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By Latifa Jafari Alavi, Mehdi J. Hakimi, Kobra Moradi, Orzala Nemat, Haroun Rahimi, Huma Saeed, Ehsan Qaane
License: RWI report
Afghanistan was in a near continuous state of armed conflict between 1978 and 2021. These years were marked by grave human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law, including atrocities on an enormous scale. This was not one war, but a series of conflicts with some recurring political actors alternately in power or in opposition. As with any conflict, the roots of Afghanistan’s wars reach back decades, and the historical legacy of severe abuses, going back to the nineteenth century, continues to affect Afghanistan’s current human rights crisis.
Since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021, grave human rights violations have continued, particularly against women and girls. Through dozens of decrees, the Taliban have systematically banned or limited Afghan women and girls’ right to education, right to work, and freedom of movement and assembly. Other abuses under the Taliban include arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances—all of which have a long history in Afghanistan.
Throughout all this time, there has been almost complete impunity for all state actors—of varied ideologies—that have held power, and for all armed forces, including those of foreign states, that took part in the conflicts. Cycles of violence have fed off each other, particularly in the post-1978 years, as those in power have replicated many of the same patterns of abuse and retribution against their foes that they had experienced when out of power, ensuring unstable transitions and fuelling grievances that have led to further violence.
The aims of this report are: to provide a survivor-centred and gender-focused analysis of previous and ongoing efforts to achieve accountability, including a variety of international mechanisms; to analyse why they failed; and to propose ways that some progress could be achieved. Its specific objectives are: (1) to assess the current legal and institutional frameworks promoting accountability in Afghanistan, on national and international levels; (2) to identify challenges and obstacles hindering effective accountability mechanisms; (3) to propose recommendations for strengthening accountability structures, and find a path forward.
Key words: Afghanistan; transitional justice; accountability; politics; human rights; injustice; international law; accountability mechanisms; International Criminal Court; International Court of Justice; UN procedures; universal jurisdiction; national jurisdictions; women and girls; women’s rights; gender persecution; gender apartheid; Taliban; civil society