Source description last updated: 30 May 2023

In brief: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is a national human rights institution in Afghanistan. It works to promote, protect and monitor human rights and investigates human rights abuses.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Reports, statements

Covered monthly on ecoi.net, for Afghanistan.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is “a national human rights institution working in the area of protection and promotion of human rights. This Institution was established based on the [2001] Bonn Agreement and Presidential Decree and afterwards, pursuant to Article 58 of the Afghan Constitution […]. […]

Article 21 of the [Afghan] Law on Structure, Duties and Mandate of the AIHRC has defined the AIHRC’s duties and mandates […]. Part of the AIHRC’s duties […] are as follows:

1. Monitoring the human rights situation;

2. Monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Constitution, other laws, bills and regulations, and Afghanistan’s commitment to human rights standards;

3. Monitoring the performance of those administrative systems, legal and judicial institutions, and national and international, profitable and non-profitable organizations in the country that affect human rights.

4. Monitoring the performance of state authorities and Non- Governmental organizations concerning the fair and accessible distribution of services and welfare.

5. Monitoring the situation of citizens’ access to their human rights and freedoms;

6. Visiting detention centers to monitor the implementation laws on the treatment of prisoners;

7. Investigation of cases of human rights violations;

8. Collecting documents, evidence and testimonies of witnesses on cases of human rights violations;” (AIHRC website: A brief introduction of AIHRC and its programs and activities, undated)

Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the AIHRC lost its ability to operate on the ground (OHCHR: Comment by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the dissolution of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, 19 May 2022) as its offices were closed and its programmes suspended. Contracts with staff members could no longer be renewed (AIHRC: A message from The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) To: The venerable people of Afghanistan, 21 May 2022). In May 2022, the AIHRC was dissolved by the Taliban de-facto government (Reuters: Taliban dissolve Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, other key bodies, 16 May 2022; OHCHR: Comment by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the dissolution of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission, 19 May 2022). However, the AIHRC declared that “[t]he decisions of a government, which lacks national legitimacy and international recognition and is not based on the people’s will, cannot lead to the elimination of the AIHRC”. The AIHRC thus vowed to continue its work in collaboration with national and international institutions (AIHRC: The AIHRC Position regarding the dissolution of the commission by the Taliban, 26 May 2022).

Since August 2021, the AIHRC has published a number of statements on human rights issues in Afghanistan (see, for example, AIHRC: Statement of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission Regarding the Taliban Supreme Courts decision to punish the Afghan citizens without observing the principles of a fair trial, 6 May 2023; AIHRC: Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) statement on closure of girls’ schools and arrests of protesting students, 27 March 2023). In August 2022, it released a report on the human rights situation during the one-year period since the Taliban takeover. The AIHRC emphasized that it could not claim that the report was complete or comprehensive “since we know that dozens of continuing human rights violations have been left out owing to a lack of [human rights monitoring] facilities.” (AIHRC: Analysis and Assessment of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Situation Following Taliban’s Retake of Afghanistan (from August 15, 2021 to August 15, 2022), 15 August 2022, p. 1)

Funding:

For the period from March 2019 to March 2020, the AIHRC received funds amounting to USD 4,694,126 in total. Sources of funding included the Government of Afghanistan and donors such as the governments of Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Open Society Afghanistan (OSA), and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) (AIHRC: Annual Report 2020 (Fiscal year 1399), 4 February 2020, pp. 36, 39). Following the August 2021 takeover by the Taliban, the AIHRC lost its sources of funding as governments that had previously supported the Commission “blocked their supportive corridors to Afghanistan” (AIHRC: A message from The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) To: The venerable people of Afghanistan, 21 May 2022).

Scope of reporting:

Geographic scope: Afghanistan

Thematic scope: human rights; civilian casualties in armed conflict; situation of vulnerable groups (women, children, persons with disabilities); access to healthcare and education; elections

Methodology:

AIHRC statements and reports currently do not disclose their sources and research methods (see, for example, AIHRC: Analysis and Assessment of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Situation Following Taliban’s Retake of Afghanistan (from August 15, 2021 to August 15, 2022), 15 August 2022, p. 1; AIHRC: Statement of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission Regarding the Taliban Supreme Courts decision to punish the Afghan citizens without observing the principles of a fair trial, 6 May 2023). In its August 2022 report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the AIHRC explained that “[w]e cannot disclose the sources of information or methods of gathering information used in this report due to security concerns”. However, the AIHRC emphasized that it remained “committed to publishing accurate and documented reports with a wholly nonpolitical approach”. (AIHRC: Analysis and Assessment of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Situation Following Taliban’s Retake of Afghanistan (from August 15, 2021 to August 15, 2022), 15 August 2022, p. 1)

AIHRC reports published prior to the August 2021 Taliban takeover were based on human rights monitoring through reviews of existing literature and field research (see, for example, AIHRC: Report Summary: Access to Health and Education Rights in Afghanistan, 11 May 2020). Information could be gathered on the ground by means of questionnaires (for quantitative analysis) (see, for example, AIHRC: A Report on  Human Rights Status of People with Disabilities in Afghanistan Year 1399 (2020), 28 March 2021, p. 6) or individual interviews with informants such as eyewitnesses, families of victims, and displaced persons (see, for example, AIHRC: Deliberate & Unlawful Killing of Civilians by the Taliban in Malistan District of Ghazni Province, 7 August 2021, p. 1).

Languages of publication:

English, Dari and Pashto

Further reading / links:

Decree on the establishment of the AIHRC: https://www.aihrc.org.af/media/files/Laws/decree.pdf

Law on the Structure, Duties and Mandate of the AIHRC: https://www.aihrc.org.af/media/files/Laws/Law_AIHRC.pdf

Methodological note:

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All links accessed 30 May 2023.