Author: Sayed Hussain Hussainy

In the name of Almighty Allah Statement regarding the prevention of killing of civilians during the Moshtarak operation in Helmand province 16.2.2010, Kabul , Afghanistan On13 of February, the offensive against the Talibans in the south of Afghanistan started. The operation called Moshtarak is carried out by the national and international military forces and focuses on clearing the area of Talibans. This operation is launched in a time when the new US strategy starts to be implemented by the US military forces together with the other NATO members and the Afghan government. According to the national and international authorities in charge of the military, the operation will contribute to bring peace and security to the southern regions of Afghanistan. Before the operation started, the local civilians were warned so that they could leave the area and civilian casualties would be avoided. However, the question where a more secure area could be found was not answered. Subsequently, on 14 of February, the Afghan people witnessed the first casualties. 12 innocent civilians were killed during the operation. The bad news shocked the civil society organisations in Afghanistan. CSHRN would like to express its deepest sympathy for the families of the victims. The civil society in Afghanistan believes then when organising such a huge and expensive military operation, civilian programs to prevent civilian casualties have to be developed on a equal scale. Killing of innocent civilians during the operations is against the international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The military organisations of the international community involved in the Moshtarak operation are bound by these conventions. Unfortunately, the killing of civilians has widened the gap between the Afghan people, the Afghan state and the international community. The Afghan civil society is deeply concerned about this development. To avoid…

In the name of Almighty Allah The statement of CSHRN concerning the new government of Afghanistan and the involvement of civil society   28 th of December 2009 Kabul Afghanistan On December 19, the spokesperson of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan announced during a press conference that the president had designated the members of his cabinet which got introduced to the National Assembly, in close consultation with civil society. This statement came as a great surprise for civil society. Before the members of the new cabinet were announced, CSHRN had sent an open analytical letter to the president of Afghanistan providing an analysis as well as recommendation with regard to the current human rights situation and civil society. CSHRN did its best to contact the office of the present in order to organise a meeting between the president and representatives of civil society for the submission of the letter and the discussion about the concerns of civil society. Unfortunately however, CSHRN had not received any response from the president. The open analytical letter was then released during a press conference broadly covered by national and international media. The civil society and human rights organisations have followed up on the process of the designation of the new cabinet. Regrettably, the inputs forwarded to the president by civil society organisations were ignored. A main illustration thereof is the lack of gender balance among the newly proposed ministers. It was mentioned in the open letter that the structures and programs of the government in the economic, social, political and cultural field suffer from a lack of proper gender equality mechanisms. Furthermore it was said that for the designation of the new cabinet, the potential role Afghan women can play has to be dealt with as priority. Women composing…

In the name of Almighty Allah Implementing human rights, reinforcing civil society and strengthening the rule of law provide the conditions for a capable state in Afghanistan An analytical open letter of CSHRN to the President and new government of Afghanistan December 2009 The title of the analytical letter of CSHRN contains a hopeful message to the new government of Afghanistan from civil society and human rights defenders. This letter focuses on ways on how to tackle the current problems in the field of human rights in Afghanistan. The goal of this letter is to create the understanding and the base for collaboration between the next government and the Afghan civil society in order to promote human rights and to create respect for the rule of law in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it has to be mentioned that the role of civil society and its positive influence on the values of human rights have been limited recently. The candidates and the campaigning staff of the presidential election did not focus on human rights issues and the role of civil society in their campaigns. During the last six years, the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) organised a number of dialogues on the human rights situation in Afghanistan . These dialogues showed that still an important gap exists between civil society and governmental institutions regarding mutual understanding and collaboration. This issue has been emphasised by CSHRN during the symposiums, conferences and seminars, where representatives of human rights NGOs as well as some state and non state actors were present. CSHRN addresses this letter to the new government and its leadership in a very difficult time for the Afghan people. It is a time, when terrorists and enemies of human rights would like to restrict the role of civil society and…

In the name of Almighty Allah Message of condolences of Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) due to the terrorist act to UN staff on 28th of October 2009 Kabul Afghanistan 29th October 2009 The Unite Nations has been in Afghanistan for more than 50 years. This international organisation supports and assists Afghans in the fields of economic, social, political and cultural affairs. The Afghan state joined UN on 1946 accepting UN values mentioned in its Charter. The UN system through its Security Council and Economic, Social and Cultural Council, have created many useful missions and entities in Afghanistan that play an important role for improvement of the current situation in Afghanistan. UN is a humanitarian and Peace supporting organisations. UN should not become under attack of any terror action. The civil society organisations and human rights activists in Afghanistan support the role of UN and appreciate its efforts on Peace and stability building in the country. The Civil Society and Human Rights Network condemn the attack that is against national interest of Afghanistan. CSHRN express its deepest condolences on the loss of UN staff during the incident. The Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) supports and appreciates UNAMA's role and their important effort in relation to the current situation of Afghanistan . CSHRN supports the statements of Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General and his Special Representative, Mr.Kai Eide, on the current situation in Afghanistan. The Civil Society and Human Rights Network

