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Read more about the article Toolkit on Countering Hate Speech in Afghanistan

Toolkit on Countering Hate Speech in Afghanistan

Worldwide, the increasing use of hate speech is posing challenges to inclusive democratic participation as well as access to critical rights, such as freedom from discrimination and violence. Recognizing the need to engage civil society, media and other electoral stakeholders in countering hate speech in Afghanistan, this toolkit serves as a resource guide for how to effectively counter hate speech while protecting the right to freedom of speech and protection. The toolkit contains an introduction to international principles as well as domestic legislation related to countering hate speech; global best practice examples; and practical strategies and steps for countering hate speech in country. Click to download pdf More Interviews: Civil Society Report on Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities February 20, 2017 Annual Report National Unity Government’s Reconciliation with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar The prospects for peace, justice and human rights in Afghanistan Civil Society and Human Rights Network Afghanistan November 26, 2016 Reports The 8th General Assembly of CSHRN February 18, 2015 Annual Report CSHRN UPR Report 2014 February 17, 2015 Annual Report 1 2 3 4 … 11 Next

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Civil Society Report on Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

ABOUT THIS REPORT This report on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) presents the perspectives and views of civil society with regard to Afghanistan’s compli­ance with its obligations under CRPD. This report has been compiled from consultation with government institutions, civil society or­ganization either working for persons with disabilities or persons without disability, focus group discussions, individual and collective interviews and expert group discussions. In the development of this report civil society submissions and reports released by national and international organiza­tions have also been exploited. The issues raised in this report and gaps highlighted in government compliance with the CRPD should be considered in the context of Afghanistan. ------------------------------------------------------------- To read the report, please click on the link below.

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National Unity Government’s Reconciliation with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar The prospects for peace, justice and human rights in Afghanistan Civil Society and Human Rights Network Afghanistan

Context Peace talks with the Taliban and other insurgent groups who are fighting the Afghan government, has been the essential part of Afghan government policy since 2001. Despite the efforts of nearly one a half decades and many political and financial investment for peace process, violent conflict has been intensified leaving enormous military and civilian casualties. Issue of peace talk with the Taliban is frequently raised in winter (No-war season) by media, but without tangible results, another war season arrives and the Taliban continue to fight Afghan government and people with more power and casualties. In spite of more than a decade of efforts to reconcile with the Taliban and reach sustainable peace, it seems no tangible result and even no positive prospect for peace and stability. However, National Unity Government (NUG) signed a peace agreement with Mr. Hekmatyar recently which apparently signals a practical step towards peace process and reconciliation. Despite having wide media coverage, it has indicate less concerns neither about victims of conflict nor views of Afghan civil society and human rights peace activists. The recent peace agreement and extra order of president to implement it along with comparing to the Afghan government’s international human rights commitments and obligations have raised questions, concerns and arguments for civil society, human rights organizations and also the victims of human rights violation. Therefore, Afghan civil society organizations and human rights activist want to discuss and open up a dialogue on issues related to the recent peace agreement. The international human commitments of Afghan government in one hand and negligence of the victim’s rights in recent peace agreement, women’s participation in the peace process, prospects for national reconciliation and peace in the country as well as the consequences of political, security and negligence of human rights values in the…

Continue ReadingNational Unity Government’s Reconciliation with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar The prospects for peace, justice and human rights in Afghanistan Civil Society and Human Rights Network Afghanistan

The 8th General Assembly of CSHRN

The 8th general assembly of the Civil Society & Human Rights Network (CSHRN) was conducted by the presence of its member organizations in Kabul on 10th Feb, 2015. General Assembly is the highest decision-making authority of CSHRN that is organized once every two years, in which the member organizations are deciding and planning about the strategic issues of the network as well as electing the triple committee’s members via a democratic election. At the beginning of the program, M.Naim Nazari, the executive director of CSHRN talked about the achievements of the network and praised the constructive coordination and cooperation of its member institutions. He asked the member organizations to make more and more efforts for monitoring the human rights situation and joint advocacy for improving the human rights situation in the country. Mr. Nazari added that, the Civil Society & Human Rights Network with the assistance of its member institutions was able to publish nine educational manuals on human rights during 2014. He also mentioned some important and valuable reports that have been prepared and submitted to its relevant agencies by CSHRN during 2014. He concluded that these crucial reports are the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the annual report on human rights situation in Afghanistan and Monitoring report on the functions of the Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan to ICC. The executive director of CSHRN has also mentioned the functions and activities of CSHRN in the field of coordination, capacity-building, monitoring the human rights situation, advocacy and public awareness. Afterward, Ahmad Seyar Lalee, CSHRN’s program officer, briefed the general assembly regarding the suggestions of the member organizations on amending the strategies of CSHRN and said «for amending the strategy of CSHRN, the strategic frameworks of CSHRN have been compared with the strategies of credible organizations». According to…

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Read more about the article 2014 ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia

