His Excellency the Minister of Justice Received Mr. William Spencer, Executive Director and Ms. Erin Houlihan, legal advisor of the Institute for International Law and Human Rights (IILHR) at his office.

(IILHR is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Washington DC and Brussels which focuses on human rights and rule of law issues.Currently IILHR is working on a project with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to examine the rule of law, human rights and governance issues since 2002 in the form of a follow up report.  The first report, titled "Filling the Vacuum: Prerequisites for Security in Afghanistan”, which focused on prospects for rule of law, human rights, and elections in Afghanistan to support development efforts, was prepared and published by USIP and three other NGOs following the fall of the Taliban in 2002.)

The meeting started with discussion about the presence of international coalition forces in Afghanistan, the status of legislation since the interim government of Afghanistan following the Bonn Conference, and the achievements and challenges of the government of Afghanistan in justice sectors.

H.E. Minister of Justice appreciated the supports of the international community in regards to the rule and human rights during the last 15 years. He added that there were handful of laws and regulations enacted during the dictatorship era of Hafizullah Amin, Taraki, Karmal and Dr. Najibullah. Following the fall of Taliban regime, the Ministry of Justice endeavored to replace the mentioned laws with new legislations which were aligned with national values the internationally-accepted standards, for instance, the Ministry of Justice is currently working on draft Penal Code of Afghanistan which will be enacted before the Brussel Conference in October, 2010.

During this meeting, H.E. Minister of Justice mentioned the bellow points as a part of achievements of theMinistry of Justice:

• Process of 120 legislative documents from the start of 2015 till March of 2016
• Enactments of 20 legislative documents solely on international conventions and human rights issues in last 12 years
• Protection of more than a hundred thousand acre of public and government lands, throughout the courts, against wrongful use or occupation
• Registration of more than 3000 Social Organizations and 67 political parties
• Conduct of Wide-spread legal awareness through publications, official gazette, Adalat Journal and Monthly Legal Awareness Journal
• Delivery of free-of-cost legal aid  through 303 legal aid attorneys to eligible poor clients all over Afghanistan
• Establishment of the Human Rights Support Unit of the Ministry which acts as an inter-ministerial mechanismin charge of review of national laws, policies and strategies in light of UN human rights treaties ratified by Afghanistan and monitors the implementation of UN human rights treaties and follow-up on the recommendations of UN human rights monitoring mechanism. The unit also conducts human rights training workshops and courses for the government officials to enhance their capacity to fulfill their national and international obligations.
• Rehabilitation of 1300 detained juvenile offenders in rehabilitation centers

H.E. Minister of Justice stated that to rehabilitate, educate and provide general care to the detained juvenile offenders, the Minister of Justice is in need of standard rehabilitation centers to be built in provinces. H.E. added that the Ministry inaugurated the Legislative Stage program to train young professionals on legislation drafting and procedures. In addition, H.E. provided that 30 employees, including men and women, from the Ministry of Justice are studying in B.A. and Master’s levels by the support of international organizations. More educational and capacity-building programs will be organized for employees in near future.

Mr. Spencer stated that he is amazed to see how the Ministry’s situation is changed from 2002, when he conduct an assessment report on rule of law and human rights issues in Afghanistan. He stated that he is happy to hear about the achievements of the Ministry of Justice and congratulated H.E. Ministry of Justice for the recent successes.

H.E. Ministry of Justice stated that it is impossible to eliminate corruption which is enrooted within the government during the previous administration for over 14 years, but we are working constantly to fight corruption and injustice in the country and we expect to have the support of the international community in this regard.

At the end, Ms. Erin Houlihan and Mr. William Spencerasked for recommendation and a list necessities of the Ministry of Justice to be included in their report.