About Us

Photo Credit: Kobra Akbari

Who Are We?

The collapse of Kabul on August 15, 2021, was followed by chaos and a full-scale crisis in all aspects of life.

Thousands of human rights defenders along with others who faced imminent risk to their lives left the country. The human rights defenders lost the opportunity to continue working for a society where rights are respected and citizens can live in dignity;
The defenders in Afghanistan are in hiding and cannot speak about human rights issues. The defenders that are in neighbouring countries (Pakistan, Iran and Central Asian Countries) are facing the risk of being deported back to Afghanistan.
The civic space is severely restricted. Free media is non-existent in Afghanistan. NGOs and human rights associations were closed down. Freedom of assembly is cracked down, participants were followed and imprisoned. The women’s movement “work, bread, liberty” was abolished with force;
Women in Afghanistan require collective protection and they have been collectively deprived of their basic rights. The basic rights such as movement, work, and education to political rights such as participation in governance are violated on a daily basis;
The security situation for the public has not improved. Unknown killings, kidnapping, robbery has increased;
The humanitarian crisis has deepened, based on reports dozens of millions of the population require urgent assistance from the international community. The reports indicate interference in humanitarian assistance from the de facto authorities;
The national bank is still not functional and economic growth is undermined. In the interview, an owner of a private university and a hospital claimed that the de facto authorities have asked for advance tax payment under supporting the Islamic ruling system;
The de facto authorities are still calling themselves an acting government, and the democratic institutions and laws including the 2004 constitution are abolished. The Independent Human Rights Commission, the Election Commission and the Ministry of Women Affairs are dissolved;
The judiciary system which was established with a huge amount of human and capital investment is replaced by extra-judicial courts and Madrasa students with no experience in the justice system;
Minority groups are facing all sorts of discrimination. Hindu and Sikh communities are facing complete elimination, and Hazara community are facing attacks.
The cultural heritages are destroyed, and languages and cultures are not respected.

The list of miseries that the people of Afghanistan are facing is long, the group of human rights defenders in exile came together by establishing HRD+ to contribute to the betterment of the human rights situation of the Afghan people. HRD+ will advocate with Afghan human rights defenders in and outside of Afghanistan.

A society where human rights are respected and HRDs are protected according to international human rights principles.

Mobilize a capable movement of HRDs that advocate human rights issues and bring changes in the lives of the people of Afghanistan.

Dignity
Respect and support HRDs
Integrity
Confidentiality
Tolerance
Equality

Dr. Malek Sitez

Chairperson of the Steering Committee

Message

Dear readers and viewers,

HRD+ is a network of human rights activists and defenders whose goal is to support and defend human rights values in Afghanistan through advocacy at national and international levels. Welcome to our website. This platform is designed to promote human rights principles and norms by providing information, declarations, actions, and discussions on human rights. You can also access human rights education programs on this site. We aim to publish interesting human rights articles, particularly focusing on the human rights situation in Afghanistan. Scholars, researchers, and human rights experts are invited to submit their articles for review and publication. This website serves as a means of communication with our audience. You can contact us through the information links provided in the contact section. We encourage you to reach out to Mr. Sayed Hossein Anosh anosh@hrd-plus.net, the executive chairman, and Mr. Abdullah Ahmadi Info@hrd-plus.net, the HRD+ spokesperson, for any inquiries. Our work is centered around four key areas of human rights: promoting human rights, coordinating activists, monitoring and documenting, and defending the rights of our fellow citizens. We closely monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan with the help of domestic and international collaborators and human rights defenders. Our findings are shared with the public through thematic, periodic, and shadow reports on the human rights situation. On this site, you can access analyses of the human rights situation prepared by domestic and international experts. We welcome your feedback, opinions, suggestions, and criticisms to help us improve our programs. Our colleagues will endeavor to make constructive use of your input. With the goal of improving the human rights situation in Afghanistan and beyond.

Steering Committee

A group of 12 Afghan human rights defenders, including 7 men and 5 women from different organizations currently living in different countries, came together on January 20, 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland, to establish a network of human rights defenders called HRD+. HRD+ emerged after several persistent but collaborative in-person and online meetings that began in October 2022 with technical and financial support from World Organization against Torture (OMCT). Given the current critical and acute human rights situation in Afghanistan and the severely limited civil society in Afghanistan, the original idea behind the formation of HRD+ was to form a broad network of human rights defenders in exile who have the technical capacity to monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan and then advocate for the rights and freedoms of people who are being violated in the country. HRD+ aims to be the voice of voiceless Afghans in Afghanistan, working to ensure that their human rights are respected and protected and to keep the flame of human rights burning in exile.

Team

Civil Society and Human Rights Network

In August 2004, 24 human rights organizations registered the Civil Society and Human Rights Network in the Ministry of Justice and according to the general assembly of (CSHRN), the Network registered in February 2011 with the Ministry of Economy with the official name of Civil Society and Human Right Organization (CSHRO). We are organized as a nationwide network of 82 civil society organizations representing broad segments of the Afghan society in Kabul and in eight provinces. Our members work in a variety of areas such as women’s issues, minorities, peace, political rights, transitional justice, radio- and TV production, and print media, but we are all bound together by our common commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and our common determination to promote human rights and to consistently apply rights-based approaches to what we do. We firmly believe that Afghanistan can become a society based on democracy and the rule of law in accordance with human rights. This belief has become our vision so accordingly, we expect our society to become a nation, where all people are aware of their rights and where they dare to claim them through the rule of law. We are currently very engaged in:

Promoting the role of women in peace, stability and security
Conflict transformation
Reduction of domestic violence
Access to Information
Minorities

We want to establish a capable human rights movement and to increase the understanding and the respect for human rights and the rule of law. It is an ambitious task we have taken upon us, and our tools are modest. We engage in dialogues, we organize symposiums, conferences and workshops as we have experienced that the most sustainable path to improvement is by mutual acknowledgement, inclusion and exchange of views. We firmly believe that rule of law can only be realized in an environment of a vibrant rights-based civil society and on citizens’ access to participate in the governance of the country in safety and dignity. It is the right of our people to enjoy full access to the fundamental freedoms and to strive for the improvement and realization of social and economic rights. Our network has been systematically built up since its embryonic start in 2002, and its establishment as a network in 2004. We have a thorough planning as the basis of our activities with strategic, participatory, and thoroughly democratic approach. We are accountable and transparent, and our members all have full access to network information. We work within the framework of our Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Civil Society and Human Rights Network consists of 58 Afghan organizations which are active in the promotion of human rights. The member organizations have so far all their main offices in Kabul but have representatives also in other provinces of Afghanistan. Besides its member organizations, CSHRN works together with over one hundred partner organizations in different regions of Afghanistan. The overall decision making body of the network is the General Assembly, which consists of the representatives of all member organizations. It develops and updates the strategy CSHRN has chosen to develop a strong human rights movement in Afghanistan. In addition, the General Assembly conducts at least one meeting annually, where it discusses the activities carried out by CSHRN during the past year and elects the CSHRN’s Board.