2014 ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), is the secretariat of the Asia NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI). ANNI has 31 member organizations across Asia working towards the strengthening of NHRIs. ANNI - in accordance with ANNI Reporting Guidelines that were collectively formulated by the ANNI members - launches annual report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in Asia. The Report primarily focuses on issues of independence and effectiveness of the NHRIs and their engagement with other stakeholders such as civil society. For the first time, in 2014, the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) submitted a report on the performance and establishment of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) The AIHRC as a Constitutional body, has performed commendably amidst a challenging socio-political and security environment during the past one decade. The recent direct appointment of new commissioners by the President has explicitly undermined its independence and effectiveness. The Afghanistan's chapter of the report looks into Independence, Effectiveness and Accountability of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. ....................................................................................... Read The PDF

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Read more about the article International Coordinating Committee Sub-Committee on Accreditation (ICC-SCA) – Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Stakeholders’ Submission

International Coordinating Committee Sub-Committee on Accreditation (ICC-SCA) – Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Stakeholders’ Submission

The International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC-NHRI) through its accreditation review process evaluates the compliance of its members with the Paris Principles. The Paris Principles layout standards for NHRIs to assess their independence and effectiveness to protect and promote human rights at national level. There are three levels of accreditation: "A", "B" and "C" NHRIs holding "A" status are in full compliance with the Paris Principles. They are re-accredited every five years. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) as a National Human Rights Institution secured "A" status accreditation from the peer review process of the ICC-NHRI in November 2008. The AIHRC will be re-accredited in October (27-31Oct). The ICC Subcommittee on Accreditation requires the AIHRC to submit its State of Compliance. Parallel to the AIHRC report, the civil society also submits its shadow report. The civil society shadow report gives the perspective of civil society on the compliance of the AIHRC with the Paris Principles. This year, the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) of Afghanistan along with the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) based in Bangkok have made a joint submission. ....................................................................................... Read The PDF

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Conference on celebrating the International Human Rights Day and Appreciating the Human Rights works of Journalists

Dec 10th is the International Human Rights Day, celebrating this day is very important and meaningful especially to human rights defenders and activists. Dec 10th, is the day of commemorating the difficult experiences of global campaign for human rights ideals. Commemorating the importance of human rights, appreciating the human rights activities of civil players, praising and commending the position of human rights victims and reminding the government its human rights responsibilities will certainly pave the way for realization and expansion of human rights values and principles in the country. Hence, CSHRN celebrated this day by conducting a conference with the presence of civil society representatives and journalistsin the capital Kabul. The program was commenced with reciting some verses of the Holly Quran by Mr. Mohammad Sadiq Ahmadi;afterwards, Mr. Naim Nazari CSHRN’s executive director has opened the first part of the program with his valuable speech. After that, the panel members of the program, Ms. Farkhunda Zahra Naderi, member of the house of representatives, Doctor Malek Sitez, researcher in international affairs, and Sediqullah Tawhidi, Head of Nai supporting open media in Afghanistan, have respectively addressed their speech on the «role of media in promoting Human Rights», «Civil Rights, the cornerstone of Human Rights» and «Human Rights Situation of Journalists in Afghanistan». The second part of the program was dedicated for presenting the appreciation letters of some correspondents who were very active in reporting human rights issues. The correspondents who were presented appreciation letters by CSHRN were: Ms. Shakila Ibrahimkhail, Ms. Saliha Sadat and Sayed Azim Arash, from Tolo TV network, Mr. Sajad Mohammadi and Nazruddin Moslih, from 1TV, Ms. Farahnaz Frotan from Aryana News, Mr. Ayoub Arween from BBC radio, Mr. Akbar Rustemi from Hashte Subh Daily, Ms. Pashtana Arabzay from Shamshad TV and Mr. Amirshah Joya from Arezo…

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The 7th general assembly of CSHRN was conducted on 18th of March 2013

General Assembly is the highest authority of the Civil Society & Human Rights Network of Afghanistan (CSHRN); the General Assembly is comprised of all member organizations from Kabul and provinces. The General Assembly is the policy making structure of the network. The General Assembly is being organized once every two years. The General Assembly evaluates the report that is presented by the network's Executive Secretariat. The General Assembly democratically elects the structures (the Board members, the Statement Committee and the Evaluation Committee) of the CSHRN. At the beginning, the Chairwoman of CSHRN's Board, Ms. Selay Ghafar welcomed all the participants of the General Assembly. Ms. Ghafar reported the General Assembly on the role and activities of the Board during the past two years. Ms. Ghafar appreciated the collaborative relations of the member organizations in promotion of human rights and strengthening of civil society in Afghanistan. According to her, CSHNR is the main human rights network that actively promotes human rights values in Afghanistan. According to Ms. Ghafar during the past two years the Board productively communicated with the member organizations and CSHRN executive structures. It was a good experience for joint and team-working manners. On behalf of CSHRN member organizations, Ms. Ghafar has appreciated the professional and constructive partnership of the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) with CSHRN programs in Afghanistan. She also appreciated the productive and supportive role of Danish and Swiss government's representatives in Afghanistan. During the recent General Assembly, CSHRN's report was presented by Mr. Naim Nazari, the Executive Coordinator of CSHRN. The report covered the two years activities of CSHRN 2011 -2012. The report elaborated the CSHRN activities in the field of strategic development of CSHRN during the past two years. The report mainly focused on main key result areas as capacity building,…

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