Defence`s Feeds

Russian Ural Next Heavy Utility Truck

Key Points South Korea will deploy the K-SAAM on its second Dokdo-class helicopter carrier Deployment heralds wider adoption of the locally developed close-in defence system across South Korea’s naval vessels The Republic of Korea Navy’s (RoKN’s) second Dokdo-class helicopter

Violence against women – be it murder, beatings, mutilation, child marriage, the giving away of girls in marriage to resolve disputes (baad) or other harmful practices – remains widespread throughout Afghanistan, despite the government’s efforts to criminalise such practices, the UN has found. Its new report highlights how mediation by government and traditional actors, which is widely used to resolve cases of violence against women, deprives them of access to justice and hinders their fundamental rights. AAN’s Jelena Bjelica and Thomas Ruttig summarise the report’s key findings.

Injustice for women victims of violence – generally called survivors – and impunity for perpetrators are still widespread in Afghanistan. Most cases involving violence against women, including for the five ‘serious’ offences stated in Afghan Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law – rape, enforced prostitution, publicising the identity of a victim, burning or using chemical substances and forced self-immolation or suicide (apart from murder, which is regulated by the penal code) – are not prosecuted by or adjudicated in courts. By contrast, more than a half of the 237 cases monitored by UNAMA between 2015 and 2017 were referred for mediation. The Afghan authorities, as evident from the UNAMA reports, exacerbate the situation for victims by allowing mediation mechanisms to resolve serious offences and by not carrying out their duty to investigate or prosecute these offences.

These are the key findings of a new UN report released today, 29 May 2018, in Kabul. The report, entitled “Injustice and Impunity: Mediation of Criminal Offences of Violence against Women” jointly prepared by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (read the full report here) is the sixth UNAMA report on violence against women since 2009, when the UN mission in Afghanistan began monitoring the implementation of the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law.

The report is based on interviews and focus group discussions with survivors of violence and women’s rights activists as well as both traditional and government mediators. It is also informed by 237 cases of violence against women reported to EVAW institutions in 22 provinces monitored by UNAMA between 2015 and 2017 and 280 more cases of murder and “honour killings” documented throughout 2016 and 2017 by the UN mission. (1)

The legal framework: 2009 EVAW law and 2018 penal code

The EVAW law adopted in 2009 is a progressive law within the Afghan context. In addition to a broad approach to the issue of violence against women, including their harassment, the law also addresses forced and early marriage as well as polygamy for the first time in Afghan legal history (see this AAN analysis here).

However, the law has faced tough resistance from conservative circles, including in parliament, from the beginning. As a result, it was adopted by presidential decree, bypassing parliament. In 2013, MP Fawzia Kufi, the Wolesi Jirga’s (lower house) chairwoman of the Women’s Rights Commission, advocated pushing the presidential decree through parliament to make the EVAW law permanent. But she did so against the advice of other women’s rights activists, thereby risking a no-vote by the conservative majority. This was stopped by procedural tricks and as a result, the issue has still not been voted on by the lower house (see AAN dispatches here and here).

The new penal code adopted in 2018 also required a later amendment by presidential decree to make EVAW law crimes enforceable. Its draft had originally included a specific chapter on the elimination of violence against women, which, according to the UNAMA report, incorporated provisions to criminalise the majority of the 22 acts set out in Article 5 of the EVAW law. It had also included new provisions prohibiting both the detention of women on charges of “running away” and the practice of “exchange marriage,” or baad(when feuding families or clans exchange brides in the settlement of disputes). However, the final adopted version of the 2018 penal code did not include any reference to criminal offences of violence against women (with the exception of rape). The amendment was issued in a presidential decree (number 262) on 3 March 2018, which criminalised all five serious offences mentioned in the EVAW law.

While there is some political will among mainly women parliamentarians to vote on the laws, most MPs are still hostile towards criminalising violence against women, which, in Afghanistan, is often embodied in harmful traditional practices (honour killings and baad). As a result, EVAW-related issues have so far only been addressed through presidential decrees. This makes the existing legislation vulnerable to a backlash by the conservative majority in parliament.

Murders and “honour killings”

The UNAMA report found that the murder of women represents the second most prevalent form of violence against women in Afghanistan (the first being battery and laceration). UNAMA documented 280 cases of murder, including “honour killings” of women from January 2016 to December 2017. “Of these, 50 cases ended in a conviction of the perpetrator and subsequent prison sentences, representing 18 per cent of documented cases,” the report found, adding that “the vast majority of murder and ‘honour killing’ cases involving women never reached prosecution and the perpetrators are still at large.” (2)

UNAMA also found that in more than one third of cases documented over the two-year period, the police did not forward the cases to prosecutors. All of this, according to UNAMA, implies that the vast majority of murder and “honour killings” of women result in impunity for the perpetrator.