In the name of Almighty Allah Statement of Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) Regarding the killing of Afghan Journalist Mr Sultan Manadi The killing of a Journalist is a threat to freedom of speech, freedom of the media and civil rights in Afghanistan 10. September 2009 On September 9th Mr. Sultan Manadi, a committed Journalist and former colleague of the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), was killed during a military rescue operation by foreign forces in Kondoz province of Afghanistan. Sultan Manadi and Stephen Farrell, a British national journalist, were kidnapped by Taliban militants from Essa Khel village of Chahar Dara district last Saturday. The reporters were in the district in order to ascertain information about a deadly NATO air strike that had killed about 95 people and wounded several others on Friday September 4 th. The killing of Sultan has shocked civil society, Afghan intellectuals and the human rights community in Afghanistan . Sultan's killing indicates a lack of commitment on the part of the Afghan government to its citizens who work for civil freedom, the expansion of which has been one of the main achievements in Afghanistan during the post-Taliban period. Why the Afghan government forces could not rescue Sultan is the self-evident question posed by the Afghan Civil Society, which has so far been left unanswered. In releasing this statement, CSHRN would like to emphasize the following points. - The Afghan constitution clearly emphasizes the role and responsibility of the government and President to protect Afghan citizens' human rights. Afghanistan is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights. Effective protection of the human rights of Afghani citizens is the responsibility of the Afghan state. CSHRN would like to urge the Afghan government to take is human rights protection…

In the name of Almighty Allah Message of CSHRN on the Presidential Election in Afghanistan (Translation of the Dari original) 10. August 2009 Freedom is a God given right and a central value of human rights. Democracy means that this freedom is used to choose. Freedom of choice is the most significant part of human rights. In these days, the citizens of Afghanistan practice this important aspect of their rights: they elect their leader. The Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) appreciates this historical day and wants to emphasize the following points: •  Elections give legitimacy to the state. Each kind of fraud with regard to elections negatively affects the state and nation building process in Afghanistan. Therefore, CSHRN requests the persons and institutions involved in the election process to avoid any kind of fraud when conducting the election and counting the votes. •  The tolerance demonstrated on the day of election for the rights of citizens and the respect for the culture of democracy will have a positive effect on the trust of people in elections. The people will accept and officially recognize that elections can bring political sustainability as well as social and economy stability. For that reason, CSHRN requests from all the candidates and their campaign teams to respect the choice of the people and to avoid any kind of activity which would cause harmful effects on the social environment. To oppose or to support is the right of each citizen! The citizens of Afghanistan have the right to demonstrate if they do not agree with the outcome of the elections, but such demonstrations should not have negative effects on the sustainability and social security in our society. •  CSHRN requests from all national and international election observers to make available the information they…

In the name of Almighty Allah Message of CSHRN regarding the Joint Policy between the National and the International Armed Forces on the Fight against Terrorism in Afghanistan Kabul, 21 February 2009 During the last two years, the Civil Society und Human Rights Network (CSHRN) has released statements concerning the coordination between military operations of international and national armed forces in Afghanistan. The main goal of these statements was to address necessary measures to reduce the number of victims and casualties among civilians. CSRHN has constantly asked for a better collaboration and information between the different forces. Recently the NATO commanders together with the leadership of the Afghan army have agreed upon a policy, which states that both parties collaborate and coordinate with each other their military operations against terrorism in Afghanistan. Both parties agreed that for conducting a successful operation, a dialogue with the local authorities and representatives of the population in the area of action is necessary. The reasons and the need for the operations have to be explained to the people of these districts. CSHRN welcomes and encourages such an agreement between the international and the national armed forces. CSRHN asks both parties to implement the agreement and to strengthen the communication with the Afghan people in order to inform them about the role, the duty and the tasks of both forces. CSHRN believes that to create a useful dialogue will help the Afghan people to understand the role of the international community, in particular the one of the NATO, in Afghanistan. The dialogue and the implementation of the agreement will also reduce the number of violations of international humanitarian law and strengthen the respect for the fundamental principles of human rights. Civil Society and Human Rights Network

In the name of Almighty Allah The statement of CSHRN about the adoption and signature of the “The Private Life of Shias” by the president (Translated from the Statement in Dari) 03 April 2009 Kabul, Afghanistan Recently, the parliament of Afghanistan, the Shura e Meli, adopted a new legislation on “The private (family) life of Shias”. This legislation was signed by Hamid Karzai, the president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. To draft, adopt and sign such a legislation, created a broad national and international reaction. The adoption of this law resulted in civil society, human rights activists, Afghan intellectuals and Afghan persons influential on the public opinion expressing major concerns regarding the implementation of this legislation. •  Adopting and signing this legislation is against the values of the Holy Islam as well as against the international principles of human rights. The values anchored there deeply respect the important role of women and mothers in society. •  Adopting and signing this document is to impair the weak body of the rule of law in Afghanistan, because the rule of law is based on social and public reality, the priority of human values, the common will, sustainable reforms and respect for the constitution. •  Adopting and signing this document is against the international commitments the Afghan state has assumed with regard to international human rights including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The adoption of this new law took place after the Afghan government had committed itself to the principles of human rights in the Universal Periodic Review report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council. •  Adopting this legislation is a blow against the role of the parliament in Afghanistan because the adoption…