This report constitutes the outcomes of the first research conference with Afghan human rights scholars in the RWI programme on Afghanistan. The conference saw 15 Afghan scholars with expertise in different human rights areas share their analyses and discuss them with peers and experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, who is a visiting professor at RWI.
The conference featured presentations from the four Afghan research fellows who have been connected to the RWI programme in 2023, as well as reflections from two Fellows from 2022. Other scholars came from some of the key academic institutions and initiatives working on human rights issues related to Afghanistan and were selected based on their respective fields of expertise, all of which are of high priority for the UNSR mandate.
Both the fellowships and research conferences aim to give analytical input to the UNSR mandate, and to be a forum for Afghan scholars to share their analyses around human rights issues in Afghanistan. Both are also expected to continue as annual features in the RWI programme until 2026.