(935)[…]. (zie noot 2) Een deel van de burgerslachtoffers viel in de periode januari tot en met eind september 2018 als gevolg van verkiezing gerelateerd geweld. (zie noot 3) De belangrijkste oorzaak van burgerslachtoffers was het gebruik van geïmproviseerde explosieven (IED's) door AGE's, waaronder bij zelfmoordaanslagen. Deze veroorzaakten over de eerste negen maanden van 2018 bijna de helft van het aantal burgerslachtoffers. Het aantal hierbij gedode burgers (1.065) was het hoogst sinds
- UNAMA gaf aan dat dergelijke aanslagen in toenemende mate gericht waren tegen burgers, waaronder de sjiitische minderheid van wie de meesten etnisch Hazara zijn. […] Grondgevechten vormden, aldus UNAMA, de op één na belangrijkste oorzaak van burgerslachtoffers in de periode januari tot en met september 2018 gevolgd door gericht aanvallen, luchtaanvallen en ontploffingen door explosieve oorlogsrestanten. Begin december 2018 wees UNAMA op de sterke stijging van het aantal kinderslachtoffers in Afghanistan door gewapend geweld tegen burgers. […] Die toename wordt met name veroorzaakt door luchtaanvallen. Gericht en bewust doden was de derde hoofdoorzaak van slachtoffers onder burgers in de periode van 1 januari tot en met 30 september
- […] Het ging hierbij meestal om gerichte aanvallen door de Taliban op burgerregeringsambtenaren en op burgers beschuldigd van het spioneren voor of het geven van informatie aan medestanders van de regering." (zie noot 4) In het 'Country of Origin'-rapport van het EASO van 12 juni 2019 staat onder meer het volgende (pp. 23 t/m 72 en 131 t/m 133): "International diplomatic efforts intensified towards peace with the appointment of Zalmay Khalilzad as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation in September 2018 and with Russia hosting a meeting in November 2018 on the peace process that was attended by 11 countries and the Taliban as well. Both tracks of negotiations continued in
- […] (zie noot 5) ISKP has its stronghold in certain southern districts of Nangarhar, where they are fighting with the Taliban for control. At its peak in 2015, ISKP was the dominant insurgent group in eight districts of Nangarhar. However, according to AAN, 'ISKP territory had shrunk to four districts by the end of 2015, with territory mainly re-taken by the Taleban. […]' ISKP and self-proclaimed IS groups have been under attack from the Taliban, as well as government and international forces. […] (zie noot 6) On 7 June 2018, 'President Ghani called a unilateral halt to all offensive government actions' over the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Fitr which the Taliban also joined, even if they did not refer to the government's announcement. This three-day ceasefire from 15 to 17 June 2018 marked 'the first real cessation of hostilities' in the last 17 years and allowed Afghans to go into areas that they had not been able to reach due to the Taliban's control for years. […] (zie noot 7) Following the takeover of Kunduz in 2015 and 2016, the Taliban conducted two major assaults on provincial centres in 2018: a one-day attack against Farah City and a five-day assault on Ghazni City. The Taliban indicated their intention to disrupt the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2018 through public statements issued in the weeks before election day. […] From the start of voter registration on 14 April 2018 through the end of the year, UNAMA verified 1007 election related civilian casualties (226 deaths and 781 injured) along with 310 election-related abductions. […] The ISKP presence remained significant in the eastern part of the country with reports of clashes between the group and Taliban fighters in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. The group increased the frequency and intensity of its attacks in 2018, particularly in the eastern region. UNAMA found that the substantial increase in civilian casualties attributed to ISKP was mostly due to the increase in suicide and complex attacks, which were mostly carried out against civilians or in civilian-populated areas. According to UNAMA, in direct violation of international humanitarian law, Anti-Government Elements relied more on suicide and complex attacks and shifted their intended targets more and more towards the civilian population in
