A/HRC/7/27 page 4 Introduction 1. This report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 2/113 and has been prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The report builds on my previous reports and my mission to Kabul, Khost and Mazar-i-Sharif undertaken from 15 to 21 November 2007. During my mission, I met with President Karzai, various Government ministers, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the Parliament and other parliamentarians, commanders of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), representatives of the diplomatic community, members of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), as well as human rights defenders, civil society activists and victims’ groups. 2. Security and respect for human rights seriously deteriorated in Afghanistan in 2007 owing mainly to the deepening conflict, setbacks in institutional reform, persistent poverty, and the continued inability of government to effectively deliver essential services, security and justice. Alongside corruption and insufficient institutional capacity, these factors have heightened physical, economic and social vulnerability. The unprecedented increase of opium production in 2007 also posed a grave threat to the rule of law and security. 3. Human rights and their defenders have come under attack by those who view human rights as a Western-imposed concept, as counter to local religious and cultural traditions, and as a luxury that Afghanistan cannot afford. Yet, insecurity in Afghanistan generally emanates from failure to address ongoing human rights concerns and violations, including effectively addressing past violations. During my visit to Afghanistan, I found Afghans from all walks of life claiming their rights to food, shelter, education, a livelihood, health, justice and physical security. The creation of new institutions to protect human rights is not, and should not be perceived as an attack on traditional systems, but seeks to complement and build upon the latter’s strengths. 4. Regrettably, progress in implementing the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice, adopted by the Government in December 2005 and slated for completion by end of 2008, has been extremely limited. Significant political opposition to transitional justice in Afghanistan, exemplified by the adoption by Parliament of the National Reconciliation Charter, or amnesty law, in March 2007, seriously undermines the Action Plan. I. POVERTY AND OTHER ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS ISSUES 5. This year, the Government of Afghanistan is submitting a periodic report on implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). According to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission’s (AIHRC) second report on economic, social and cultural rights, published in August 2007, the Government is failing to meet its minimum core obligations under ICESCR. The Afghanistan Human Development Report 2007 (AHDR) confirms that the Government continues to struggle to deliver essential services consistently to rural, urban and remote areas and to spur development of the official economy, which is critical to promoting these rights.