Percentage of Afghanistan officials that recognize the right to not be tortured: 12%

About a year ago I wrote a rather grave critique for the Leaderpost regarding Canada's complicit approval of torture and abuse in Afghan prisons. Much to my surprise, the article was spotlighted by the Canadian Forces. The article featured a dark look into some of the most wretched conditions documented by human rights groups and Canadian diplomats:

Trapped in a futile struggle, our country would continue to complicitly surrender its prisoners and its ideals to a perverted labyrinth shrouded in a veil of secrecy and misinformation. Canadian officials would document cases of abuse in mysterious Afghan prisons, while our ministers would vehemently deny any such occurrence. Heavily censored documents would detail a corrections officer's plea for footwear suitable for traversing the "blood and fecal matter" that plagues the floors of Afghan prisons. Thirty men claimed to have been "beaten, starved, frozen and choked" after they were handed over to the NDD. Additional detainees would simply disappear, no multimillion-dollar lawsuit to appease them.

A year has passed and by all accounts (but the Canadian government's) Afghan jails continue the widespread use of torture. A new Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission reports that fewer than 20% of Afghan officials even know of the legal rights of detainees:

The rights body's report, which surveyed 92 Afghan law-enforcement officials and 398 alleged victims of torture in detention, found that only 17.4 per cent of officials were aware of legal rights in Afghanistan affording the accused protection from torture. Only 12 per cent of those surveyed, who included prosecutors, police and court officials, recognized the rights of the accused as outlined in the Afghan constitution. Article 29 of the constitution prohibits torture and declares information obtained through it unusable.

Moreover, the pattern of gruesome instances seem to stem from a sharp philosophical divergence rather than a 'few bad apples':

Afghan officials have defended their practices, suggesting that foreigners fail to understand the grim reality of fighting the insurgency - an enemy that regularly tortures captives and uses hanging and beheading for executions.

The Afghan National Police, financially supported by Canadian, sees little problems with the use of torture. With only 12% of officials recognizing the rights of the accused, how could anyone imagine that Afghan detainees are being fairly treated? These jailers' explicate support for torture practices cripples any notion of plausible deniability for this government. The Canadian government must take full responsibility for knowingly sending their detainees to places where torture is widespread.