Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization
Who are human rights defenders in Afghanistan
Civil society had flourished in Afghanistan after the ousting of the first Taliban regime in 2001. The next two decades saw the emergence of a dynamic civic space; human rights groups and civil society organisations thrived and a vibrant media scene developed. A National human rights commission (the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)) was established, and a strong women’s movement became a key voice advocating for gender equality and protecting women’s human rights.
Human rights defenders set up schools to educate girls, worked in clinics to treat women victims of rape and other forms of physical violence, and operated shelters to protect women and girls who have suffered domestic violence. Others stood up as politicians to promote gender equality and women’s rights and spoke out publicly against violence against women and girls. Other human rights defenders have been investigating and exposing alleged war crimes committed during the decades of war in Afghanistan and speak out against powerful actors, demanding justice for ordinary Afghans and an end to impunity.
Due to these activities human rights defenders face serious risks. However, these risks have increased exponentially since the Taliban’s armed takeover of the capital Kabul on 15 August 2021. After 20 years of human rights advancement, many Afghans found their fundamental rights and freedoms disappear overnight. The Taliban de-facto authorities moved quickly to close any space for dissent. They have launched a campaign to persecute and silence critical voices, particularly women, who have continued to publicly voice concerns and protest against their rights being taken away by the new regime. The AIHRC has not been able to function since the Taliban takeover, while many human rights defenders have fled the country or are in hiding because of fears they will face retribution from the de facto authorities for their human rights work over the last 20 years.
General environment in which human rights defenders work in Afghanistan
The situation for human rights defenders has fundamentally changed since the Taliban takeover. Members of civil society previously worked within a legal framework that at least on paper guaranteed freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and a broad range of protections (albeit imperfect and often lacking implementation). The various protection mechanisms that civil society had painstakingly lobbied for, the legal system and the constitution that underpinned it are now in effect suspended, and the Taliban is once again ruling according to its own strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. Despite the fact that Taliban negotiators paid lip service to human rights and women’s rights during so-called peace talks, Taliban officials inside Afghanistan have made it clear through their actions that they reject many fundamental human rights and that people who transgress the group’s new red lines will be punished.
Risks to human rights defenders in Afghanistan
Taliban have often justified persecution and attacks against human rights defenders and civil society activists, accusing them of promoting pro-Western and anti-Islamic values. Since the Taliban takeover of the country, there have been killings, arrests and disappearances of human rights and civil society activists.
The impact on civil society and the once strong movement of women’s groups – which was built over the past 20 years, and was the main catalyst for advancing of human rights and women’s rights protection in Afghanistan – has been devastating. Many HRDs and CSAs have had to leave the country due to fear of reprisals, while others are in hiding; many activists had to burn certificates and other documents that would expose their involvement in rights activism.
HRDs are not only experiencing the collapse of the state framework and legal protection mechanisms within which they operated, but are also at direct threat of retaliatory actions for their work over the past two decades. Members of civil society and the legal profession face threats not just from the Taliban de facto authorities, but also from hundreds of extremists who the Taliban released from detention centers.
Between the Taliban takeover and the end of December 2021 SRMO documented 12-targeted killings of HRDs, CSAs and journalists. The killings included 6 civil society activists, 4 women human rights defenders and 2 media workers. Many HRDs and CSAs with a public profile have received threatening phone calls and report that the Taliban have visited their villages, homes and/or former workplaces looking for them. The exact circumstances of and motives of these searches remain unclear but the pattern of searches and threats had forced many activists to go into hiding, moving location regularly and attempting to find ways to seek asylum outside Afghanistan.
Why we need to protect human rights defenders in Afghanistan
Many of the rights that Afghans have enjoyed over the last 20 years have been achieved as a result of the advocacy of human rights defenders and civil society groups. These groups play a key role holding governments to account and lobbying for the interests of ordinary people. Human rights defenders work not just for one particular interest group but for all Afghans, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic status.
During ‘peace’ negotiations that took place prior to the armed Taliban takeover, the group claimed that it had changed and would govern in a more inclusive and less oppressive manner. The Taliban failed to keep these pledges.
Human rights defenders must be allowed to continue their crucial work. Attacks on activists must stop, as must acts of intimidation intended to scare them into silence.