Source description last updated: 4 September 2020

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

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 […].

The programs and activities of the AIHRC are carried out by a Central Office in Kabul, eight regional offices and six provincial offices across the country. […]

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)

Funding:

For the period from March 2018 to March 2019, the AIHRC received a total amount of USD 6,163,784.

The AIHRC has received financial contributions from the governments of Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland. Other donors have included SCS-N, Open Society Foundations and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (AIHRC: Annual report 1397, published in 1398 (March 2019–March 2020), pp. 39 and 42)

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 etc.

Methodology:

Reports of the AIHRC may be based on both desk-based study and field research (see, for example, AIHRC: Summary of the Report On The Freedom from Hunger and Poverty, September 2019). Information may be obtained through online questionnaires (see, for example, AIHRC:  Political Rights Monitoring Report Presidential Elections 2019, October 2019, p. 5) or field interviews conducted with persons of concern, as well as interviews and focus group discussions with experts, human rights activists and civil society actors (see, for example, AIHRC: Assessing the Extent of the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Afghanistan, 2019, p. 11). Election reports may be based on monitoring of voters registration, the nomination of candidates, the campaign process, and the situation at polling stations on elections day. The data obtained by the AIHRC through the above-mentioned methods may be analysed qualitatively as wells as by means of statistical methods (AIHRC:  Political Rights Monitoring Report Presidential Elections 2019, October 2019, pp. 5–6). AIHRC reports may include an annex containing a bibliography of public sources and a list of interviewees with reference to their age, gender and province of origin (AIHRC: Assessing the Extent of the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Afghanistan, 2019, pp. 48–54).

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

 

All links accessed 4 September 2020.