Afghan Constitution Commission
The Afghan Constitution Commission (or Afghan Constitutional Commission) was established October 5, 2002 as required by the
Make up of the commission
The initial Commission was made up of nine members and started work on October 5, 2002. After its work was completed (although no draft was released) the initial Commission was replaced on May 7, 2003, by a 35-member Reviewing Commission, referred to as the Constitution Commission. The 35 members were all appointed by president Karzai. Seven of the members were women.
The commission set up eight regional offices in
The process was being monitored by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and was funded by the United Nations Development Programme.
Consultation process
Consultations with the Afghan public started June 10, 2003. Commission teams from Kabul and regional offices made trips through Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
announcements were also made.Delays and final release
The initial goal was for the commission to present the draft constitution by September 1, 2003, but in August commission members asked for a two-month delay to allow more time to gather reactions. On August 28 Ghulam Farooq Wardak announced that the loya jirga had been postponed until December 10. The commission wanted more time to consult with Afghans. Ghulam Farooq Wardak, the director of the commission's secretariat, said the delay would give Afghans more time to decide if they wanted a republic, a parliamentary system, or a return to a monarchy. Other issues, he said, included the degree of centralization in Kabul and the role of Islam. He said 100,000 questionnaires from all provinces of Afghanistan had been completed and sent to the commission.
The Commission presented its proposed constitution on November 3, 2003. The ceremony was attended by president Karzai, former king
The draft was distributed throughout the country to Provincial Governors and Wuluswals for distribution to political leaders. It was also widely distributed via the Regional Offices of Secretariat of the Constitutional Commission to ELJ district representatives, to the media, including magazines Kellid and Morsal.
Opposition to the proposed constitution
Mahbuba Hoquqmal, the Afghan Minister of Women's Affairs, said the constitution does not grant protection to women's property rights, and does not prevent women being forced to marry without their consent, and does not offer better guarantees of equal treatment by Afghanistan's courts.
Members of
Other issues raised by some
External links
- The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan's website Archived 2005-04-19 at the Wayback Machine - includes documents on the constitutional process.
- UNHCR document PDF original includes details of the commission's work and initial public opinion, divided by region