The report notes “deficiencies in Afghanistan’s applicable legislative framework for prosecuting ‘honour killings’ may have contributed to impunity during the period covered in this report.” This apparently has to do with the fact that “honour killings” are not criminalised in the 2009 EVAW law and appeared in Afghanistan’s 1976 penal code even as a mitigating factor to murder. Article 398 of the 1976 penal code states that “a person who kills or injures his wife or a relative in order to defend his honour will not be subject to the punishment for murder or laceration, and instead shall be imprisoned for a period of no more than two years.” The 2018 penal code, however, does not contain this reference and the justification of “honour killing” can no longer serve as a mitigating factor in murder trials, the UNAMA report said.

“Justice sector officials should investigate, prosecute and adjudicate ‘honour killings’ under the general murder provision in Article 512 [of the 2018 Penal Code], and sentence convicted persons accordingly,” the UNAMA recommended in its report.

Wide use of mediation: Misinterpretation of law and even “unlawful”

Of the 237 cases monitored by UNAMA, both traditional and government mediators resolved 145 cases. Mediators in most provinces informed UNAMA that these cases included murder, beatings, attempted rape, acid attacks and causing other injuries, domestic violence, “running away”, forced marriage, baad or forced suicide.

UNAMA found that EVAW institutions and non-governmental organisations not only conducted mediation proceedings, but also “referred cases to traditional mediation mechanisms, observed mediation sessions, or knew about mediation taking place, in relation to ‘honour killings’ and other serious offences stated in the EVAW Law.” The report said “Mediators in some provinces were either not aware of the limits on their authority to mediate cases, or did not admit to mediating the five serious offences, despite UNAMA findings to the contrary.”

According to UNAMA, the two different types of mediation carried out by traditional dispute resolution mechanisms related to violence against women – the mediation of criminal offences of violence against women and the mediation of wider disputes leading to decisions that result in violence against women – are both unlawful and constitute human rights abuses. An example given in the report states:

[…] Jirgas sometimes decide to give a girl in baad as a gesture of good will in order to resolve a dispute or criminal act between families. Traditional mediators however also mediated criminal offences of violence against women such as beating by spouses, harassment, causing isolation and more, in a similar way to the mediation carried out by EVAW institutions. In such cases, traditional mediators’ decisions largely involve commitment letters by the perpetrator to refrain from violence in the future.

The traditional mediation mechanism’s decision that is frequently harmful to women is often related to an exchange marriage. For example, UNAMA documented a case from the eastern region in which local families referred the case of a girl who had “run away” from her home because of an arranged marriage, to a jirga for resolution. The jirga decided, the report said, to give another 13-year-old girl from one of the families to the other family involved, in order to resolve the dispute. “The two families involved in this case insisted to the authorities that they had carried out a routine exchange marriage, which under the EVAW law may also be illegal,” the report said, adding that “UNAMA’s monitoring revealed that the illegal practice of baadhad taken place following the Jirga’s decision.” (3)

In nine provinces – Badghis, Paktya, Ghazni, Kunar, Maidan Wardak, Paktika, Khost, Balkh and Jawzjan – UNAMA found that mediators had adjudicated murder cases and that such practices were carried out almost exclusively by traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. Traditional mechanisms, the report states, “are not state-actors, and are not legally mandated to resolve criminal cases.” “Such mechanisms operate in an unofficial and unregulated capacity, their decisions in criminal cases are unlawful, and as such, are not subjected to any government oversight or scrutiny,” the report said.

This, according to the UNAMA report, amounted to misinterpretation of the EVAW law:

Article 39 of the EVAW Law is commonly used to justify referrals to mediation in criminal offences of violence against women. The article allows survivors to withdraw their complaint at any point of the judicial proceedings with the exception of the five serious offences, where the State is duty-bound to conduct investigations and prosecute such cases even without a complaint. The article however makes no reference to, or permits mediation.“

In spite of the large number of cases resolved through mediation,” the report said, “there are no policies on minimum standards of mediation, resulting in a great disparity of standards, procedures, referral of cases by EVAW institutions and capacity of the mediators.” Furthermore, the report said, there is no code of conduct or certification for mediators.

