UN DISMAY OVER AFGHAN EXECUTIONS

the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed dismay at the execution of at least five convicted prisoners in Afghanistan this week. Navi Pillay urged the Afghan government to halt any further planned executions. Much more needs to be done by the Afghan government, according to the UN's High Commissioner's spokesman, Rupert Colville. "We're concerned that essentially in Afghanistan the law enforcement, the police, the judicial systems, fall short of internationally accepted standards - a long way short - guaranteeing due process and fair trial," he said. "And obviously under those circumstances there's a very serious risk that there will be miscarriages of justice and that innocent people may be executed," he added. Navi Pillay called on President Karzai to halt any further planned executions and rejoin what she described as the growing international consensus for a moratorium on the death penalty.