- […] (zie noot 8) UNAMA found that the level of 'civilian casualties from ground engagements varied by region and province'. In 2018 Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan 'continued to drive the decrease in overall civilian casualties from ground engagements,' while UNAMA registered a significant increase in civilian casualties resulting from ground engagements in Ghazni province, mostly due to the attack in August 2018, and in Baghlan, Balkh, Kunar and Paktya provinces as well. […] (zie noot 9) Besides suicide attacks and using non-suicide IEDs to deliberately target civilians or civilian objects, AGEs also carried out 'targeted killings' of civilians, mostly by shooting. […] According to UNAMA, the targeted civilians 'were individuals perceived as supporting or otherwise connected to the Government or pro-Government armed groups, whether through current or former employment or family ties'. […] (zie noot 10) UNAMA recorded 10 993 civilian casualties (3 804 deaths, 7 189 injured) as a result of the armed conflict in
- This represents a 5% increase in overall civilian casualties and also an 11% increase in civilian deaths compared to the previous year. […] (zie noot 11) In its Eligibility Guidelines published in August 2018 UNHCR stated the following on the Afghan's state's ability to protect civilians: 'Even where the legal framework provides for the protection of human rights, the implementation of Afghanistan's commitments under national and international law to promote and protect these rights in practice frequently remains a challenge. Afghan governance and the adherence to the rule of law are perceived as particularly weak. The capability of the Government to protect human rights is undermined in many districts by insecurity and the high number of attacks by AGEs. Rural and unstable areas reportedly suffer from a generally weak formal justice system that is unable to effectively and reliably adjudicate civil and criminal disputes. Government-appointed judges and prosecutors are reportedly frequently unable to remain in such communities, due to insecurity. […] High levels of corruption, challenges to effective governance and a climate of impunity are all reported by observers as factors that weaken the rule of law and undermine the ability of the State to provide protection from human rights violations.' […] (zie noot 12) According to UNHCR, Afghanistan has seen significant internal displacement caused by conflict and natural disasters. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported over 600 000 new conflict induced IDPs in 2017 and more than 200 000 Afghans have been displaced by drought, mainly in the western part of the country in
- Based on estimations by UNHCR there were two million conflict induced and drought affected IDPs across Afghanistan in
- In 2018, 343 341 individuals have been newly displaced by the conflict and profiled by UNOCHA as IDPs in need of protection and assistance. UNOCHA found that greater levels of violence did not necessarily mean greater levels of displacement in
- With insurgents mostly engaging in a 'war of attrition' and focusing more on surprise assaults instead of efforts to seize and hold population centres, displacement was 'confined to relatively small-scale and temporal movement in 2018'. With the exception of the assaults against Farah and Ghazni, displacement was limited in duration and less likely reported. In 2017 Nangarhar, Kunduz and Badghis recorded the highest rates of conflict-related displacement, while in 2018 Ghazni, Faryab and Kunduz documented the highest numbers. Afghanistan experienced an extended period of dryness in the winter period planting season during December 2017 - February
- There was a precipitation deficit of more than 70% in most parts of the country, which had a devastating impact on crops and livestock with the winter wet season being considered critical for successful agricultural production. UNOCHA noted in October 2018 that the drought displaced more than 260 000 people in Badghis, Daykundi, Herat and Ghor provinces in the previous six months. Most displaced families stayed in displacement sites either in Herat City, Herat or in displacement sites in and around Qala-e-Naw, the provincial capital of Badghis. […] (zie noot 13) Displacement patterns due to conflict shifted in 2018: whilst in 2017 the provinces with the highest displacement rates were Nangarhar, Kunduz and Badghis, in 2018 Ghazni, Faryab and Kunduz witnessed the highest numbers. In 2018 around 550 000 Afghans left their homes either due to conflict or drought and moved into district centres, seeking for better basic services and income-generating opportunities. As of September 2018, more than 250 000 people were displaced due to drought in the western region, alone between June and August 2018 263 000 people were displace within Badghis and Herat. […] Furthermore, in 2018 Afghanistan witnessed the return of more than 800 000 undocumented Afghans from Iran and Pakistan. […] (zie noot 14) In 2018 UNAMA documented 1 686 civilian casualties (554 deaths and 1 132 injured) in Kabul city from suicide and complex attacks. 'Out of 65 suicide and complex attacks across the country in 2018, 28 incidents occurred in Kabul city'. This represents an increase of 5% compared to
