Author: Sayed Hussain Hussainy

This author has written 1063 articles

Interview with the CSHRN regional coordinators

Written by Frozan Darwish On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10. December 2008, the officer of the CSRHN resource center, Mrs. Frozan Darwish, invited the regional coordinators of CSHRN to a roundtable discussion. The aim of this round table was to discuss together about the human rights situation in the different regions and the activities carried out by CSHRN. Interview with the regional coordinator of the east Following is the part of the interview with the coordinator of the eastern region. Doctor Niamatullah Hamdard, the CSRHN coordinator in the eastern region and a very active personality in the fields of human rights, was one of the participants. Doctor Hamdard has been working since seven years for civil society and since two years he is part of the staff of the network. He has a lot of experience in working with civil society and he enjoyed being involved in the setting up of CSHRN. He is married and lives with his family in the beautiful city of Nangarhar, where he also works. F. Darwish: Doctor Hamdard, you are a respected personality in Nangarhar province. In the recent interview with a local television, however, you criticized the role of the government and you also pointed out the weak position of civil society. Is this correct? Dr. Hamdard: Yes, I had an interview with lamar television in Kabul on the 14. October 2008 and I wanted to transmit the difficulties of the people living in the eastern region, so that it would be heard by the persons working with the government and that the government, who is responsible for the security of the population, would take the necessary measures. Before CSHRN started to work in the eastern region, the population as well…

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The Educational Spring School on International Human Rights Mechanisms

As a member of the international community, Afghanistan has some great responsibilities and commitments in respect with human rights. The UN charter requests its member states to apply human rights values through international human rights conventions. Based on this precious substance, the international law and relations of the governments have been developed. The modern governments have considered the human rights values as their working agenda and apart of their foreign policy. The Afghan government had joined seven international conventions. These conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on economical, Social & Cultural Rights, the International Convention against Torture, the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, International Convention for the Protection of Children's Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the International Convention for the protection of the disabled and handicapped. Based on these conventions the Committees of overseeing the implementation of the international conventions had been established that ask the member states for a systematic report. Afghanistan has experienced various regimes, during the last four decades. During these regimes, as apolitical tool, human rights have been abused and their commitments on accountability and transparency against the international community have not been done. After the collapse of the Taliban regime, opportunities have been provided for more commitments of the Afghan government toward the international human rights mechanisms. Human Rights have been officially recognized as an important component on the national norms by the new constitution of Afghanistan. Human Right and its relevant international conventions changed into a legal resource and the Afghan government was obliged to provide human rights reports. Monitoring the human rights situation is one the crucial procedures for promoting human rights values. Monitoring paves the way for identifying human rights violations…

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CSHRN Statement Regarding the Presidential Election of 2014

In the name of Almighty Allah CSHRN Statement Regarding the Presidential Election of 2014 July 10th , 2013 Kabul-Afghanistan The Civil Society and Human Rights Network of Afghanistan (CSHRN) is deeply concerned over the incomplete frameworks of the elections and lack of necessary preparations for holding democratic and legitimate elections, while considering the sensitive political situation of Afghanistan. Maintaining political stability, continuation of international community's support from Afghanistan, maintaining political stability and achievements of the last decades depends on the presidential elections of 2014. Holding the presidential election successfully will not only guaranty developments of Afghanistan, but it will also, indicates the capacity and will of our country in strengthening and ensuring democracy and civil life to the world. Therefore, a national, democratic and legitimate election is very vital and important. CSHRN emphasizes that the legitimacy of the upcoming elections can be ensured only if held in according with law. Legislative decree or any other measures regarding elections will undermine its legitimacy. Governments' negligence and carelessness toward this critical and vital occurrence and on the other hand, spreading disbeliefs regarding elections by some circles in debates on options such as non-elections for political transition increases our concerns in this regard. While The Civil Society & Human Rights Network of Afghanistan which is consisted of 112 active civil institutions across the country concerned over non-existence of legal frameworks for the elections, considers the slow process of preparations and no reaction of the government particularly, the silence of the President, Hamid Karzai, regarding some substitute ideas and plans for the elections very concerning and worrying issue, therefore, would like the involved parties to pay their attentions to the following points: 1.   Understanding that based on the first paragraph of article 64 th of the Afghan constitution, the president of…

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“I learned in CSRHN not only human rights skills but I also learnt how to exercise them”

