Abstract
Over the past 20 years, Afghanistan has seen the rise of various Civil Society groups, including NGOs and associations, that are diverse and inclusive. These organizations undertake various programs to promote Human Rights, education, health, and livelihood initiatives. Despite their efforts, non-governmental organizations often face difficulties with laws and policies under the de-facto regime and women are most adversely affected by these limiting policies.
Introduction
In Afghanistan, it is normative for people to depend on traditional non-state councils and assemblies, known as Shuras and Jirgahs, held in public places to address community or personal issues and advocate for their community or group. These councils are commonly organized at different levels, ranging from village to national, and can accommodate large number of representatives of people from across the country. In the past, some significant national political decisions, such as adoption of the 2004 constitution, have been made at these gatherings.
In addition to these customary civic councils and groups, registered civil society organizations also have a strong foundation in the modern history of the country. The number of civil society organizations has increased since 2001 because of increased support from international donors. The non-state entities are mostly registered under category of “associations’, regulated by ministry of justice or NGOs, regulated by Ministry of Economy. Establishing a non-state entity and entitlement to civic participation have always been contested processes in Afghanistan.
Volatile space of civic activism
The Law on ‘Jamiyat’ Associations, Official Gazette number 1275 of 2017, defines, ‘association’ as a social, non-political, and not-for-profit organization of real and/or corporate persons that comprehends a community, union, council, assembly, foundation, society and entity including their forums, such as a federation and confederation, which are established as a legal entity in order to pursue professional and technical purposes. Article 13 (3) of the same law requires that the Associations shall apply for the renewal of their license every three years. The law affirms that an association shall be registered by the Ministry of Justice. In accordance with the more recent amendments to this law, should an association fail to provide its activity report to the Ministry of Justice within one month following the conclusion of the fiscal year, it shall be deemed invalid, and its title will be expunged from the register office.
The Afghan state passed a Law on Non-Governmental Organizations in 2005, which defines different types of non-governmental organizations, including domestic, foreign organization entities, international foreign organizations which have non-profit approaches. The law required NGOs to obtain approval from the Ministry of Economy and receive certificates of registration before they can commence their activities.
The emergence of a democratic state has led to nation-building initiatives and funding from donor communities, prompting civil society organizations to shift their focus towards implementing projects related to civic education, political rights, and advocacy. Both NGOs and associations have played a crucial role in monitoring authorities and promoting good governance, according to the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), an independent research institute. Some observers see this as a transition in the role of non-governmental institutions from being “implementing agencies” to “facilitators of participatory community.”
Despite this, NGOs have been providing services such as education, health, and alternative livelihoods in conflict zones, indigenizing their presence and services to address the immediate needs of communities across the country. NGOs and associations have also been recognized for their role in creating employment opportunities for a significant portion of the middle-class population, as well as for contributing to poverty reduction efforts. For instance, in 2018, there were 1,863 NGOs registered in Afghanistan and a report of Ministry of Economy claims that national NGOs implemented 69% of the projects, amounting to $603 million which employed 85,383 people, representing 21% of total employment opportunities in 2018.
In the meantime, the Afghan government has attempted to restrict and control civil society organizations through various measures and gradually introduced restrictive measures such as legislation, taxation, and deregistration of civil society organizations, the policies that were likely as part of a power struggle and attempt for claiming sovereignty. Thus, these changes in policies and legislation have further tightened governance of NGOs and the associations, leading to a closing of space, and violating freedom of association. As a result of such limiting policies the representation role of civil society were shrunk, and the political power could easily control the non-state institutions through registration, extension of license, monitoring, reporting, controlling banking, governing fund raising, controlling activities and deregistration processes.
According to the laws concerning Associations and NGOs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Economy, both integral components of the executive branch, are empowered by the law to dissolve these non-state entities, respectively. Once dissolved, these non-state organizations are deprived of the right to pursue judicial procedure or remedies.
The government did not have any plan or mechanism to protect the existence of diverse and thriving non-state organizations. Rather, it did not address their financial difficulties and paradoxically dissolved 2267 NGOs from 2005 to 2017, even though these NGOs did not submit their annual activity reports to the Ministry of Economy. Additionally, from 2002 to 2017, the Ministry of Justice dissolved 4014 associations for similar reasons.
With the collapse of the republican regime in August 2021, this legacy of tightening control over civil society organizations allowed the de facto rulers to expedite their control. As part of their tightening actions, the Taliban have shut down the Department of Political Parties and Associations in the Ministry of Justice, as well as the Gender Departments, resulting in the dissolution of all civil society organizations registered with the ministry. Given the fact that greater numbers of non-state organizations were registered as “association”, by their dissolution, the diversity of civil society is strictly shrunk. Even though some NGOs could survive, the controlling measures hardly allow a meaningful civic space for their activism and representation.
About 60 percent of print, audio and video media have been blocked in the country, and since then more than a hundred journalists have been arrested, threatened, and tortured in some cases. Taliban officials have increased their extrajudicial visits to the offices of project implementing organizations, demanding information, signed memorandums, and interfering in the decision-making and implementation of projects. The requirement to sign memorandums of understanding for the implementation of projects provides a significant opportunity to subjugate NGOs and interrupt the distribution of aid under the pretext of complying with legal regulations. These interventions caused in many cases to stop of vital projects. For instance, at the end of 2022, Afghanistan’s largest health/sanitary activity called ” Assistance for Families and Indigent Afghans to Thrive (AFIAT) „ program in Herat was halted due to a dispute with the Taliban over the signing of a memorandum of understanding. An Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund health emergency response program stopped working in 10 provinces in late 2022 for similar reasons. These policies had the most adverse impact on women’s rights and their role in civil society. A decree issued on December 24, 2022, has prohibited women from working in both national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Later on, the Taliban prohibited women from working with UN agencies, which significantly halted humanitarian aid to the starving people of the country. UNICEF warned that this decision cost children’s lives. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) warned recently the “Taliban interference with the UN and NGOs as a high-risk area” in Afghanistan.
Conclusion
It seems likely that the de facto authorities intend to enforce a zero-tolerance strategy against the civic space and non-state organizations. On other hand, activists inside the country and in exile can influence this policy through advocacy for survive of civil society. Without civil society structures, human rights defenders also would not be able to pursue their commitments towards protection and promotion of human rights and the defenders themselves.
Afghanistan, as a charter member of the United Nations, is committed to freedom of associations, provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its covenants. Furthermore, the rights and security of the non-state actors are provided in a resolution on 8 March 1999, titled “Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom”. Article 5 of the resolution provides that ‘everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels, to form, join, and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations, or groups’ and to communicate with such organizations. Furthermore, Article 18 of the same resolution emphasizes that the role of non-state organizations in the democratic process and the promotion of human rights is a key factor for progress.
The government of Afghanistan is obligated under these laws to provide an enabling environment for non-state structures. Advocacy at national and international levels for these rights and laws may contribute to the sustainability of the country’s fragile civil society.
