Afghanistan: NATO Should "˜Come Clean" on White Phosphorus

Release Report on Attack in Which Child Burned

May 8, 2009

(New York) - NATO forces in Afghanistan should immediately release the results of their investigation into a March 14, 2009, incident in which an 8-year-old girl in Kapisa province was burned by white phosphorus munitions, Human Rights Watch said today. A NATO spokesperson has denied allegations from the girl's father that NATO forces had fired the rounds that caused her injuries.

"White phosphorus causes horrendous burns and should not be used in civilian areas," said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. "NATO should immediately make public the results of its investigation into this incident."

The girl's family brought her to the US military base in Bagram on March 14 for medical treatment for severe burns. US military doctors say they found white phosphorus on her face and neck. The incident took place in Alahsay district in eastern Kapisa Province, where there had been a series of fierce firefights in March involving NATO forces and insurgent groups.

NATO officials have said that according to their records, no rounds were found to have landed near the house, though have not denied using white phosphorus during this engagement. They have suggested that the Taliban may have fired the rounds, but have not provided any evidence for their claim. Today the International Security Assistance Force released information on four isolated incidents dated between December 2007 and May 2009 where they say insurgents used white phosphorus munitions.

Under international humanitarian law, chemicals such as white phosphorus can legitimately be used as "obscurants" to hide military operations and, in certain circumstances, as a weapon. However, white phosphorus munitions have a significant incendiary effect that can severely burn people and set alight fields, buildings, and other civilian objects in the vicinity. Human Rights Watch believes that the use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life.

The spokesman for the commander of NATO and US troops in Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, confirmed that white phosphorus munitions are used in Afghanistan. He told Human Rights Watch: "We do not target personnel with white phosphorus, which is a conventional weapon in the arsenals of many nations, generally used for screening, marking, and illumination."

"NATO has not denied using white phosphorus during the Kapisa incident, nor have they provided evidence that the insurgents fired these rounds," said Garlasco. "NATO and US forces need to reassure the people of Afghanistan, already alarmed by high civilian casualties, that these munitions are not being used unlawfully."

AFGHANISTAN: FLAWED ELECTIONS COULD ROLL BACK PROGRESS, WARNS BAN

Too much is at stake for Afghanistan's upcoming presidential elections to be flawed, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today, calling on the international community to support efforts to consolidate stability in the war-torn nation.

"We know from experience that the second cycle of post-conflict elections can be even more difficult than the first," Mr. Ban said, opening the International Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague.

"Too often, flawed elections have led to greater instability. This cannot be allowed to happen in Afghanistan," he added, calling on the country's leaders to ensure that the Government is effective and functioning until the start of the next presidential term.

The Secretary-General pointed to numerous successes made so far, including slashing poppy cultivation and improving the health sector, urging continued support for the nation to make concrete achievements in key areas, such as boosting agricultural productivity and combating organized crime.

"We cannot afford to fail in this endeavour," he stressed. "Failure would be a betrayal of the Afghan people. It would be a betrayal of the progress that has been achieved."

The media portrays the situation as being bleaker than it is in reality, resulting in pessimism among policy-markers, Mr. Ban said at the one-day gathering drawing dozens of countries and organizations.

"We must avoid an attitude that focuses mainly on setbacks of the past, and learn to recognize the positive signs of progress," he said, underlining the importance of seizing opportunities for improvement.

The deployment of additional troops will lead to both a peaceful electoral environment and additional trainers for the national security forces, he noted, commending United States President Barack Obama's new strategy focusing on increasing military commitment, bolstered institution-building and improved cooperation with authorities in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

While in The Hague, the Secretary-General met today with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss the presidential elections slated for August; democracy; the mandate of Mr. Ban's Special Representative, Kai Eide; and the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Mr. Ban also had bilateral talks regarding how the international community can support Afghanistan with Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon; Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht; Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith; Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei; and the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Last week, the Security Council voted to extend UNAMA's mandate, reaffirming the "central role" of the world body in bringing peace to the country, the Secretary-General said at today's conference.

