A/HRC/7/27 page 16 secretly and their relatives were not informed. None of the 15 appeared to have had a fair trial and strong doubts exist concerning the guilt of at least 4 of them. All these elements are inconsistent with Afghanistan’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In my discussion with the President I raised my deep concern regarding this matter and I hope that the Government will remain within the emerging international consensus on this issue, reflected most recently by the General Assembly’s adoption of a call for a general moratorium on the death penalty, and put a halt to future executions. B. Security sector 65. Effective rule of law requires a mechanism to hold the National Directorate of Security accountable for its actions, while still respecting the complex demands of protecting domestic security. NDS conducts intelligence gathering, surveillance, arrest, detention and prosecution of those suspected of crimes against national security. Unlike the police force, which is legally mandated to identify crimes and arrest suspects, NDS operates under a presidential decree, which has not yet been made public. Apparently accountable only to the President, NDS has not been the object of reforms. NDS also operates detention centres without adequate judicial oversight with only sporadic access granted to independent monitoring bodies. UNAMA and AIHRC receive reports of torture, illegal and arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detentions by NDS. I raised these concerns with relevant authorities during my mission, and I am encouraged by their assurances that UNAMA will be given free and unrestricted access to NDS facilities, and that it will be also advised of the identities of those detained by NDS so that families of the detainees can be duly informed. I am also pleased by the Government’s decision to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees and look forward to the publication of its findings. 66. Despite some progress, there are concerns about the Ministry of the Interior and the Afghan National Police’s effectiveness and respect for human rights, including widespread allegations of corruption and factionalism at central, provincial and district levels. I am encouraged by the Ministry of Interior’s development of a Human Rights Unit and look forward to its increasing effectiveness and integration in the coming year. 67. The pay and rank reform, which included a merit-based selection process, has resulted in the removal of some human rights offenders from positions in the Ministry of the Interior and the police. The vetting process, however, failed to fully observe Department of Peacekeeping Operations policy and OHCHR criteria for vetting of public officials, particularly on transparency, due process and rights to appeal or for judicial review. Further, recommendations by the international community for removal of officers based on evidence were in many cases ignored or overturned by senior government officials. 68. To date, activities of both Afghan and international PSCs, now numbering more than 60 have been largely unregulated. With PSCs increasingly being drawn into military-type activities when operating in volatile areas, the need to improve regulation has been recognized by authorities. The 6 November 2007 suicide-bombing in Baghlan province, in which approximately 70 people were killed and more than 110 injured, vividly illustrated why. An official investigation suggested that, following the explosion, individually hired bodyguards