Afghanistan - country of concern update, 30 September 2014
Updated 16 October 2014
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0.1 Latest Update: 30 September 2014
We continue to be concerned about the human rights situation in Afghanistan. During July to September there were: disruption to the democratic process, negative developments in freedom of expression and freedom of media, reporting of extrajudicial killings by security forces, and Afghanistan’s continued support for the use of the death penalty.
1. Elections
On 7 July, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced the preliminary results of the second round of the presidential election. These results put Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in the lead with 56.44% of the vote, and Dr Abdullah Abdullah second with 43.56%. In response, Abdullah announced that he would no longer participate in the process, citing the IEC’s limited response to his team’s claims of large-scale fraud.
US Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited Kabul on 10-12 July, holding a press conference with both candidates to announce a solution to the electoral impasse after extensive negotiations. Abdullah and Ghani had agreed to the holding of a 100% audit of the second round of the election, closely observed by the international community and under advice from the UN. The candidates agreed to abide by the results of the audit and to form a government of national unity on the basis of its result.
The audit began on 17 July and ran until 14 September. The process was protracted, stopping and starting on a number of occasions. Secretary Kerry visited Kabul for a second time on 7-8 August. After this visit, the candidates recommitted to the deal they had agreed in July, and the audit restarted.
Abdullah’s team withdrew from observing the audit for a final time on 25 August. To allow the audit to continue and to protect it from allegations of bias towards either of the candidates, the UN asked for Ghani’s observers to leave the audit venue as well. The Prime Minister made calls to both candidates on 27 August to encourage them to fulfil their commitment to abide by the results of the audit and to form a government of national unity. Despite continued objections to the validity of the results by Abdullah’s team, on 21 September an agreement was finally reached to form a government of national unity. The IEC subsequently declared that Ghani had won the election. Abdullah was named Chief Executive at Ghani’s presidential inauguration on 29 September.
Throughout these three months, the process of counting the votes and addressing disputes in the provincial council elections continued. The completion of these elections has been heavily delayed due to the intensive resource required to deliver the audit in the presidential election.
2. Other areas
On 12 July, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published their mid-year report “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict”, which recorded a 24% rise in civilian casualties, compared to the first six months of 2013. It attributed 74% of these to Taleban action, undermining their claims that they try to minimise civilian casualties.
On 25 July, media reported that two minibuses travelling through the rural district of Lal Wa Sarjangal in Ghor Province were stopped and, at least 13 Hazaras, including women and children, were separated from the other passengers and killed. The attack was confirmed by officials in Herat. The UK strongly condemns the killing of all civilians, regardless of ethnicity, and emphasises the need to ensure that perpetrators of violence are brought to justice.
In July, the Afghan government reaffirmed their commitment to end and prevent the recruitment of children in the Afghan national security forces by endorsing a “Road Map Towards Compliance”. The road map sets out in detail 15 measures to implement fully an action plan signed between the Afghan government and the UN in 2011. Measures include: the establishment of a system to investigate, prosecute and take disciplinary action against those responsible for the recruitment of children; the development of a policy to ensure that children arrested and detained on national security-related charges are treated in line with international juvenile justice standards; and improved screening and age verification procedures. We were pleased that Afghanistan participated in the high-level meeting on children in armed conflict, hosted by the Minister for Conflict Issues, James Duddridge, on 25 September, in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.
In July, the UK and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) co-hosted the first Girl Summit in London, aimed at mobilising international and domestic efforts to end child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation within a generation. Following up on the summit, British Embassy Kabul, in collaboration with the Afghan Institute of Higher Education, organised a panel debate for university students on early and forced marriage in late August. Representatives from UNICEF, Women for Afghan Women, Afghan Education Production Organisation, and Skateistan (an NGO combining skateboarding with promoting education) shared their efforts to end child marriage, followed by a discussion on the role of Islam and efficacy of laws.
Extrajudicial killings by security forces continue to occur in Afghanistan and remain a serious concern for the UK. In August and September, media reports emerged that senior members of the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army had admitted to ordering the execution of detainees. The UK called on the government of Afghanistan to investigate these claims as a priority. In addition to its existing capacity-building programmes to improve Afghan human rights compliance and the rule of law, the UK regularly lobbies the Afghan government at all levels on the importance of respecting human rights. It is only through sustained lobbying that the international community will be able to alter attitudes in the long term.
The UK has supported the EU Policing Mission in Afghanistan to deliver the “Female Development Course” for female police officers, which began on 30 August. The course aims to increase the skills and confidence of females and increase promotional opportunities for police women.
The EU and its member states in Kabul released a statement on 1 September to voice their concern at increasing violence against journalists. The statement reiterated the need to have a free, diverse and independent media, and called on the Afghan government to take steps to ensure the safety of journalists. In August, the UK joined the US and UNAMA in condemning the Afghan government’s expulsion of the New York Times reporter, Matt Rosenberg, which is a backward step for press freedom in Afghanistan.
On 4 September, NATO allies, together with International Security Assistance Forces and regional and international partners, met at the summit in Wales to recognise the progress made in Afghanistan, discuss the nature of NATO’s changing relationship with Afghanistan, and reaffirm their commitment to Afghanistan. The Wales Summit Declaration on Afghanistan emphasised the importance of strengthening efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, recognised the need for the protection of children, and welcomed continued work to strengthen the protection of civilians. On 28 September, in Herat City, a British Embassy representative spoke on “Women’s Role in Peace and Security” at the Herat Security Dialogue III regional security conference.
In late September, the Appeal Court upheld the death sentence of five men convicted of robbing and gang raping a group of family members travelling through the Paghman District in Kabul in August. The EU and its member states issued a statement on 7 September strongly condemning this heinous crime and fully supporting the efforts of the Afghan government to protect women’s rights. The UK has joined the EU and other member states in reiterating our opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.
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