1. The Collapse of Afghanistan’s Civic
Space
For over two decades since 2001,
Afghanistan’s civil society organsations
(CSOs) have played important roles in
advocating for human rights, supporting
rule of law, and public sector transparency.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in
mid-2021, however, space for civil rights
have drastically diminished, characterised
by severe restrictions on freedom of
expression, assembly, and association.
Most media outlets have been shut
down, journalists face constant threats,
violence, and detentions, and peaceful
public protests are being crushed with
excessive use of force.13 WHRDs have been,
particularly, targeted for raising their voices
against the Taliban’s strict forced dress
codes (hijab) and bans on their education,
employment, and daily movement outside
their homes.14 The space for CSOs to operate
has effectively contracted, with the law
regulating civic activism being nullified by
the Taliban. HRDs who attempt to exercise
their basic right face intense surveillance
and live in constant fear of retribution by
the Taliban. This oppressive environment
has effectively stifled dissent and civic
engagement, leaving Afghanistan people
with limited avenues to voice their concerns
and advocate for their fundamental rights.
2. Rights to Association and Human
Rights Organisations/NGOs under the
Taliban
The rights to association have been
significantly curtailed, with the Taliban
imposing severe restrictions on nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and
more broadly, on the CSOs. The Taliban
13
CIVICUS, ‘Afghanistan: Detention, Criminalisation, and Torture of Activists Continue as the UN Human Rights Council Reviews its Record’, 23 May, 2024,
https://rb.gy/v5pz9u
Aljazeera, ‘Afghan Women Stage Rare Pro14
tests, Braving Taliban Reprisals’, 8 March, 2024, https://
rb.gy/7ck0bj
has revised the then Republic’s NGOs Law
and finalised an NGO Code of Conduct
known as Layeha, in order to regulate
the activities and legal obligations of
NGOs, with significant implications for
them.15 Based on the Code of Conduct,
each NGO is required to register with the
Ministry of Economy and sign memoranda
of understanding with them before
proceeding with any project. Credible
accounts indicate this move as a “pretext
to coerce NGOs to comply with other
demands, including the Taliban’s use
of aid as patronage. It also includes the
regime’s demands of a pie from aid to
permit project implementation, interfering
in the distribution of aid, pressuring NGOs
to issue contracts to Taliban-affiliated
companies, forcing NGOs to hire Taliban’s
relatives and their favored individuals and
so forth.” 16
In addition to these malicious acts, the
Code of Conduct practically blocks the
registration of NGOs deemed critical or
undesirable by the Taliban.17 Various reports
also demonstrate that NGOs face constant
surveillance from the Taliban’s General
Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), which
frequently accuses NGOs’ representatives
of espionage or other subversive activities.18
It goes without saying, such a climate of
fear and control limits the ability of CSOs
to function freely and independently and
advocate for human rights.
CSOs advocating for human rights and
HRDs have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s
oppressive measures in three years since
mid-2021. Credible findings attest to the
15
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction (SIGAR), ‘Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs U.S. House of Representatives:
Testimony of John F. Sopko Special Inspector General
for Afghanistan Reconstruction’, 14 November, 2023, pp.
12, 13, https://rb.gy/j0idt6
Ibid.
16
17
Freedom House, ‘Afghanistan: Political and
Civil Liberties’, 2023, https://rb.gy/j1gx3a
SIGAR, “Hearing Before the Committee on
18
Foreign Affairs U.S. House of Representatives,” p.14.
11