"We take this responsibility very seriously," he said, pledging the UN's continued support to protect human rights and food security, and improve the rule of law and governance, among other areas.

The Afghan people demonstrated their resilience in facing many daunting challenges, such as poverty, natural disaster, political repression, foreign repression and civil strife, Mr. Ban stated.

"In recent years, Afghans have moved decisively along a new path, toward a new vision for their future," he said. "Our responsibility is to help them secure that vision."

Mr. Eide, who also heads UNAMA told the gathering that promising developments in Afghanistan are a result of the hard work of both Afghan officials and a strong civilian and military international presence.

"Our common efforts are yielding results," he said. "This is not the time to hesitate but to stand firm in our commitments."

Coordination must be improved, since "our efforts are still too fragmented and do not provide the impact we seek," said Mr. Eide. "The UN must do more, yes, and we are ready to do more to deepen our role and expand our presence around the country."
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US: Cluster Bomb Exports Banned

(Washington, DC) - Legislation signed into law on March 11, 2009 by President Obama will make permanent a ban on nearly all cluster bomb exports by the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. The United States should review its stance on joining the international treaty prohibiting cluster munitions in light of this action, Human Rights Watch said.

"This permanent export ban is a major turnaround in US policy," said Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch. "It brings Washington into closer alignment with international opinion on this terrible weapon."

Congress included the export ban in an omnibus budget bill (HR 1105) that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The legislation states that cluster munitions can only be exported if they leave behind less than 1 percent of their submunitions as duds. Cluster submunitions often fail to explode on initial impact, leaving duds that act like landmines and pose danger to civilians. The legislation also requires the receiving country to agree that cluster munitions "will not be used where civilians are known to be present." Only a very tiny fraction of the cluster munitions in the US arsenal meet the 1-percent standard.

This export ban was first enacted in a similar budget bill in December 2007, but that law mandated it for only one year.

"The passage of this measure is yet another indication that the president should initiate a thorough review of US policy with respect to cluster munitions," said Goose. "If it is unacceptable for foreign militaries to use these weapons, why would it be acceptable for the US military to use them?"

US policy on cluster munitions was last articulated in a three-page policy directive issued by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in July 2008. The directive described cluster munitions as "legitimate weapons with clear military utility." Under the policy, the US will continue to use cluster munitions and, after 2018, will use only munitions with a tested failure rate of less than 1 percent.

In December 2008, a spokeswoman for the Obama transition team said that the next president would "carefully review" the new treaty banning cluster munitions and "work closely [with] our friends and allies to ensure that the United States is doing everything feasible to promote protection of civilians."

On February 10, Human Rights Watch joined leaders from 66 other national nongovernmental organizations in signing a joint letter calling on President Obama to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Human Rights Watch co-chairs the Cluster Munition Coalition, which it helped found in November 2003. It is also a founding member of the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs.

"The export ban moves the US one step closer to the position taken by nearly 100 nations - including its closest NATO allies - that have signed the treaty banning cluster munitions," said Goose. "A US decision to sign would certainly signal President Obama's commitment to multilateral diplomacy."

The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions was opened for signature in December. It prohibits the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions, and provides strict deadlines for clearance of affected areas and destruction of stockpiled cluster munitions. A total of 95 states have signed the convention, including most NATO members and other close US allies. The Bush administration chose not to participate in the development or negotiation of the convention, which was modeled on the 1997 treaty banning landmines.

While the historical record is incomplete, the United States has transferred hundreds of thousands of cluster munitions containing tens of millions of unreliable and inaccurate submunitions to at least 28 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Denmark, France, Greece, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Several of these states have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions and are in the process of destroying their stockpiled cluster munitions. Cluster munitions exported by the US have been used by other states in Lebanon, Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, and Western Sahara.

Cluster munitions can be fired by artillery and rocket systems or dropped by aircraft and typically explode in the air and send dozens, even hundreds, of tiny bomblets over an area the size of a football field.