Afghanistan - Country of Concern update: 31 March 2014
Updated 16 October 2014
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The human rights situation in Afghanistan over the first three months of 2014 remains largely unchanged from the previous quarter.
Afghanistan undertook its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in January. Full documentation is available on the UN website. The UK submitted advance questions and made a statement. We raised concerns regarding the safety of human rights defenders, freedom of religion or belief, minority rights, the death penalty and women’s access to justice. In our statement we urged the Afghan government to protect freedom of expression and address violence against women and children. We also highlighted our concern regarding the treatment of detainees by the Afghan National Security Forces. The UK recommended that Afghanistan repeal article 398 of the penal code, which gives perpetrators of honour killings legal concessions, and ensure that the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission is given the independence and legal authority to hold to account perpetrators of detainee mistreatment.
On 21 January, the Afghan parliament approved revisions to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). This included contradictory articles 26 and 27 over the rights of relatives to testify in cases involving family members. Not allowing them to do so would make the prosecution of certain crimes such as domestic violence and child abuse extremely difficult. The UK raised our concerns with the Afghan government at the highest level. On 23 February, President Karzai signed the CPC bill, but issued a decree amending article 26. This made it clear that relatives could refrain from testifying, but could not be legally prevented from doing so. The decree has been passed to the lower house of parliament for approval. Parliament has until mid-April to reject the decree otherwise it will become law by default.
Security preparations continue for the presidential and provincial council elections. The election campaigns opened on 2 February for the presidential race, and on 2 March for the provincial elections. There are currently eight candidates for president. The elections will take place on 5 April.
On 20 January, the EU Foreign Affairs Council discussed the situation in Afghanistan. The Foreign Secretary used this opportunity to reiterate the importance of human rights as part of the EU’s focus. The council agreed conclusions calling for urgent action to improve the full implementation of the statutory measures relating to women’s rights.
On 17 March, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan for 12 months under UN Security Council Resolution 2145 (2104). The mandate includes a renewed focus on human rights.
A special meeting of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board was held in Kabul on 29 January. The meeting reaffirmed the commitments of both the Afghan government and the international community under the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework. Participants agreed to continue to build upon the gains made, including addressing human rights issues, especially for women and girls.
In March, the Department for International Development announced that the UK and Australia would jointly support efforts to increase access to justice for women affected by violence in Afghanistan. The UK will contribute £3 million, complementing Australia’s commitment of AUD 4 million, to implement the Strengthened Access to Justice for Women Affected by Violence in Afghanistan program. The program aims to help women in 12 provinces across Afghanistan through: training of formal and community-based justice sector actors on the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) Law, women’s rights within Islam and addressing violence; building the capacity of key formal and community justice mechanisms including Elimination of Violence against Women Committees, special Violence Against Women Units in the Attorney General’s offices, Family Resolution Centres and police Family Response Units; and awareness activities targeting men (traditional and religious leaders), educators and women.
The British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Richard Stagg, expressed solidarity with Afghan journalists at an event hosted by the Embassy in Kabul on 9 February. Journalists in Afghanistan work under extremely difficult circumstances and routinely face violence, threats and intimidation. The British Ambassador highlighted the professionalism, dedication and resolve of journalists and stressed the importance of upholding freedom of the press and media.
The UN reported a 14% rise in the number of civilians killed or injured in 2013. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict report, published on 8 February, considered armed opposition groups were responsible for 74% of casualties, and Afghan and international forces for 11%, in 2013. 10% of casualties resulted from engagements between pro- and anti-government forces, while the remaining 5% were unattributed. Civilian deaths were fewer than the peak year of 2011; however, combined deaths and injuries (8,615 persons) have been the highest since UNAMA started publishing such records in 2009. Every death in conflict is a tragedy, and the International Security and Assistance Forces and UK forces have strict operating procedures to minimise the risk of casualties occurring, and to investigate any incidents that do happen. The latest UNAMA report shows, however, that the vast majority of civilian casualties are caused by the insurgency.
Under Presidential Decree 145, issued on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March, 26 female inmates from Central Badam-Bagh Female Detention Centre in Kabul were released and approximately 100 female inmates had their sentences reduced. This included inmates sentenced for moral crimes.