Furthermore, UNAMA documented that some survivors decided to withdraw their official complaints and agreed to mediation for fear of economic and social repercussions on their lives. For many survivors, the withdrawal of a complaint may be the only viable option, as dwindling international support has impacted the already limited shelter provisions in Afghanistan (see this AAN analysis on aid effectiveness); there are few other options for women who do not have the protection of their families. A recent attempt by the government to take financial control of around 40 non-government-run shelters, legal aid offices and halfway houses for women fleeing violence may further reduce the number of these safe havens for women (see here and here).

UNAMA further found that the main objective of mediators in violence against women cases was to achieve a re-unification of families, at the expense of criminal accountability and formal justice. “The woman’s choice about the matter is not properly taken into account,” the report said, adding that “insufficient or no attention is given to the protection of the survivor from future violence.”

The UNAMA report warns that there is no specific provision in Afghan law that permits or prescribes the mediation of criminal cases. It also highlights that the wide use of mediation in criminal offences of violence against women “promotes impunity, encourages the reoccurrence of violence and erodes trust in the legal system.”

“Where the five serious offences including murder and ‘honour killings’ were mediated by authorities or by others with the acquiescence of the authorities, this amounted to a direct breach of the EVAW Law, the Penal Code, and constituted a human rights violation on the part of the State,” the report said.

A vicious circle of violence

Many of the findings set out in the report are consistent with those previously published by UNAMA in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. This indicates that despite some progress, the general situation has largely remained unchanged. The conclusions of the joint UNAMA-OHCHR report highlight how dire the situation is. They include that state officials frequently fail in investigating, prosecuting and punishing perpetrators and providing reparations to victims. This has contributed to the existing high rate of impunity and strengthens the normalisation of violence against women in Afghan society. The wide use of mediation promotes impunity, encourages the reoccurrence of violence, erodes trust in the legal system and is unlawful. Women’s access to justice remains limited, and women continue to face inequality before the law.

Traditional mediation mechanisms – which, in an increasing number of countries are prohibited legal tools in cases of violence against women – do not have a mandate and are insufficient to prosecute serious offences of violence against women. Mainly composed of men in a male-dominated society such as Afghanistan, their rulings are often extremely unjust and largely punitive towards women. The “honour killings” of women show a particularly brutal aspect of a society that is suffering from violent conflict and which annually claims the lives of over 10,000 civilians. Yet the fact that these cases go unprosecuted shows just how far the country has to go.

There is little hope that Afghanistan, which ranks 154 out of 157 on the global Gender Inequality Index (4), will reduce violence against women in a society that is largely misogynistic. As the UNAMA report shows, the perpetual cycle of violence against women extends beyond traditional communities, and unfortunately it is often the state that contributes to the further victimisation of survivors.

 

 

(1) Between 1 August 2015 and 31 December 2017, UNAMA selected 237 cases of violence against women reported to EVAW institutions in 22 provinces (Kunduz, Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, Balkh, Samangan, Faryab, Jawzjan, Bamyan, Farah, Herat, Ghazni, Paktya, Khost, Kandahar, Kunar, Laghman, Nangrahar, Kabul, Panjshir, Parwan and Maidan Wardak) and monitored and documented their progress through the justice system. UNAMA conducted this monitoring in two separate tranches. Between 1 August 2015 and 31 March 2016, UNAMA monitored and documented 165 cases across 20 provinces; and between 19 January and 31 December 2017, UNAMA monitored an additional 72 cases across 21 provinces. The report’s key criteria for case selection were that cases of violence against women be criminalised by EVAW law and that cases could be monitored by UNAMA field teams through direct access to survivors.

UNAMA also documented and monitored 280 cases of murder and “honour killings”: 104 cases in 2016 and 176 cases in 2017.

In addition to monitoring the progression of cases, UNAMA conducted interviews and focus group discussions across Afghanistan, documenting the experience of survivors, mediators and women’s groups. UNAMA carried out 103 individual interviews with mediators and representatives of EVAW law institutions in 24 provinces (Badakhshan, Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar, Faryab, Saripul, Jawzjan, Bamyan, Daikundi, Badghis, Farah, Ghor, Herat, Khost, Ghazni, Laghman, Kunar, Nangrahar, Paktya, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan, Zabul and Helmand); 44 focus group discussions with mediators in all 34 provinces; and 39 focus group discussions with women activists in all provinces. UNAMA consulted 1,826 mediators, representatives of EVAW law institutions and women’s rights activists.

