Afghanistan, over the past year, has been experiencing a heightened level of violence against its Human Rights Defenders (HRD). Already exceeding last year’s figures for deaths and attacks, the situation for HRD’s has worsened significantly as they continue to be targeted by extremists, seldom receiving support or security from the government.
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in October 2020 that 531 civilians were killed and another 403 were injured in targeted killings during the first nine months of 2020, a 39% increase compared with the same period in 2019. Of these deaths, targeted killing was the third main cause of civilian casualties. This puts into stark focus the risks HRD’s are posed with whilst undertaking their profession, and with US troop withdrawals, the role of the Afghan government in creating an apparatus for the protection of its civil society becomes quintessential.
An unsafe place for Human Rights Defenders
The Afghan constitution guarantees key Human Rights and commits to the formation of “a civil society void of oppression, atrocity, discrimination as well as violence, based on rule of law, social justice, protecting the integrity and human rights, and attaining peoples’ freedoms and fundamental rights”. Afghanistan has also ratified several UN treaties on Human Rights, including the Convention Against Torture and its optional protocol, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to name a few.
However, despite this, HDR’s in the country face an increasing threat of violence, intimidation and harassment – from both central authorities and armed groups operating in the country. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has been targeted by numerous insurgent attacks. On 27 June 2020, AIHRC’s donor liaison officer, Fatima Khalil, and the organisation’s long-time driver, Ahmad Jawed Folad, were killed in a bomb explosion at Butkhak Square in Kabul. There exists a trend of attacks against the organisation; for example, in September 2019, Abdul Samad Ameri, the Acting Head of the Ghor Provincial Office, was abducted and killed by the Taliban.
Despite these mounting targeted attacks, the government has failed to investigate and bring to justice those who have been victimised and targeted as a result of their human rights work. This lack of action has only proved to exacerbate the issue, with HRD’s vilified as ‘western spies’, ’anti-religion’ and ‘anti-culture’. This has been especially effective in deeply conservative parts of the country, where local religious leaders have turned to violence and intimidation under duress wherever HRD’s have spoken up for Human Rights. Notably, in November 2019, Human Rights defenders Musa Mahmudi and Ehsanullah Hamidi, who had exposed the existence of a paedophile ring and revealed more than 100 instances of the sexual abuse suffered by young boys in Logar province were arbitrarily detained by the National Directorate for Security, Afghanistan’s top intelligence agency. This apparent impunity is likely to allow for a further perpetuation and supports a lack of recognition for the role of HRD’s within Afghani society. In a damning report for Amnesty International, both the government and armed groups including the Taliban were accused of orchestrating attacks on activists and members of the civil society, which have so far remained un-investigated by authorities. In effect, the plight of Afghanistan’s HRD’s s remains largely ignored, instead of being vilified accused on subverting religious and cultural traditions.
As a result of this abject lack of support and acknowledgement, the study observed that it was common that HRD’s were asked to procure weapons to protect themselves. This demonstrates a widescale failure on the part of the Afghani government whose inability to be a shield for members of civil society and direct involvement within violence towards HRD, is indicative of a regime unfit for service.
What next?
Amnesty International in close collaboration with 32 human rights organizations, presented the “Afghanistan Human Rights Defenders Protection Strategy” in January 2020. The intention behind the report was to act as a roadmap for the government of Afghanistan to adopt an independent, effective and implementable protection mechanism for protection of HRDs in the country.
Muhammad Ashraf Ghani, President Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has called for a three-step programme to achieve this:
- Immediately establish the HRD Protection Joint Commission as proposed in Afghanistan Human Rights
Defenders Protection Strategy;
- Establish especial measures to provide protection support to human rights defenders facing threats, intimidation and violence;
- With the support of the international community, secure and allocate specific funds for human rights
defenders’ protection through the establishment of a basket fund.
Through these proposed measures, there is hope that the integral role which HRD’s play in Afghan society will be preserved without the continued threat of subversion and violence. Since Jan 2020 there is limited movement on this part as demonstrated above with a marked uptick in violence, and with COVID-19 currently ravaging the country’s health infrastructure, there is a fear that this will prove only to exacerbate the position of HRD, leading to a greater risk of violence. Omar Waraich, deputy South Asia director at Amnesty International has commented that “this is one of the most dangerous moments to be a human rights activist in Afghanistan”.
Unless the Afghan government takes early decisive action to prevent these killings; and acting on early warning signs, such as threats and intimidation, protecting others who find themselves at risk, and thoroughly investigating violence, including killings, the position of HRD’s will remain precarious. Activists remain greatly suspicious of the governmental position, believing that the security authorities are not transparent in their investigations. This creates an unenviable situation for HRD’s who are unable to trust the central government in providing security to activists who are vulnerable to militant attacks.