Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization Afghanistan Rights Monitor Monitoring Cycle 6: November 2017 – February 2018 May 2018 Project Report 1 2 Acknowledgments This is the fifth monitoring report of Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM). This report was made possible through funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands. About Afghanistan Rights Monitor Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) is designed to meet the following objeCtives: 1. Regular monitoring of the Current Conditions of fundamental rights in Afghanistan using a set of indicators based on internationally recognized standards for monitoring Civic, Social and EconomiC rights. 2. Informed, pragmatic, and construCtive advoCaCy messaging on fundamental rights needs, based on empiriCal data, and delivered by Civil society aCtors. 3. InCreased capaCity and responsiveness of public institutions in attending to fundamental rights needs of Afghan Citizens. For more information on ARM, see: www.naC-pp.net About APPRO Afghanistan PubliC PoliCy ResearCh Organization (APPRO) is an independent social researCh organization with a mandate to promote soCial and poliCy learning to benefit development and reConstruCtion efforts in Afghanistan and other less developed Countries through ConduCting soCial scientific research and monitoring, evaluations, and training and mentoring. APPRO is registered with the Ministry of EConomy in Afghanistan as a non-profit non-government organization and headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan with offiCes in Mazar-e Sharif (north), Herat (west), Kandahar (south), Jalalabad (east), and Bamyan (center). APPRO is the founding member of APPRO-Europe, registered in Belgium. APPRO is the founding organization member of APPRO-Europe, an association sans but lucratif (ASBL), registered in Belgium. APPRO also aCts as the SeCretariat for the National AdvocaCy Committee for PubliC PoliCe (NAC-PP). For more information on APPRO, see: www.appro.org.af. For more information on APPRO-Europe, see: www.appro-europe.net. For more information on NAC-PP, see: www.naC-pp.net. ContaCt: [email protected] About the Researchers The researChers who worked on this report were (in alphabetiCal order): Rahmatullah Aloko, Fareba Auob, Enayat Bashardost, Shekiba Broumand, Samad Ebrahimi, Atefa Ghafori, Ehsanullah Khalili, Fatima Khavari, Razia Haidari, Hamed Nadir, Abidullah Nikzad, Saeed Parto, Bashir Quraishi, Mohammad Anwar Rahimi, Alamuddim Rizwan, Ehsan Saadat, Zarghona Saify, Lema Sakhizai, and Nazanin Sayed. Saeed Parto, Sarah Pugh and Ehsan Saadat authored this report. APPRO takes full responsibility for all omissions and errors. © 2018. Afghanistan Public Policy ResearCh Organization. Some rights reserved. This publication may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted only for non-commercial purposes and with written Credit to APPRO and links to APPRO’s website at www.appro.org.af. Any other use of this publiCation requires prior written permission, whiCh may be obtained by writing to: [email protected] 3 List of Abbreviations AIHRC Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission AGO Attorney General’s OffiCe ALP Afghan Local PoliCe ANP Afghan National PoliCe ANSF Afghan National SeCurity ForCes AOG Armed Opposition Group APPRO Afghanistan PubliC PoliCy ResearCh Organization ARM Afghanistan Rights Monitor AWDP Afghanistan WorkforCe Development Program BHC BasiC Health Center DOWA DireCtorate of Women’s Affairs EVAW Elimination of ViolenCe Against Women FRU Family Response Unit IDP Internally DisplaCed Person UNAMA United Nations AssistanCe Mission in Afghanistan UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s EmergenCy Fund UNESCO United Nations EduCational, SCientifiC and Cultural Organization VAW ViolenCe against women 4 Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 6 Objective, Methodology and Scope ................................................................................... 6 Findings from Qualitative Data .......................................................................................... 9 Balkh .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Bamyan .................................................................................................................................... 13 Daikundi ................................................................................................................................... 17 Herat ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Kabul ........................................................................................................................................ 25 Kandahar .................................................................................................................................. 29 Khost ........................................................................................................................................ 33 Kunduz ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Nangarhar ................................................................................................................................ 41 Nimruz ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Survey Findings ............................................................................................................... 49 Civic Rights ............................................................................................................................... 49 Social Rights ............................................................................................................................. 52 Economic Rights ....................................................................................................................... 56 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 57 Civic Rights ............................................................................................................................... 57 Economic Rights ....................................................................................................................... 58 Gender Relations, Corruption ................................................................................................... 58 Appendix 1: Monitoring Indicators .................................................................................. 59 Appendix 2: List and Definition of Codes ......................................................................... 61 5 Introduction There were no major Changes in the security in Afghanistan in the last quarter of 2017 despite an reduCtion in Civilian Casualties compared to 2016. The situation remains generally unCertain with ongoing sporadiC violence in Confrontations between Armed Opposition Groups (AOGs) and national security forces. There are high levels of Casualties and deaths among women and Children. By the end of 2017, 3,438 Civilians had been killed and 7,015 injured.1 One signifiCant deterioration in security in the last quarter of 2017 was concerted attacks on shia places of warship and religious leaders or elders who voiced opposition to AOGs and civilians working for the government. The violenCe and its different manifestations has a direCt impaCt on the fundamental rights of ordinary Citizens including the loss of men as the main or only breadwinners in almost all households, resulting financial hardship forCing early marriages for girls and child labor in dangerous ocCupation for boys.2 This report summarizes the findings from the sixth round of monitoring the impacts of ConfliCt on fundamental rights from November 2017 to February 2018. Objective, Methodology and Scope The objeCtive for this and the previous monitoring reports is to assess Changes in fundamental rights conditions across ten target provinces three times per year. Fundamental rights are grouped under civic, social, and economic rights.3 A baseline assessment was Concluded in DeCember 2015 to establish the basis against whiCh to monitor Changes, followed by monitoring during January-April 2016, May-July 2016, August-November 2016, MarCh-June 2017, and July-October 2017. The period covered under this round of monitoring (CyCle 6) is November 2017-February 2018. The Composite indiCators used for monitoring are based on international rights monitoring standards were tested during the baseline assessment in late 2015, and refined for subsequent monitoring rounds. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the Composite indiCators. Twenty-nine distriCts in ten provinces were seleCted for fundamental rights monitoring (Table 2). The provinCes are Balkh, Bamyan, Daikundi, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz, Nangarhar, and Nimruz. The seleCtion of target provinCes was based on geographiCal representation and heterogeneity of socioeConomiC Conditions, Civil society engagement, the seCurity situation, and the foCus of rights-based programming. 1 UNAMA (2018), Press Release on February 15, 2018, available from: https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/15_february_2018_- _afghanistan_civilian_casualties_in_2017_-_un_report_english.pdf