(2) UNAMA’s findings in this regard are broadly consistent with those of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), which documented 160 murder cases of women during the first 8 months of 1395 (21 March to 21 November 2016) of which 119 were reported to be “honour killings”. According to the AIHRC only 33 percent of such cases were referred for prosecution. (AIHRC Report in Dari here).

(3) A new UNICEF study entitled “Child Marriage in Afghanistan: Changing the Narrative” and carried out in Bamyan, Kandahar, Paktya, Ghor and Badghis – in urban, semi-urban and rural locations informed by household surveys, case studies, focus groups and key informant interviews, found that 42 per cent of households in these provinces indicated that at least one member of their household had been married before the age of 18. However, the study shows significant disparities between provinces, from 21 percent of households in Ghor to 66 percent in Paktya reporting a marriage involving a child in their home.

(4) The Gender Inequality Index measures gender inequalities in three aspects of human development—reproductive health, measured by the maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by the proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and the proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years or older, with at least some secondary education; and economic status, expressed in labour market participation and measured by the labour force participation rate of men and women aged 15 years and older.

The US Air Force (USAF) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to re-wing about 100 of its Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support (CAS) aircraft. Released on 25 May, the RFP for the A-10 Thunderbolt Advanced Wing Continuation Kitting (ATTACK) programme calls for the re-winging

The first 4x4 Vehicule Blinde Multi-Role-Light (VBMR-L) vehicles developed by Nexter Systems for the French Army will be completed in 2019, with an initial operating capability (IOC) expected in 2021. The company is currently developing three variants of the VBMR-L: 10 vehicles configured for

Halo Neuroscience is aiming to expand the utility of its Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) technology – which is currently used to assist rehabilitation of injured special operations forces (SOF) operators – to tactical training applications. Jerry Paris, senior director

On 23 May, EDA hosted a technical workshop on ‘Graphene in Defence’ which brought together some 50 experts from European Ministries of Defence, industry, SMEs, academia and research and technology organisations. With the graphene workstrand, EDA is entering unchartered but promising territory as it is the first time that this high-potential material is the subject of European collaboration in the defence domain.

The workshop is part of EDA’s ongoing ‘Impact of Graphene in Defence’ project run by a consortium led by Tecnalia R&I Innovation.   The ambition of this project is to evaluate the possibility of establishing a European Graphene Roadmap in Defence, through the assessment of graphene’s impact and potential application in eight defence-related domains:  

• (Opto)electronic materials and devices
• Flexible Systems
• Energy Devices
• Multifunctional materials
• Camouflage and signature management
• Membranes and filters
• Biomedical applications
• Sensors

The workshop was attended by representatives of the European Commission (DG CONNECT) who presented the ‘Graphene Flagship’, one of Future and Emerging Technology Flagships initiated by the Commission bringing together academic and industrial researchers to take graphene from the realm of academic laboratories into European society and industry.   Experts from industry, academia and MoDs also provided their insight and expertise with a view to identifying a possible timeline and the required investments to develop the 8 afore-mentioned defence applications in the air, land and domains as well as in other cross-cutting areas.

 

More information:

• EDA study to assess graphene potential for defence (EDA webnews, December 2017)

 

Americas

• The Navy is awarding two firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery and indefinite-quantity contracts in support of its submarine fleet. The contracts are being awarded to EnerSys Energy products and Exide Technologies, and come with a five-year ordering period and an aggregate ceiling of $75 million. The deal provides for the production of submarine valve regulated lead acid battery cells. The submarine valve regulated lead acid batteries provide emergency backup power supply for the nuclear reactor onboard strategic and fast attack nuclear submarines. Nuclear propulsion has seen many technological advances over the last decades. The future of the US Navy’s submarine fleet will consist of Virginia-class fast attack boats and SSBN-X strategic ballistic missile submarines. Propulsion on both vessel types will largely be the same. For example, the SSBN-X propulsion will be all-electric, which decouples the drive train from the turbines, and the pump-jet propulsion will use shrouded technology taken from the Virginia Class. Work will be performed in Warrensburg, Missouri and Forth Smith, Arkansas respectively, and is scheduled for completion by May 2023.

• The Marine Corps is tapping Oshkosh Defense LLC in support of its Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement program. The $43 million contract provides for the procurement of Engineering Change Proposal kits, parts and/or hardware components in support of the program. The 14 variants in the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) form the core of the USA’s new state-of-the-art medium military transport truck fleet. Which in turn forms the core of the “mature logistics capability” seen in theatres of action worldwide. The Trucks produced under the Engineering Change Proposal will feature a higher capacity chassis to carry enhanced protection, a higher output alternator to simplify the electrical system and feed the growing demand for power, support enhanced vehicle diagnostics, increase engine power and performance, and introduce key safety features like electronic stability control. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by May 2023.

