Amnesty International has launched a campaign to express their grave concern over the deteriorating situation of human rights defenders in Afghanistan, on Monday.

“Afghan human rights defenders are among the bravest in the world. They have faced threats, intimidation, harassment, violence, and even death for standing up for the rights of others,” the organisation writes in its call for action, adding:
“They have come under attack from different sides in the conflict, both state and non-state actors. When they have turned to the authorities for protection, they have been rebuffed. The attacks against them have not been effectively investigated, and suspected perpetrators have not been brought to justice.”
Against the backdrop of escalating violence, Amnesty cited the case of Fatima Khalil and Ahmad Jawed, employees of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), who were killed in a targeted bombing in Kabul in June.
Despite guarantees in the Afghanistan Constitution, and the ratification of several key UN treaties on human rights, rights activists in the country are “not afforded adequate protection” Amnesty said.
“Unfortunately, when an incident occurs, there have been few options for legal recourse with a weak judiciary and a failure by the authorities to carry out effective investigations to bring suspected perpetrators to justice.”
In close collaboration with 32 human rights organizations, Amnesty had presented the “Afghanistan Human Rights Defenders Protection Strategy” in January 2020 to Second Vice President Sarwar Danesh.
Amnesty asked the government to establish an independent and effective “protection mechanism” for human rights defenders to respond “promptly, thoroughly, impartially, transparently and effectively” to investigate the threat and attack against them.