Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Afghanistan

The greatest challenge in Afghanistan in 2017 was the continuing conflict.

President Ghani and the Afghan government stated their commitment to improving the human rights situation, but progress remained slow against the difficult security backdrop. The most serious problems were inadequate protection of women's rights, the use of torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, and weak rule of law.

According to a report[18] by the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA), 10,453 civilians were killed or injured as a result of the conflict in 2017. Although 6% fewer than in the same period in 2016, this remained a very serious casualty rate. Anti-government groups, predominantly the Taliban and Daesh, were responsible for the majority of the casualties. The UK continued to support the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, including by advising the Afghan Air Force and security ministries. We also supported efforts by the Afghan government and High Peace Council towards a peace process, including encouraging the development of a coherent and coordinated strategy.

In November, a UNAMA report[19] documented an increase in attacks against places of worship, religious leaders and worshippers. In 2016-17, there were twice as many casualties as a result of such attacks than during the period 2009-15. The then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, issued a statement condemning a Daesh attack on a Shia cultural centre in Kabul on 28 December.

Despite overall progress on women's rights since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, women and girls remained subject to violence and discrimination, and lacked access to basic services.

Female illiteracy rates run high at 71%[20]. However, there was strong commitment to making progress from President Ghani, the First Lady, Rula Ghani, and Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah. In 2017, the UK focused on enhancing girls' education through DFID's Girls EducationChallenge[21], which has helped over 300,000 girls attend primary school; on supporting victims of gender-based violence; and on promoting women's economic empowerment. We encouraged the Afghan government to implement its National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and to improve women's participation in efforts towards peace. Afghanistan remains a focus country in the UK's National Action Plan on WPS.

In a report from UNAMA in April [22], entitled 'Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees in Afghan custody', 39% of detainees interviewed gave credible accounts of having been tortured or ill-treated. Most cases allegedly took place in the custody of the National

Directorate of Security or of the Afghan National Police. The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan expressed serious concern, but acknowledged "the genuine commitment and the efforts of the government to deal with this issue".

The Afghan government announced a series of welcome measures, including lifting Afghanistan's reservation to the Convention Against Torture, signing its Optional Protocol, and establishing a National Preventative Mechanism.

Following a large terrorist attack in Kabul on 31 May, President Ghani ordered the execution of eleven Haqqani and Taliban prisoners. Together with the EU, the UK government expressed strong opposition to the use of the death penalty, and the executions did not take place. However, on 29 November, the Afghan state executed five men within minutes of their conviction for involvement in kidnapping. The UK joined the EU in protesting about these executions to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

The UK welcomed the announcement by the Afghan Independent Election Commission that parliamentary and district elections would take place in 2018. We urged the Afghan government and election management bodies to expend all efforts to deliver credible, transparent and inclusive elections.

The Global Slavery Index[23] estimated that 367,000 people were living in modern slavery in Afghanistan. The most common forms included labour exploitation, sexual exploitation and forced marriage, with young people and migrants at particular risk. The Afghan government made some efforts to tackle the problem. Through the National Crime Agency, the UK supported Afghanistan's capacity to identify and tackle trends in modern slavery. UK funding also supported internally displaced people and would-be migrants.

Afghanistan was ranked 169th of 176 countries cited in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index[24]. President Ghani remained committed to tackling corruption.

The UK played an important role in establishing Afghanistan's Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC), which was launched in October 2016, to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate serious corruption cases. Since then the ACJC has heard around 85 cases and recovered $9m. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, discussed continued UK support for anti-corruption efforts with the Afghan Attorney General, Farid Hamidi, in Kabul in October.

In 2018, we will continue to support the Afghan government's efforts to improve the human rights situation, including in our priority areas of women's rights and girls' education, detention conditions, access to justice and protecting human rights defenders. We will do so bilaterally and with international partners. We look forward to working with Afghanistan as it takes its seat on the UN Human Rights Council from 1 January 2018. We will encourage the

Afghan government to lead by example and fully implement its own human rights commitments.

[18] https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/afghanistan_protection_of_civilians_annual_report_2017_final_6_march.pdf

[19] https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_report_on_attacks_against_places_of_worship_7nov2017_0.pdf

[20] https://www.education-inequalities.org/indicators/literacy_1524#?sort=sex%3AFemale&dimension=sex&group=all&age_ group=literacy_1524&countries=all

[21] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/girls-education-challenge

[22] https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/24_april_2017_-_torture_of_detainees_in_afghanistan_persists_-_un_report_english.pdf

[23] https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/

[24] https://www.transparency.org/country/AFG