7. Recommendations

Time is running out for Afghans facing death from starvation, disease and exposure. The parties to the conflict, and the international community as a whole, have the means at their disposal to avert yet another humanitarian disaster in that war-torn and beleaguered country. But instead they continue to violate the rights of the Afghan people and obstruct the independent relief effort necessary to save many thousands of lives.

The impending catastrophe calls for brave and principled voices to amplify the concerns of those victims who are being deprived of the protections of international justice and whose cries are not heard in the echelons of international policy. As a leading expert on the human right to food, we urge you to call upon:

• All members of the Coalition, especially the United States and United Kingdom,
• All Afghan factions, especially the Northern Alliance,
• All states bordering Afghanistan,
• All organs of the United Nations, and
• All organizations and individuals concerned with justice

1. To prioritize a massive and immediate humanitarian relief effort in Afghanistan and the border areas, without discrimination of any kind, built upon well established legal principles of full, secure and unobstructed access to at-risk populations, freedom of movement for all displaced persons, refugees and asylum seekers, and full respect for the independence and impartiality of relief operations based on a strict separation of military and humanitarian concerns;
2. To make a public declaration that all parties to the conflict, without exception, are obligated to adhere strictly to human rights and humanitarian law principles, that the current state of impunity for rights violations is intolerable, and that all parties will be held accountable according to an impartial and independent international investigation into the nature and extent of these violations, especially concerning the right to food.

We wish to express appreciation for your courageous advocacy in support of the fundamental rights of the people of Afghanistan, and remain willing to support your efforts in any way possible.

Sincerely,

American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Roger Normand, Executive Director, Sarah Zaidi, Research Director, the Center for Economic and Social Rights, Peter Rosset & Anuradha Mittal, Co-Directors, Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, Kevin Murray, Executive Director, Grassroots International, MADRE, Ronald R. J. Mathies, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee and David Wildman, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries