Accessing Research and Authoritative Resources on Human Rights in Afghanistan
The Afghanistan Human Rights Database (AHRD) is a dedicated entry point for accessing academic research and authoritative human rights resources related to Afghanistan. It provides an organised, user-friendly way to locate and access publications produced by scholars, international organisations, and research institutions.
The AHRD is designed as a go-to platform, helping researchers, students, policymakers, and practitioners navigate the wide landscape of available knowledge on human rights in Afghanistan.
Why This Database and Scope
Human rights research and documentation on Afghanistan is extensive but scattered across many platforms, institutions, and publication outlets. The AHRD addresses this fragmentation by offering a central access point to key materials, including:
- Scholarly and academic publications on human rights in Afghanistan
- Research outputs from universities, think tanks, and independent scholars
- RWI-produced research, including publications from RWI fellows and outcomes of expert meetings and workshops
- UN reports, including Special Rapporteur reports, treaty body documents, and other UN human rights mechanisms relevant to Afghanistan
- Reports by international human rights NGOs, providing authoritative analysis and documentation
The aim is to support research and evidence-based policymaking by making it easier to navigate and find credible sources.
Our Approach to Access
We prioritize both accessibility and ethical data handling by making materials available under specific licensing terms, primarily using the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This allows users to freely use materials for non-commercial research, advocacy, and educational purposes while ensuring proper attribution to the original authors and respect for licensing requirements.
For academic articles, peer review and open source publication is a prerequisite for having papers included in the RWI database.
Features of the Database
Contributing to the Database
We welcome suggestions for additional academic publications or authoritative reports that would strengthen the database’s coverage. All suggested materials are reviewed for relevance, accuracy, and licensing compliance.
For those interested in contributing, please contact us to discuss submissions, licensing, and access permissions.
database_afghanistan@rwi.lu.se
Get in touch
David Eile
David Eile currently works as a Senior Programme Officer responsible for various projects under RWI’s Europe Office, focusing on different forms of academic cooperation in Europe and Cuba. Since joining RWI in 2006, David worked with various human rights programmes in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. David has an MA in Anthropology from Lund University and is a doctoral candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Uppsala.
Helena Olsson
Helena has a Master Degree in Political Science with focus on Human Rights, Peace and Democracy from Lund University. She has worked with development, human rights and in the humanitarian field since 2001, for Swedish Embassies/Sida and UNHCR in Central and South America; at Sida Headquarters Humanitarian Team in Stockholm; and subsequently with academic institutions and NHRIs in Sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East and North Africa; and South/Southeast Asia since she joined the Institute in 2010.
Between 2016 and 2018 she led the development and start-up of a new regional Asia team and office in Jakarta, and of regional programmes focusing on human rights and environment/climate change, as well as the integration of human rights into Agenda 2030 plans in the region.
She was also team leader of the thematic focus area People on the Move 2016-2017, and currently leads an internal working group of human rights and local governments.