- UNAMA reported that 'the attacks perpetrated in Kabul mainly targeted civilians, including the civilian Government administration, places of worship, education facilities, election-related sites and other "soft" targets'. Though, between 16 November 2018 and 7 February 2019, suicide attacks decreased by 61%, compared with the same period the year before: '[…] possibly reflecting succesful interdiction efforts by Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad […]'. […] Throughout 2018, attacks targeting government offices, Afghan security forces, journalists, a ceremony in front of the airport, Muslim clerics, Shia worshippers, an educational centre, protesters, a sports' club and a voter registration centre were claimed by or attributed to ISKP. Many of these attacks significantly affected the Hazara population, as the participants of the protests were mainly Hazara and the educational centre, the sports clubs as well as the registration centre are all located in the Hazara dominated Dasht-e-Barchi neigbourhood. […] (zie noot 15) The deadliest attack during parliamentary elections in October 2018 was carried out by ISKP outside a polling station in Kabul city killing 13 persons and injuring
- […] The Taliban publicly announced its opposition to parliamentary elections, and they threatened voters and volunteers, attacked polling centres, fired mortar shells and detonated bombs all over the country. Although security in Kabul city was tight, more than a dozen explosions were reported. […] (zie noot 16) As many as two-thirds of all Afghans displaced outside their province are moving towards the five regional capitals, and Kabul's growth has been particularly significant. The total number of IDPs in Kabul is not known. Movement to and within the city is fluid and many return regularly to their area of origin during more peaceful periods. In September 2018, the Afghan Minister of Refugees and Repatriation estimated the total number of IDPs in Kabul tob e from 70 000 to 80 000 people. […] (zie noot 17) In 2018, UNAMA documented 653 civilian casualties (253 deaths and 400 injured) in Ghazni. This represents an increase of 84% compared to
- Leading causes of casualties were ground engagements, followed by aerial attacks and targeted or deliberate killings. […] Throughout 2018 and early 2019, Ghazni continued to be a major battlefield between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government - backed by US forces since the second half of
- […] Airstrikes carried out in August 2018 led to civilian casualties and destroyed civilian homes. UNAMA recorded 262 civilian casualties (79 deaths, 183 injured) related to the Taliban attacks in August
- According to UNAMA, most of the civilian casualties were caused by indirect weapons; mainly rockets and mortars, as well as small arms fire during ground engagement. UNAMA reported seven airstrikes carried out by the pro-government forces, causing the death of 32 persons and injuring 49 others. Furthermore, the Taliban '[…] burned down large parts of the bazaar area, causing many people to lose their livelihoods, and intentionally damaged two media corporations.' […] (zie noot 18) In November 2018, the Taliban launched a major offensive against the Hazara-dominated, formerly peaceful districts of Jaghori and Malestan, after the insurgents had already attacked neighbouring Khas Uruzgan in Uruzgan Province in the end of October. […] UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2018 - 31 December 2018, reporting 46311 persons displaced from Ghazni, most of whom (37 611) went to Ghazni district and the others were displaced to Bamyan province (2 617), Kabul district (2 562), Daykundi province (2 229) and in less important numbers in Helmand, Herat, Kandahar, Khost, Nimroz, Paktya and Zabul provinces. UNOCHA collected data for the period of 1 January 2019 - 28 February 2019, reporting 83 persons displaced from Ghazni. UNOCHA collected data for the period 1 January 2018 - 31 December 2018, reporting 37 779 persons displaced to Ghazni province, all displaced to Ghazni district. […]" (zie noot 19) In het rapport van UNAMA van 28 februari 2019 staat onder meer het volgende (pp. 1 t/m 14): "Efforts towards a negotiated settlement to the conflict intensified, with progress reported in talks between the United States of America and the Taliban. The Government of Afghanistan also continued its preparations for an intra-Afghan peace dialogue, although no formal talks between the Government and the Taliban were held. […] Security remained volatile, with a slight decrease in