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KABUL (SW): In its ongoing Annual Anti-Corruption drive, the European Union in Afghanistan has called for an end to the culture of impunity as the way to end corruption.
It noted the Afghan's sees the judiciary as the most corrupt part of public administration in Afghanistan. Therefore the EU in Afghanistan again puts corruption in the judiciary on the agenda of its annual anti-corruption campaign. From today and until Sunday 2 April, the EU will focus on judicial corruption, it announced.
"The Afghan people cry for justice and rule of law. The need for reform is long overdue. Although, we have seen some improvements in the justice sector – in the Attorney General's Office with the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre – it is very clear that reforms are too slow”, the EU Special Representative in Afghanistan, Ambassador Franz-Michael Mellbin has said.
He added ending impunity is the way to end corruption. “However, the justice system itself is corrupt. The judicial system must clean-up its own ranks and bring in new staff in through merit based recruitment”, Ambassador Mellbin noted. He went on to say that the judiciary is too often a tool for the powerful and rich and it is not serving ordinary Afghan citizens who suffer from injustice fed by corruption.
The EU’s Special Representative in Afghanistan has urged upon the Kabul government to take lead when it comes to breaking down the culture of corruption. The key is to end impunity – we have seen the first prosecutions and I hope more is to come soon. By starting from the top the Afghan Government can send a strong signal to all Afghans that the time of corruption in Afghanistan is over”, he underlined.
ENDS
