The Kandahar office of Afghanistan's human rights commission has agreed to act as a watchdog for detainees captured by Canadians to ensure that valid complaints of abuse are investigated, the Canadian Press has learned.

The secret agreement with military commanders is a response to concerns raised by human rights groups about the practice of handing captured Taliban prisoners over to Afghan authorities who have a reputation for torture.

Abdul Quadar Noorzai, the Kandahar manager of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, can now investigate complaints of suspected abuse involving Canadian soldiers.
(Murray Brewster/Canadian Press)

It could also take some of the fire out of a burning debate over allegations that Canadian troops abused detainees last spring.

"Canadians respect human rights very well," Abdul Quadar Noorzai, the Kandahar manager of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said in an interview.

He was eager to trumpet the agreement signed last Friday with Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

"It is one of the greatest acts taken by them and I really appreciate it from the core of my heart," said a beaming Noorzai, who said he has been working for a year to carve out such an arrangement.

Marc Raider, a spokesman for the Defence Department in Ottawa, confirmed the existence of the agreement and said it builds on a December 2005 technical arrangement signed between Afghanistan's defence minister and Canadian Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier.

First deal did not set out role for agency

That initial deal, which has been criticized by human rights groups, obliges Canadian troops to turn over captured militants to local authorities but does not allow Canada any say in their treatment once handed over.

The agreement signed by Hillier recognized the Afghan human rights commission but did not set out a specific role for the agency. Last Friday's agreement changed that. Not only does Canada have to notify the International Committee of the Red Cross when it transfers a prisoner to Afghan custody, but it now must also inform Noorzai's office.

"It's simply an added layer of protection," said Raider, who wouldn't comment on whether the agreement would satisfy critics.

Noorzai said he is now free to investigate and document cases of suspected detainee abuse, whether the allegations involve Canadian troops or Afghan authorities.

There are well-documented cases of torture in Afghan prisons.

On Monday, Canada's Military Police Complaints Commission opened a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that on 18 occasions troops handed over prisoners knowing they would be abused. Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association lodged the complaint that prompted the investigation.

Canada first NATO country to sign agreement

Similarly, at least three investigations are going on into the alleged beating of three captured Taliban who were picked up near the village of Dukah, 50 kilometres west of Kandahar, on April 7, 2006. According to prisoner-transfer logs obtained and released to the media by an Ottawa law professor, the prisoners suffered lacerations and contusions.

Prof. Amir Attaran said the injuries appear to have been inflicted while the men were in Canadian custody — an allegation the military denies but is nonetheless investigating.

The new agreement signed with the Afghan human rights commission gives potential victims a way to get their complaints investigated, documented and presented to either Canadian authorities or the local judiciary for prosecution, Noorzai said.

The complaint must be well-founded.

"I need to prove the allegation," Noorzai said.

"If the case has facts behind it, I have to do something for the person."

Canada is the only NATO country to strike such an arrangement so far. The Afghan commission hopes other alliance members will do the same.

The negotiations were started almost a year ago when Nader Naderi, commissioner of the Afghan human rights commission based in Kabul, went to Canada and met with the minister of defence.

Noorzai said eventually he would like to see the agreement expanded, or a separate arrangement signed, that would allow the commission to report on civilian shootings by foreign troops.

Over the past month, four Afghan bystanders have been killed in shootings involving Canadian soldiers.

The Afghan National Police and the human rights commission have recommended that military convoys be escorted by Afghan authorities through Kandahar's chaotic streets — a suggestion the Canadian army is considering.