Translation of an interview per skype with Azaryuon Matin, the coordinator of the transitional justice program in Afghanistan. By Gul Bashra Ahmad.  Question: You worked for a long time for human rights in Afghanistan. It seems that human rights are a broad phenomena under the blue sky. Before, you used to work for CSHRN, at present you work for an international organization. How do you explain that human rights are a world wide phenomena? Azaryuon Matin: While writing the answers to your questions, I sit in New York in a hotel far from the city centre. Besides me, there are around one hundred colleagues from all around the world, who stay equally in this hotel. They are here for the purpose of education in human rights, but all have different colors, races, languages, religions, and places of origins. Nevertheless, one thing brings all of them together and these are human rights. They came here to learn, and then they go back and implement human rights. This shows the universality of human rights. Question: Please tell us about your lessons learnt and experiences gained from CSHRN and tell us why you decided to start to work for the International Centre on Transitional Justice? Azaryuon Matin: I have worked with CSHRN since its establishment, and even before that. In 2004, when CSRHN was founded, I was appointed as a coordinator and I worked in this function until 2008.The experiences and the lessons I learnt regarding formal as well as informal knowledge I will never forget in my life. I would like to be honest and straight forward and tell you that the network has been the main source for developing my technical knowledge as well as my knowledge regarding implementation. I learned in CSRHN not only human rights skills but…

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CSHRN Executive Director’s Report (2011-2012) to the 7th General Assembly of the network

First of all, I would like to welcome everyone to this significant session and I'm pleased of conducting the 7th general assembly of the Civil Society & Human Rights Network of Afghanistan. CSHRN has organized its activities based on the legitimate and effective strategy adopted by the member organizations of the network, and initiated extensive programs across the country. CSHRN's programs have provided a very good image for the civil society and its role in promoting human rights values in the country. CSHRN has become one of the most important umbrella organizations in the field of advocacy and human rights values by planning and implementing transparent, effective and valuable programs. Constructive relations with the international community, national institutions and human rights activists demonstrate this principle. During the last two years, CSHRN has focused its activities on the following fields: 1-  Capacity building on human rights concepts and values CSHRN has changed into an important source of learning human rights concepts by supplying and publishing the educational manuals of human rights. These educational manuals clarify the guidelines and concepts of conducting educational programs for civil society and government institutions. Some groups of instructors are being formed based on these manuals that provide the way of educating the member organizations of the network in the capital Kabul and other provinces of Afghanistan . We have provided and published three important and significant educational manuals, during the last two years. The first educational manual had been prepared by the name of «Educational manual of transitional justice», that is the first educational manual regarding transitional justice and its related issues in Afghanistan , which was released in 5000 versions. The second handbook is «educational manual of international human rights mechanisms». This manual, evaluates the UN mechanisms on human rights and also observe…

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CSHRN Statement Regarding the Recent Plan of Ministry of Higher Education On Rationing the Entrance Exam (Concour)

In the name of Almighty Allah CSHRN Statement Regarding the Recent Plan of Ministry of Higher Education On Rationing the Entrance Exam (Concour) July 09, 2013 Kabul-Afghanistan The Afghan ministry of higher education has announced that after this, the entrance exam of universities will be taken based on the quotas on provinces and regions. And also, getting more than 65% average for school graduates during the last three years is considered as a requirement of attending the entrance exam (Concour). Ministry of higher education says that the purpose of this project is equal access of all provinces to higher and semi-higher education and ensuring transparency and justice in the process of Concour and a way of tackling the current problems in this field. There is no doubt that equal access to education is the right of every Afghan citizen and according to the first paragraph of article no 43 of the Afghan constitution «Education is the right of all citizens of Afghanistan, which shall be offered up to the B.A. level in the state educational institutes free of charge by the state». According to this paragraph of the constitution, the Afghan government is obliged to provide access to education in all levels, primary, secondary, higher and semi-higher education to all Afghan citizens without any dependency to region, location or specific province. Based on the provision of the constitution, the right to access education, is an equal citizenship right for all citizens of Afghanistan and cannot be divided or separated based on the relation or dependency of the people. Also, Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted by the UN general assembly in 1966), which Afghanistan signed and ratified, have considered the right…

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CSHRO develops the educational manual on the international mechanism of human rights

The Civil Society and Human Rights Organisation (CSHRO) organizes its educational manual on the international mechanism of human rights. Afghanistan State as member state of the United Nation has ratified several international human rights conventions. Its important that the state of Afghanistan deliver periodic reports of the human rights situation to the UN system based on the requirements of these conventions. The same time the civil society response to the international human rights convention is also dependence on the state report to the international human rights structures. The CSHRO works to provide an educational manual on the international mechanism of human rights for the civil society actors, Afghan state institutions and human rights activists. The manual will be produced during upcoming one year. Based on the strategy of CSHRO on May 24 th a consultative gathering of CSHRO member organizations will discus the structure and methodology of the manual. During the gathering a working group of Afghan civil society experts will be designed. The working group will work in collaboration of Danish Institute for Human Rights experts to develop the first draft of educational manual. The DIHR experts will provide international experiences to the working group. The CSHRO Executive Secretariat facilitates the activities of working group. The working group shares the first draft of the manual to member organistions and some national experts to enhance the quality of the manual. The final draft of the manual will be presented to member organizations during the second consultative gathering on January 2013. The second gathering of CSHRO will approve the manual. The manual will be printed by CSHRO. A team of trainers will be trained by CSHRO in order to train manual in Kabul and provinces of Afghanistan . The international mechanism of human rights manual will be disseminated to…

