Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Afghanistan: A Core Priority for UNAMA

Kokcha News Agency: UNAMA’s Human Rights Service, which also represents the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is mandated by the UN Security Council, particularly Resolution 2678 (2023), to monitor, report, and advocate for human rights in Afghanistan.

The Mission’s strategy involves on-the-ground research, documentation, and engagement with key stakeholders, including Afghan authorities, to address human rights violations and promote accountability.

UNAMA’s human rights work focuses on several critical areas:

Protection of Civilians:
UNAMA independently monitors and documents harm caused to civilians during armed conflict and advocates for their protection at all times.

Right to Life, Liberty & Physical Integrity:
The Mission documents violations of international human rights law, including arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.

Women’s Rights and Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls:
UNAMA monitors and reports on women’s rights, focusing on gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and girls, in coordination with other UN agencies.

Detainees’ Rights:
UNAMA engages with detention authorities to improve conditions, prevent torture, and promote the rights of detainees, including procedural safeguards.

Fundamental Freedoms:
The Mission monitors freedoms of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly, and association, as well as media freedom. It advocates for an independent national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles.

Children and Armed Conflict:
UNAMA monitors grave violations of children’s rights and supports the UN-led Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting to promote accountability and protection for children affected by war.

UNAMA’s work is guided by its mandate and serves as a benchmark for addressing the current security, political, social, and economic challenges in Afghanistan. The Mission also supports Afghanistan’s implementation of international human rights instruments to which it is a party.

Reports on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict:
UNAMA regularly publishes reports on the impact of armed conflict on civilians, including periodic, thematic, and special reports. These reports aim to inform initiatives that reduce harm to civilians and advocate for political solutions to end armed conflict.

Reports on Human Rights in Afghanistan:
UNAMA’s first report since the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover, Human Rights in Afghanistan: 15 August 2021 – 15 June 2022, summarizes findings on civilian protection, extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detentions, women’s rights, fundamental freedoms, and detention conditions. The report includes recommendations for both the de facto authorities and the international community.