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KABUL, Afghanistan - On the same day Afghanistan was named the second-worst country in the Rule of Law by the U.S.-based World Justice Project, members of the Afghan National Army were combating this label by taking part in a five-day legal training workshop here May 31 – June 4, 2015.
Resolute Support Mission’s Rule of Law, Essential Function Three, in cooperation with the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, hosted a legal training workshop for ANA and other Afghan ministerial legal professionals.
The workshop, which was attended by 28 attorneys, prosecutors, and investigators, was designed to provide a forum for legal training and discussion among both U.S. and Afghan professionals. The topics of discussion ranged from observing and respecting human rights and civilian authority, law of armed conflict principles, rules of engagement, investigations, to judicial procedures and independence.
“The curriculum emphasizes fundamental core concepts that serve as the foundation for building and maintaining fair and equitable military and law enforcement operations,” said Maj. Jason De Los Santos, the Resolute Support Senior Advisor to the ANA General Staff Legal Department, and training event coordinator. “These [core concepts] are vital to sustaining governmental legitimacy and transparency.”
The primary focus of the week was to facilitate an exchange of ideas between U.S. and Afghan professionals on legal topics that reinforce international legal standards among military, legal, and law enforcement professionals. One particular topic they discussed in depth is the law of armed conflict, which is incredibly important as Afghan National Defense and Security Forces continue to fight insurgents and terrorist networks in Afghanistan.
The ANA is working hard to ensure their soldiers are well trained and abide by the Law of Armed Conflict while they are in combat in order to be internationally recognized as a professional fighting force.
“We are representing the government of Afghanistan,” said Col. Muhibullah Zahir, the ANA Legal School Training Deputy. “We must abide by the Rules of Engagement to gain credibility on not only an international level, but also on a national level.”
The ANA Legal School provides Rule of Law training for all ANA soldiers during basic training, but also throughout a soldier’s career. These courses are usually part of specialized courses, which include the senior noncommissioned officer course, the young officer’s course and other professional development classes. Additionally, the ANA is starting a new training opportunity for soldiers through Mobile Training Teams. These teams will visit the ANA Corps to provide corps-level Rule of Law training throughout the country, with the first team preparing to depart this month. The MTTs will augment the training already provided by the Corps legal advisors.
In addition to the training the soldiers and legal professionals receive on the Afghan side, a variety of international organizations assist the Afghans with legal curriculum both in Afghanistan and abroad. These organizations and countries include the U.S. Embassy sponsored Invitational Visitor Leadership Program, Italy’s International Institute for Humanitarian Law, the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the Defense Institute for International Legal Studies, who sponsored this past week’s training.
“It’s [Rule of Law] very important not just to the ANA and the Afghan Air Force, but also to the international community,” said De Los Santos. “Understanding the Rule of Law standards that have been recognized internationally, for them to not only understand them, but to be able to train them to their soldiers, and more importantly to enforce them while they’re conducting operations in the field.”
Despite the fact that the enemy may not be abiding by the Rule of Law, the soldiers and commanders are still determined to do their jobs the right way.
“[Taliban] conducting attacks creates chaos, disruption and causes problems,” said the Afghan National Army Chief of General Staff of the Legal Department. “But, I can guarantee that these types of attacks will never undermine our security forces, the morale of our personnel and staff, or our legal affairs experts who are involved in fighting against corruption, and who are fighting against insurgents.”
Even though Afghanistan has a long way to go in the realm of Rule of Law, particularly in the eyes of the international community, the ANA and Afghan government are aware of the problem and are addressing the concern of fighting corruption.
“Within our judicial system, we personally succeeded in 2013 and 2014 to begin to implement the Rule of Law on everyone, without favoritism,” said the ANA Legal Department Chief of GS. “Currently, nothing is much higher than Rule of Law, so we are here to implement that on all individuals here [in Afghanistan].”
During the final day of training, Maj. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commander of Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, and one of the graduation guest speakers, addressed this issue of corruption with the soldiers, encouraging them to overcome obstacles they will inevitably face.
“I meet with the [Afghan] president quite often and he continues to remind us that while we have an awful lot of threats that we’re fighting, the most important threat is corruption,” said Semonite. “While it’s important to be an infantryman - fighting the war on the hill at night - your job of fighting corruption is just as important, if not more important.”
He reminded them that much of the support and equipment for the ANA is provided by international donors. In order to ensure they continue to help build the sustainability of Afghanistan, it is vital to ensure the transparency and accountability of that money. Semonite concluded by congratulating them on their efforts throughout the week.
“I want to congratulate you on the last 5 days,” said Semonite. “Because just by being here, you have shown that you take this very seriously, and you are committed to the values that you all stand for.”
Through training such as this, compliance, and information dissemination, it is the desire of the international community and of Afghanistan, that Rule of Law will be integrated into all aspects of training, education, procedures, operational planning and execution.
“We are very impressed by the team that you have and we are convinced that the future of Afghanistan is in the right hands,” Semonite said.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2015 13:57 |
| Story ID: | 165860 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 308 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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