2013 Human Rights and Democracy Report - Afghanistan

We welcome the Afghan government's engagement in international human rights processes in 2013, including its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) national report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). While Afghanistan is a party to most international human rights treaties, and its constitution and legislation include provisions for the protection of human rights, implementation continues to be weak. The impact of decades of conflict has been a significant obstacle to progress. Building the capacity necessary to deliver the effective governance and security essential to protecting human rights is a long-term endeavour for the Afghan government. Divisions continue in Afghanistan's deeply conservative society over issues such as women's rights, minority rights, religious freedom and freedom of expression. Progress on many of these issues is likely to be slow and connected to progress in other areas, such as education, healthcare and the economy. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, visited Kabul in September. She recognised the progress made, but expressed concern that momentum on improvement in human rights may be waning.

During 2013, we built on the human rights commitments made by the Afghan government and the international community in the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF), agreed at the 2012 Tokyo Conference on Development. In July, senior officials from the Afghan government and international community met in Kabul to discuss progress against the TMAF. Although some positive developments had been made, participants agreed that the Afghan government needed to do more to deliver their commitments, including on the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law. This issue will be discussed at a senior-level TMAF meeting in January 2014. The UK will also co-chair the first ministerial review of progress against the TMAF, which will take place three to six months after the formation of a new Afghan government, and will have a key role in ensuring the commitments made are met.

The Senior Minister of State, Baroness Warsi, co-chaired with Mr Ershad Ahmadi, Afghan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Joint Commission to review implementation of the UK-Afghanistan Enduring Strategic Partnership in November. Ministers reaffirmed both countries' commitment to upholding the historic gains made since 2001, including human rights, education and health. We also contributed another £500,000 to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) to support its work on human rights and the protection of human rights defenders.

2014 will be an important year for consolidating progress on human rights. In April, Afghanistan will elect a new president. We will work with the new government to ensure that human rights are an integral part of its policies. We welcome Afghanistan's endorsement of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, launched by the Foreign Secretary at the UN in September. We will work with them to identify how they can implement these commitments. We will also work to ensure that human rights remain a priority for the EU's work in Afghanistan post-2014, and that the UN mandate continues to have a strong human rights focus. We plan to raise a number of human rights issues, including recommendations on honour killings and treatment of detainees, through Afghanistan's UPR in January 2014. We hope for a positive response to our recommendations when Afghanistan reports to the UNHRC later in 2014. We will support them in taking these recommendations forward.

Elections

The UK is committed to supporting the Afghan government in developing strong, open and accountable democratic institutions. We welcome the Afghan government's continued commitment to holding credible, inclusive and transparent elections in April 2014, as demonstrated in the progress made in 2013 in the technical preparations for the elections.

Major electoral reforms were passed in July. Although these laws included a reduction in the quota of seats reserved for women in provincial councils from 25% to 20%, these laws were the first such to be debated and passed by parliament, rather than by presidential decree. They mark an important step forward in the country's democratic development.

Commissioners were appointed to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC), both of which have positions reserved for women. The IECC is now a permanent body, which should ensure that expertise in handling electoral complaints is not lost. The UK has pledged £20 million in assistance to the UN Development Programme's capacity-building programme, supporting the work of the IEC and the IECC through the delivery of this electoral cycle.

We provide funding to the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan and support their plans for observing this year's elections. Women's political participation was a UK priority in 2013, with the Department for International Development (DFID) committing £4.5 million up to 2015 to support training for female provincial council and parliamentary candidates and community-level discussions on women's political rights. An additional £2.5 million over five years will provide training and skills development for women successfully elected to provincial councils in 2014.

Freedom of expression and assembly

In October, parliament's lower house approved amendments to the mass media law, including a new Media Complaints Commission under the chairmanship of the Minister for Information and Culture. Civil society and media organisations expressed concern about its possible impact on the media's independence. In November, parliament's upper house rejected these proposals. A joint commission has been set up to identify a compromise text which both houses can agree.

Although the principles of free speech and free media are enshrined in the Afghan constitution and legislation, journalists continue to face violence and restrictions. We will raise our concerns during Afghanistan's UPR. A Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) project works to increase the capacity of the Afghan Journalists' Safety Committee to monitor and campaign for journalists and media workers to be able to operate in a safer environment. We will work with international partners and Afghan organisations to monitor any developments.

