WASHINGTON -- The rebuilding of a peaceful Afghanistan requires a commitment to protecting the human rights of all Afghan citizens, including women and ethnic minorities. The International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan taking place in Tokyo should take action to support the institutions and programs needed to promote human rights and secure justice.

Japan has made valuable contributions to helping Afghanistan's war-ravaged population. Tokyo has given equipment and funds to remove land mines, provided assistance to refugees in camps in Pakistan and given humanitarian aid through Japanese nongovernmental organizations. As the host and cochair of the conference this week, the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should now use its influence to ensure that human rights are integrated into the broader reconstruction agenda.

The Bonn agreement adopted Dec. 5 emphasized the central role of human rights in Afghanistan's future, as did a subsequent U.N. General Assembly resolution. The U.N. declared that "only a political settlement aimed at the establishment of a broad-based, gender-sensitive, multiethnic and fully representative government, which respects the human rights of all Afghans . . . can lead to durable peace and reconciliation."