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UN Envoy Meets with Afghan Insurgent Faction in Kabul

   VOA News 25 March 2010
   Special  Representative  of the United Nations for Afghanistan Staffan
   de  Mistura  speaks  during  a  news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan,
   Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Photo: AP

   Special  Representative  of the United Nations for Afghanistan Staffan
   de  Mistura  speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 23
   Mar 2010

   The  United  Nations  envoy  to  Afghanistan  has  met  in  Kabul with
   representatives of one of the country's main militant factions.
   A U.N. statement said Staffan de Mistura listened to the points of the
   Hezb-i-Islami  delegation  and indicated their discussions with Afghan
   authorities   "further   underscored   the  importance  of  Afghan-led
   dialogue" to bring stability to the country.
   This  is  the  first  confirmed meeting between the U.N. envoy and the
   group  led by veteran Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The militant
   faction,  one  of  the largest in Afghanistan besides the Taliban, has
   been  fighting  Afghan and foreign troops in the east and north of the
   country.
   Meanwhile,  the United Nations human rights organization is urging the
   Afghan  government  to repeal a controversial amnesty law that shields
   alleged war criminals from prosecution.
   Human  rights groups in Afghanistan and abroad have expressed alarm at
   the   law,   which  gives  immunity  for  acts  committed  before  the
   Taliban-led government was toppled in late 2001.
   The  top  U.N. human rights officer in Afghanistan says the law allows
   Afghan  authorities  to  ignore  their obligation to investigate gross
   human rights abuses.

   Rights  workers  say  a  "coalition  of  powerful  warlords" and their
   supporters moved the measure through parliament in 2007. It became law
   in  2008,  but  some  groups say it could also apply to the Taliban or
   other groups now committing crimes against humanity.

   Some information for this report provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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