Human rights defenders

In 2013, Afghan civil society increasingly worked to protect hard-won human rights gains, despite operating under extremely challenging and often dangerous circumstances. We were concerned about increased attacks in 2013, particularly directed at high-profile females. In response to threats, the Afghan government announced they have assigned police protection officers to all provincial offices of the Ministry of Women's Affairs. In addition to the UN having a protection mandate, support to human rights defenders is a specific commitment in the EU's Afghanistan human rights strategy. We work closely with the AIHRC, EU, UN and other international and national organisations to monitor threats. We will raise the importance of the Afghan government establishing a protection mechanism for human rights defenders during Afghanistan's UPR, and will continue to raise our concerns with the Afghan government, as necessary.

We worked to strengthen Afghan civil society's advocacy skills, including through the multi-donor DFID-funded Tawanmandi programme. In July, we delivered a two-week course on interview techniques and crime scene analysis to AIHRC's monitoring and investigation staff. In November, the AIHRC was reviewed under the "Paris Principles" standards for national human rights institutions. Issues highlighted included limited consultation and transparency during the President's appointment of new commissioners in 2013, gender imbalance of AIHRC staff, and insufficient state funding to the AIHRC. The AIHRC risks being downgraded from "A" to "B" status, which could affect some donor funding. The official decision has been deferred until late 2014. We encourage the AIHRC and the Afghan government to take all necessary steps to address these concerns.

Access to justice and the rule of law

Despite some improvements, access to justice and accountability in the justice system remains a problem, with allegations of corruption rife. The Afghan government has committed to justice sector reform, protecting human rights and promoting the rights of women. We work extensively to hold them to their commitments. The formal justice system should be the place for dealing with the most serious crimes, but we also work with the community-based justice structures to make them more accountable: strengthening links to the formal justice system, providing legal education, and developing civil groups to provide better monitoring and oversight. We support legal and institutional reform and invest in training, including on human rights, for personnel involved in the criminal justice system, including detention, investigation, prosecution and judicial issues.

An important element of our support to the Afghan prisons sector is the promotion of international standards of treatment for all detained individuals. In addition to monitoring visits and mentoring and training of Afghan prison personnel, we funded the construction of a female detention facility, attached to the UK-funded Helmand Provincial Prison. Opened in December, it conforms to international standards, and provides vocational training to female prisoners.

In line with the Afghan National Police (ANP) Strategy, the Afghan government and the international community work to promote human rights, including women's rights. The Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) has stated an ambitious goal of recruiting 10,000 female police officers in the Afghan National Police. Violence towards police women is a particular concern. To help address this, the former Kabul City Police Commander, now current Deputy Minister for Security, issued a Gender Standards Decree to all Kabul police units for full implementation in July. The EU Policing Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) is monitoring its delivery and impact. Through EUPOL, we work with the MoI to improve working conditions for police women. We welcome the Minister of Interior's plans to fast-track the recruitment of female police officers. DFID's future support to the MoI will focus more strongly on helping the MoI to improve policies and procedures that promote the protection of and career opportunities for female police officers. DFID's support will also increase the capability of the ministry to increase awareness of, and enforce, the EVAW law. EUPOL also supports the ANP's Family Response Units (FRUs) which respond to domestic crime and run a helpline for female police officers. EUPOL's work to build the Afghan FRUs' capacity included organising a four-day study visit for Afghan counterparts to Turkey's domestic violence units in September. Human rights are incorporated into EUPOL training of all police recruits at the Police Staff College.

Death penalty

We were deeply concerned about the execution of two individuals in May. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. We will press for abolition of the death penalty during Afghanistan's UPR. We will continue to urge the Afghan government to introduce a moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a first step towards abolition of capital punishment.

Torture

The UK takes allegations of mistreatment of detainees very seriously. We will not transfer detainees to the Afghan authorities where we judge there is a real risk, at the point of transfer, of serious mistreatment or torture. Since the suspension of transfers of UK captured detainees in April 2012, the UK worked with the Afghan authorities to identify a safe and effective route to transfer UK-captured detainees into the Afghan judicial system. In June, we began transfers to the US-mentored Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan, where the standards of treatment are high. The detention facility is operated and controlled by the Afghans, with the US providing logistical support.

The UK continued to monitor the treatment of all UK-captured detainees transferred to Afghan custody. With the individual's consent, allegations of abuse and mistreatment are taken up with senior Afghan authorities and reported to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and the AIHRC make regular visits to Afghan detention facilities. We continue to work closely with these organisations and review our own arrangements in response to their assessments.

We funded HM Prison Service staff seconded to the embassy and the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Helmand, who worked closely with the National Directorate of Security and others, both in Kabul and Helmand. The UK provided training for the Afghan authorities involved in detention related activity, including on human rights. Through the embassy and the PRT in Lashkar Gah, we provided mentoring support to the senior leadership of Afghan authorities involved in detention activity. We support legal and institutional reform and invest in training, including on human rights, for personnel involved in the criminal judicial system. We will continue to support the Afghan government's efforts to tackle mistreatment and abuse and implement processes that reduce the likelihood of detainee abuse.

