Jan 17, 2011

On  11th  January,  2010,  Centre  for Conflict
& Peace Studies (CAPS) hosted His Excellency Hans Klemm, U.S. Ambassador for Rule of Law and Law Enforcement in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Director of CAPS, Mr. Hekmat Karzai, welcomed Ambassador Klemm to the centre and briefly introduced CAPS and its projects and vision. Mr. Karzai also expressed to Ambassador Klemm how vital it was for the U.S. government to have appointed an Ambassadorial rank to tackle the issues of Rule of Law in Afghanistan and its support to justice sector in Afghanistan.

Mr. Karzai also presented CAPS legal project’s and profile explaining the different pillars of the program and its mechanisms for providing legal assistance to security prisoners in Afghan detention facilities. In addition, Mr. Karzai expressed that the main role of the legal program was to build trust and pave the road for reintegration and reconciliation in Afghanistan. He also informed Ambassador Klemm about the expansion of this project in Kandahar province stating that there have been a number of beneficiaries of CAPS legal assistance so far leading to the expansion of the program.

Following the CAPS presentations, Ambassador Klemm expressed his liking of the various activities undertaken by CAPS particularly in terms of protecting civil rights and filling the void created by an insufficient judiciary system with CAPS efforts at providing legal assistance to all security prisoners. Ambassador Hans Klemm conveyed his willingness and support for the CAPS Legal program as well.

In the end, Mr. Karzai thanked Ambassador Hans Klemm for visiting CAPS and both of them showed much interest in organizing discussions around the issue of Rule of Law and Law Enforcement in the near future.