CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN

It’s been 21 years of conflict in Afghanistan and it continues to claim large numbers of civilian lives. Attacks by the Taliban and other armed groups calculatingly targeted civilians and civilian objects in violation of international humanitarian law; sites that were attacked included a maternity hospice and educational institutions. There was no accountability for these crimes as impunity persisted. Women and girls continued to face violence, harassment and intimidation. Violence against children persisted. Afghan asylum-seekers continued to be forcibly returned to Afghanistan, particularly from Iran where some had been attacked by the Iranian security forces.

In August 2021, the leader of the Taliban-affiliated Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, met with both Hamid Karzai, the former President of Afghanistan, and Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former Chief Executive, in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of forming a government though it is unclear whether either Karzai or Abdullah will be directly involved in any such government. President Ashraf Ghani, having fled the country during the Taliban advance to either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, emerged in the United Arab Emirates and said that he supported such negotiations and was in talks to return to Afghanistan.

Known as the “Graveyard of empires” the soil of Afghanistan has absorbed plenty of blood, but for how long?

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In February the Afghan-Taliban signed a peace agreement with the USA ahead of a proposed withdrawal of US troops. The accord included a pledge to release up to 5,000 Taliban fighters held in Afghan government prisons from a list initially given to the USA, in exchange for 1,000 members of the Afghan security forces held by the armed group. The Afghan government resisted releasing 400 fighters from the list, who were alleged to be responsible for heinous crimes. The proposed release of certain Taliban fighters also triggered concerns from France and Australia as it included those responsible for killing their soldiers. However, under pressure from the USA they too were released; a few who were accused of killing foreign citizens were subsequently transferred to Qatar. In due course, more than 5,000 Taliban prisoners were released, including prisoners accused of serious crimes.

The US-Taliban peace agreement deferred the question of a political-settlement in Afghanistan to direct talks between representatives of the Afghan government and various mainly political groups on one side, and representatives of the Taliban on the other. The so-called “intra-Afghan talks” began in September in Doha, Qatar. There was little representation of women on the side of the Afghan government and of course no representation of women in the Taliban delegation. There was also no representation of conflict victims, despite the demands of human rights groups. By December, the negotiating teams had only agreed on an internal guiding principle for the negotiation processes.

Despite the peace talks, the armed conflict continued to see civilians injured and killed throughout the year and a rise in the number of people internally displaced. According to data, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2,177 civilians were killed and 3,822 wounded between 1 January and 30 September. Although the figures represented a 30% reduction in civilian casualties compared with the same period in 2019, the number of civilian deaths remained almost the same.

Pro-government forces were responsible for more than a quarter of all deaths and injuries between 1 January and 30 September, with 602 people killed and 1,038 injured.

Children continued to be recruited for combat, particularly by armed groups and the Afghan security forces – pro-government militias and local police – and faced exploitation, including sexual abuse.

Women and girls continued to face gender-based discrimination and violence throughout Afghanistan, especially in areas under Taliban control, where their rights were violated with impunity and violent “punishments” were meted out for perceived transgressions of the armed group’s interpretation of Islamic law.

Violence against women and girls remained chronically under-reported, with women often fearing reprisals and lacking confidence in the authorities if they came forward. According to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), more than 100 cases of murder were reported during the year.

Women’s participation in government remained limited despite some key improvements in the situation of women since 2000. Women’s participation in roles in provincial and local governments remained largely restricted, particularly in the social protection and education sectors. The few women in government faced intimidation, harassment and discrimination. They were not able to access office resources on equitable terms with male colleagues and were often denied overtime work and payment. Women were further denied adequate opportunities in decision-making roles and the attacks they faced while working in government offices were rarely investigated, with impunity persisting for the perpetrators.

Children continued to face harassment and sexual violence. Despite the sexual abuse of children being well-publicized, and the abusive practice of “bacha bazi” (male children being sexually abused by older men) being criminalized in 2018, the authorities made little effort to end impunity and hold perpetrators accountable.

Attacks and target killings against activists, human rights defenders and journalists increased. Human rights defenders continued to come under attack, facing intimidation, violence and killings.

Last year December, the Afghan government established the Joint Commission for protection of human rights defenders and civil society activists in Afghanistan.

What Afghan needs under Taliban regime now is evolution of consciousness.

Will the new set of Taliban leaders bring a positive dynamics to already “in shambles” Afghanistan or will Afghanistan go back to where The U.S left it last year?