Conflict and protection of civilians

UNAMA's report in July on civilian casualties recorded 1,319 non-combatant deaths in the first six months of 2013, an increase from 1,145 during the same period in 2012. Insurgents were responsible for 74% of the killings. UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2120, adopted on 10 October, strongly condemned all indiscriminate targeting of civilians. UNSCR 2120 also expressed serious concern about the high number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, in particular casualties among women and children, the majority of which are caused by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other violent extremist groups. Members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) take stringent measures to ensure the protection of civilians and to counter the threat posed by the insurgency. ISAF will continue to work with the Afghan government to ensure the most effective measures possible are in place to protect civilians.

Freedom of religion or belief

Despite respect for freedom of worship being enshrined in Article 2 of the Afghan constitution, religious minorities face violence and discrimination. In November, we worked with our international partners to protect language on freedom of religion or belief in the UN General Assembly resolution on Afghanistan. We will raise the need to address discrimination and violence towards religious minorities through Afghanistan's UPR. We ran a successful English course for mullahs through the British Council to broaden their understanding of other religions and cultures, and how they are compatible with Islam.

Women's rights

Although the Afghan government continues to reiterate its national and international commitments to protect and promote women's rights, this is not always followed up by concrete action. Afghan women continue to face significant challenges, and hard-won gains remain fragile. In 2013, some conservative elements, including in parliament, attempted to roll back progress made on women's rights; there was a strong negative response when parliament considered draft provisions to strengthen the EVAW law in July. We have made it clear to the Afghan government that more needs to be done to protect progress. UK ministers used every opportunity to raise women's rights. Baroness Warsi discussed this issue with the Afghan authorities during her visits in March and November. During her meeting with President Karzai in November, the Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, sought assurances that gains on women's rights would be defended. We will also raise our concerns regarding violence against women and forced marriage through the UPR. It is important that legislation, such as the EVAW law, is fully implemented, and that the Afghan government demonstrates a strong political commitment, both at national and provincial level, to ensure that key actions, such as the recommendations made in July by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, are fully implemented.

Men and women have equal rights under the Afghan constitution, but deeply conservative social attitudes remain a serious barrier to the realisation of these rights. In addition, limited awareness of women's rights, particularly in rural areas, is compounded by the high illiteracy rates amongst women and girls. To help address this, DFID is providing £47 million through the global Girls' Education Challenge to support access to education for more than 250,000 girls living in the poorest rural areas. Women's access to healthcare and other services is also variable. In November, a UN report on the implementation of the EVAW law identified that impunity of perpetrators is a significant problem for Afghan women. Access to legal representation remains an issue, and prosecutions and convictions are low. Many cases, including domestic violence, are being resolved through community-based justice systems such as family mediation. DFID's new £3 million programme will work to strengthen women's access to justice in up to six provinces, including training formal and community-based justice sector actors on the EVAW law, and outreach work and support to male religious leaders, educators and Afghan women working to raise awareness of women's issues.

According to the UN, violence against women is endemic in Afghanistan. An FCO Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund project works to address the psychological needs of victims of sexual harassment and violence, and support state institutions to improve their response to victims and raise awareness of the threats Afghan women face. Also, from 2013, up to £2 million from the Tawanmandi programme will provide grants to Afghan organisations working primarily to eliminate violence against women and girls, building on its long-term support to Afghan civil society organisations focusing on human rights.

In December, the British Embassy hosted a workshop with Afghan civil society and the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss objectives for the country action plan under UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security, to be published in 2014. Recommendations made will help ensure we continue to reflect the views and needs of Afghan women.

Minority rights

Article 22 of the Afghan constitution makes clear provision for the equal rights of all Afghan citizens, but some minorities continue to face discrimination. We raised our concerns with the Afghan government through the UPR. Tensions continue between the Hazaras and nomadic Kuchis over the annual migration through the Hazarajat area. We continue to encourage dialogue between these groups to resolve this ongoing dispute.

Children's rights

The UN welcomed the Afghan government's progress on delivery of the action plan against the recruitment and use of child soldiers, signed in 2011, but emphasised the need for continued effort, particularly in the police. In August, the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) visited Kabul to support the Afghan government's efforts to implement the action plan, including the development of a roadmap to compliance.

According to the AIHRC, there is some improvement in the situation for Afghan children, including increased access to education and health. The UK supports children's education and basic healthcare through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. Children continue to face many issues such as violence, exploitation, sexual abuse, child labour and early marriage. We will raise our concerns at Afghanistan's UPR, and will continue to support the work of the AIHRC and the UN on children's rights.