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CSHRN statement on the occasion of appointment of new commissioners of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)

In the name of Almighty Allah CSHRN statement on the occasion of appointment of new commissioners of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) June, 18, 2013 Kabul-Afghanistan His Excellency, Hamid Karzai, the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has recently introduced and appointed five new commissioners of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). The representatives of the Afghan civil society held meetings with his Excellencyand submitted a list of potential and capable candidates. Howeverthe list of well experienced persons in the field of human rights, civil society values and democracy was submitted to the president as result of meetings butthe new five commissioners of the Independent Human Rights Commission have been appointed without considering the consultation processwith the civil society, and none of these five commissioners were mentioned in the list, provided by the civil society. This issue induced the civil society to ask about the logic andrational beyond discourse of the civil society with the president in this connection. According to the information gained by civil society actors, some of the new commissioners are linked to political-ideological groups. Affiliation of commissioners brings the professionalism and independency of AIHRC as a national organization of Human Rights under the question. The national institution, calledin Afghanistan the Independent Human Rights Commission, is constituted under Paris Principles. Based on these principles, states are liable to establish and support national institution of human rights based on their commitments to human rights. Accordingtothese principles, national institutions of Human Rights are free of all kind of political-ideological interference. High commissioner and other commissioners of national Human Rights Iinstitutions should be free of any political-ideological affiliation and dependency to any political party. The commissioners must be committed to human rights values and work accountably and in close coordination with human rights organizations. The principle,…

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Awareness rising is one of the main components of CSHRO forth phase

During the last thirty years Afghanistan has experienced wide-base human rights violation. The different political regimes misused the human rights values for their political agenda. In the same time the warlords and military and political groups have violated fundamental human rights principles in Afghanistan. During the last thirty years the military and political parties straggled against each other to capture the political power in Afghanistan . During this period of time around two million Afghans have been killed and around two million Afghans have become disabled. According to CSHRO studies lack of information in the political structure and lack of awareness of human rights values among the Afghan population is one of the main reasons of human rights violation in the country. According to CSHRO analyses the main aspect of human rights violations have been recorded in the field of civil rights. Torture, political prosecution, limitation of freedom of speech, restriction of freedom of association and lack of freedom of media have been considered as the main area of violations of human rights during this period of time. After the Taliban regime the new Afghan constitution grantees the human rights values equally to all citizens of Afghanistan . Based on the new Afghan constitutional support the civil society institutions were established in post Taliban period in Afghanistan . CSHRO organized itself in 2004. During this period CSHRN has been mainly engaged in the fields of coordination amongst civil society, capacity building of its member organizations, advocacy and promotion of human rights. According to CSHRN, awareness rising about human rights values is one of the most important elements for promotion and protection of human rights. Therefore CSHRN General Assembly has decided to encourage all member organizations to become more active in the field of public awareness about human rights…

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Respect your mothers, sisters, wives and daughters, they are also human!

In the name of Almighty Allah Respect your mothers, sisters, wives and daughters, they are also human! With great regret, that the Afghan parliament didn't approve the law on Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) on its general session on Saturday, May 18, 2013. The opposition of a number of MPs caused the law not to be approved by the house of people; they were claiming that some of its articles are in conflict with the Islamic principles. At the meantime, women suffers many types of violence in Afghanistan, which are also contrary with the Islamic values, and yet violence against women is one the most common problems in Afghanistan. In order to fulfill their civic duty and understanding the negative deep impacts of violence against women in our society, the civil society institutions have taken their continues measures and effortsto find a fundamental solution for reducing and eliminating the culture of violence against women and misogyny in the country. One of the fundamental and civil solution that the civil institutions are agree on, is the existence of a law and an appropriate judicial structure, to fight this inhuman phenomena of violence against women. The draft of the law on Elimination of Violence Against Women, which has also been signed as a legislative decree by his Excellency president Hamid Karzai, is the outcome of the non-tiring efforts of the Civil Institutions & groups, civil activists, Human Rights Activists and conscious women of Afghanistan. The conscious womenand the Civil Society of Afghanistan consider the approval of this law as a sign of national attempt for eradicating the culture of misogyny in Afghanistan and executing itsinternational commitments and it was called a strong pillar for a human society without gender discrimination. The Civil Society & Human Rights Network, which is…

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