the culture of impunity and establish social justice.
Afghanistan earned the membership of ICC in 2003. Wahidullah Arghawan, deputy attorney general, said a connection between the Attorney General Officer (AGO) and the ICC existed.
National investigation program 
The AIHRC also launched a national investigation program to support the victims of war and compensate their losses.
In a statement, the AIHRC said multi-dimensional investigation into war crimes and attracting government and other organizations support for the relatives of victims were among main objectives of the program.
The statement said the program was aimed at making the government more responsive to war victims and bringing war criminals to justice and creating national and international mechanisms for their trial.
In addition, the statement said, another mechanism to help civilians avoid losses was being worked out, which included an outreach to the conflicting parties.
Samar said protection and promotion of human rights was government’s main responsibility.
She believed the Afghan government could protect human rights if it introduced an effective mechanism under which rights of people were protected and perpetrators of violent incidents punished.
According to Samar, 5,000 civilians have been killed in the first five months of 2017 in Afghanistan. (Pajhwok)