U.N. Urges Afghan Officials to Find Murderers of Female Aid Workers

May 5, 2005 - (Deutsche Presse Agentur) The United Nations urged Afghan officials Thursday to bring the murderers of three Afghan women
employees of a foreign non-governmental organization recently raped and killed by unknown people in northern Afghanistan to justice swiftly.

A United Nations spokeswoman Ariane Quentier told reporters Thursday that the U.N. is closely following the ongoing investigation into the brutal murders in Baghlan province.

``In a context where violence against women remains too often un-prosecuted and unpunished, it is particularly important that the authorities spare no effort to swiftly bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,'' Quentier said.

The seriousness of the crime is compounded by the fact that a note was left at the scene implying that the killings were linked to their work with a non-Governmental organization (NGO), she added.

``The fact that we are talking today about the murder of three women in Baghlan, shows that we are very concerned at the way - in certain instances - women are being treated and discriminated against in this country. We are extremely serious about these cases,'' Quentier added.
Afghan police found the three dead bodies early this week. According to reports, the three women worked for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.

A new group, Junbish Nahzat Jawanan (Youth Movement Party), claimed responsibility for the murders in the note left with the bodies. It also warned that any woman working for a foreign organization will face a similar fate.

The women had been sexually assaulted, reports said.

From: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MMQD-6C4JBL?OpenDocument