Corporate report

Afghanistan - in-year update July 2015

Published 15 July 2015

The human rights situation in Afghanistan remained a serious concern in the first half of 2015. Despite some positive messages and steps from the National Unity Government (NUG) on the themes of women’s rights, freedom of expression and access to government information, overall progress has been slow, and allegations of torture continue to be numerous. The start of the Taliban’s spring offensive has also led to further violence and increases in the number of civilian casualties, with civilians and humanitarian actors often deliberately targeted by the insurgents.

On 15 June the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the first ever EU-Afghan Human Rights dialogue. The British Ambassador participated in the talks which covered women’s rights, children’s rights, death penalty, torture and ill-treatment, access to justice, freedom of expression and human rights defenders. The socially vulnerable and people with disabilities were also discussed. We will follow up on the Afghan government’s commitments, especially on implementation of the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law.

In June, the US State Department released their country report on Human Rights in Afghanistan, which highlighted widespread violence, attacks on civilians, and armed insurgent groups’ killings of persons affiliated with the government; torture and abuse of detainees; and targeted violence of, and endemic societal discrimination against, women and girls.

On 2 February, the British Embassy in Kabul launched the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and its implementation plan. More than 40 female politicians, journalists and civil society members attended. On 30 June, President Ghani launched the Afghan Government’s long-awaited National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security following persistent lobbying, including at the UN Security Council Debate on Afghanistan on 22 June. We will continue to work with the Afghans to support its implementation.

On 16 February, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) released a report stating that more than 4,250 cases of violence against women have been recorded in the past nine months. The report says the majority of cases are of physical violence, but sexual violence is on the increase, with many cases going unreported due to cultural sensitivities in discussing and recognising this type of abuse. The UK continues to provide financial support to the work of the AIHRC.

On 5 March, President Ghani made a speech to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) in which he emphasised the NUG’s commitment to fundamental and sustainable change for Afghan women, including for participation in decision making, economic empowerment, improved education and healthcare provision. Reports circulated that a group of Afghan men wore burqas on IWD and marched through Kabul to draw attention to women’s rights in the country.

On 19 March, Farkhunda Malikzada, an Afghan woman, was beaten to death by a mob in Kabul following false accusations that she burnt a copy of the Qur’an. There was a public outcry and the NUG moved quickly to condemn the attacks and call for a swift investigation. Four men were given the death penalty (since reduced to 10-20 years’ imprisonment on appeal) and eight given 16 years, at least one of whom has since been acquitted on appeal. Eleven police officers were given one year for dereliction of duty. Amnesty International and other human rights organisations, expressed concern at several aspects of the criminal process. We strongly condemned the murder and continue to encourage adherence to due process throughout the proceedings.

There has been good progress on the appointment of women to key positions in government. In April, four women were appointed as ministers at the Ministry of Higher Education, Counter Narcotics, Labour and Social Affairs, and Women’s Affairs. In May President Ghani also pledged to appoint four female Ambassadors. In June the first female judge was nominated to the Supreme Court, and female governors were appointed to Daikundi and Ghor provinces.

On 3-4 June in Oslo, in the first such meeting of its kind, four high-profile Afghan women (including a Member of Parliament and two High Peace Council members) participated in informal discussions with Taliban representatives, including on the issue of women’s rights.

On 10 June, to mark the anniversary of the London Conference on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, British Ambassador Karen Pierce opened the UK-funded Forensic Testing Centre. It will assist the authorities in investigating domestic abuse and cases of violence against women.

On 16 June, the UK Minister for the Armed Forces watched the graduation of the first female officers from the UK-supported Afghan National Army Officer Academy, with a female cadet winning the prestigious “Sword of Honour”.

On 6 April, Amnesty International released a report on the challenges faced by human rights defenders (HRDs) in Afghanistan entitled Their Lives on the Line. The UK is committed to implementing the EU Local Strategy for Human Rights Defenders and will continue to work with other member states and NGOs to improve the situation in Afghanistan for HRDs.

In February, the UN released its annual report on civilian casualties for 2014. It reported a 22% increase in civilian casualties compared with 2013, largely attributed to anti-government insurgent groups. Whilst overall the vast majority of civilian casualties are caused by insurgents and armed opposition groups, one of the key highlights of this report is that pro-government forces (including ANSF) were responsible in 2014 for a “significant increase” in human rights abuses affecting civilians. According to UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) figures, the increase in civilian casualties has continued in the first months of 2015. Large-scale attacks by the Taliban deliberately targeting civilians have continued, notwithstanding a Taliban statement on 22 April in which it instructed its fighters to avoid civilian casualties. In one such incident, on 18 April a suicide attacker killed 30 civilians at the entrance of a bank in Jalalabad city.

In February, reports confirmed the abduction of 31 Hazara men, on the Kabul-Kandahar highway. In May, 19 of the hostages were released. Afghan officials continue to work on the release of the remaining 12. It is unclear at this stage how many remain, and whether those that do are all government officials. There have been two further reports of Hazara kidnappings and British Embassy officials have met senior Hazara figures within the NUG to express our concerns.

There have been a number of attacks by the Taliban and other armed groups on NGOs and aid workers. On 12 April the bodies of five Save the Children workers were found in the Uruzgan mountains, 40 days after they were abducted. On the 13 April, the Taliban attacked a guesthouse in Kabul and killed at least 15 national and international civilians including eight aid workers. In June nine Afghan employees of a Czech aid organisation, People In Need, were killed when gunmen attacked their guesthouse in northern Balkh province. President Ghani released statements strongly condemning the killings. Subsequently in June a female employee of a Swiss NGO was abducted in Kabul. We condemn these cowardly attacks and will continue to work closely with the NGO community and the Afghan government to improve the situation for NGOs in Afghanistan.

In February, UNAMA released a report on the treatment of conflict-related detainees and torture. Despite a 14% overall reduction from previous years, 35% of those interviewed still reported mistreatment or torture. UNAMA also found a continued lack of accountability for perpetrators of torture. UK training was credited in the report as one of the reasons that no cases of torture were reported in the National Directorate of Security compared to 40 last year. There has been a renewed international community effort on the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture which would establish an independent oversight mechanism for the security forces. The UK Ambassador raised this directly with the Afghan government at the EU Human Rights dialogue.

On 12 February, the annual World Press Freedom Index was published by Reporters without Borders. Afghanistan was ranked 122nd out of 180 countries on the degree of freedom that journalists, news media, and internet citizens are afforded. On 3 May, at a celebration to mark World Press Freedom Day, President Ghani gave a speech supporting independent media. Despite this, Nai, an Afghan NGO that promotes freedom of expression, reports that journalists still have difficulty accessing public information.