• Raytheon Missile Systems is being tapped to produce more GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway IIs. The $13.4 million contract modification is being awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Paveway II kits convert standard Mk 80 family free-fall bombs into laser-guided weapons. Each guidance kit consists of a computer control group (CCG) guidance system with a semi-active laser seeker and pneumatically-controlled guidance canards for the front-end of the bomb, plus an air foil group (AFG) on the back end that provides lift and stability. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $73,7 million. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by January 2019.

Middle East & Africa

• Pakistan is set to receive thirty T-129 attack helicopters from Turkey. Pakistan is known to have evaluated the Turkish-built attack helicopter as part of an ongoing effort to procure a new attack helicopter for the country’s army. The T-129 is based on the AugustaWestland (now Leonardo) produced A-129 Mangusta. Turkish Aerospace Industries is the T-129’s prime contractor. The aircraft is notable for its low frontal profile, and offers a good mix of surveillance, gun and missile capabilities. The T-129A EDH carries the nose-mounted 20mm cannon turret with 500 rounds, and 4 pylons for unguided rockets. The T-129B version will add Roketsan’s MIZRAK missiles and CIRIT 70 mm Laser Guided Rockets, and Raytheon’s FIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles. Pakistan currently has US-built Bell AH-1Z Vipers, Bell AH-1 Cobras and four Mi-35s in its inventory. The T129 competed against the Chinese-built Z-10.

Europe

• Romania is set to receive new ballistic missile defense units as part of US foreign military sales. A $395 million contract modification enables Raytheon IDS to produce a phased array tracking on radar to intercept option fire unit in support of the PATRIOT system. Phased array radar systems are used to scan, identify and track both enemy planes and incoming ballistic missiles. A PATRIOT firing battery includes several components: an antenna mast group, radar, electric power station, launchers, ECC command center, and maintenance center. They are carried on a mix of heavy and medium trucks. The radar set is either an AN/MPQ-53 radar for PAC-2 systems, or an AN/MPQ-65 for PAC-3 systems and is carried by a 10-ton M983 HEMTT truck pulling a M860 semitrailer. Work will be performed at various locations. Including Andover, Massachusetts and McKinney, Texas. The contract has an estimated completion date of April 30th, 2020.

• The French Air Force has recently requested 38 Airbus H-160M helicopters. The aircraft will be procured under the hélicoptère interarmées léger program. The program sees for the acquisition of the country’s new tri-service medium-category rotorcraft fleet. Deliveries are scheduled to begin by 2025, with a total number of 169 units ordered. The H-160M helicopters are capable of performing air-to-air refueling and will be equipped for a broad range of missions, including search and rescue, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support and air interception. Those destined for close air support tasks will be equipped with a 20mm cannon and guided rockets. Approximately 420 helicopters will be replaced by the H-160 including the French navy’s Alouette IIIs, SA 365 Dauphin and AS565 Panther, the French Air Force’s AS555 Fennec and SA330 Pumas; and the French army Pumas, SA341/SA342 Gazelles and Fennec.

Asia-Pacific

• A deal between the Indian government and the Russian defense contractor Rosoboronexport may be cancelled following a series of complaints from the other competitors. The $1.5 billion contract would provide for the procurement of up to 5.000 very-short range air defense or VSHOD systems. The Russian company made the lowest bid and competed against Saab of Sweden, Rafael of Israel, MBDA and Thales of France, and LIG Nex 1 of South Korea. After technical evaluation and qualification of the proposed systems, only Igla-S by Rosoboronexport, RBS 70 NG by Saab and Mistral by MBDA were selected for trials. VSHOD systems are designed for detecting, tracking and intercepting airborne targets, including a wide variety of low RCS and low-flying targets such as fighter aircraft, ultra-lights and UAVs. VSHOD systems help a country to make its airspace dangerous enough to deny enemies full air dominance. Considering India’s very limited defense budget it seems unlikely that a possible deal will move ahead in the near future.

Today’s Video

• Russia starts construction of its first Husky Class Nuclear submarine

Belgium's Council of Ministers on 25 May approved the replacement of the Naval Component's two M-frigates with two new multirole frigates for more than EUR1 billion (USD1.2 billion), Defence Minister Steven Vandeput's website has announced. The new frigates will be designed, developed, and built