violent incidents in line with seasonal trends. Civilian casualties continued at record high levels. […] The humanitarian situation remained grave, compounded by ongoing drought and high levels of displacement. […] (zie noot 20) The previous three months were dominated by three crucial and related processes: the aftermath of the parliamentary elections, held on 20 October, the presidential elections constitutionally mandated to take place in 2019, now scheduled for July, and the redoubled effort to reach a durable political settlement between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban insurgency. Efforts to end the conflict in Afghanistan through political reconciliation accelerated in the second half of
- During the reporting period, the Government continued its preparations for an intra-Afghan peace dialogue. […] (zie noot 21) The security situation remained volatile, with a consistently high number of security incidents. In 2018, the United Nations recorded 22,478 security-related incidents, a 5 per cent reduction as compared with the historically high 23,744 security-related incidents recorded in
- UNAMA recorded 13,805 armed clashes in 2018, representing 61 per cent of all security-related incidents and a 10 per cent decrease compared with
- Incidents relating to the use of improvised explosive devices remained the second largest category of incidents. Reported airstrikes, which had already increased by 67.6 per cent from 2016 to 2017, rose by an additional 42 per cent, from 950 in 2017 to 1,352 in
- The Taliban succeeded in temporarily capturing 21 district administrative centres throughout the year, the second highest level since the security transition to the Afghan forces at the end of
- Targeted killings and abductions increased by 9 per cent compared with 2017, while 106 suicide attacks were recorded, the highest number since 2014 and a 5 per cent increase as compared with
- The southern and eastern regions recorded the highest number of incidents, accounting for 52 per cent of all security incidents. Between 16 November 2018 and 7 February 2019, UNAMA recorded a total of 4,420 security-related incidents, an 8 per cent decrease compared with the same period the year before. The southern region saw the highest number of incidents, followed by the eastern and northern regions, with these three regions accounting for 67 per cent of all incidents. Established trends remain unchanged, with armed clashes dominating the security incident profile, accounting for 58 per cent of all incidents, a 12 per cent decrease compared with the same period in
- Suicide attacks decreased by 61 per cent, possibly reflecting successful interdiction efforts by Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad, while air strikes by the Afghan Air Force and international military forces increased by 51 per cent as compared with the same period the year before. […] Several high-profile attacks occurred during the reporting period, mainly in the city of Kabul, despite an overall lower tempo of suicide and complex attacks nationwide. […] (zie noot 22) A number of protests occurred around the country linked to the elections, civilian casualties or the arrest of high-profile individuals. Within the span of a week in late November, at least four demonstrations against civilian casualties as a result of pro-government military operations were held in Gelan District (Ghazni Province), Jabal us Saraj District (Parwan Province), Muhammad Aghah District ( Logar Province) and Gomal District (Paktika Province). On 25 November, the National Directorate for Security arrested Ali Pur, a Hazara militia commander, on suspicion of involvement in criminal activities. The arrest sparked widespread demonstrations in the cities of Kabul and Bamyan, where they escalated into violence, as well as in the provinces of Herat, Balkh, Daykundi and Wardak. Ali Pur was subsequently released on 26 November. The localized protests against the preliminary results and vote recounts for parliamentary elections resulted at times in the closure of roads or the provincial offices of electoral management bodies. […] Increased measures implemented by the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces have improved security in the city of Jalalabad in 2019, after the provincial capital witnessed a 10 per cent increase in suicide attacks in 2018, primarily driven by ISIL-KP. […] Regional engagement with regard to the Afghan peace process intensified during the reporting period, as the Government of Afghanistan and countries of the region enhanced their mutual efforts. […] The trade connectivity of Afghanistan received a boost on 13 December with the inauguration in Herat of the Lapis Lazuli Corridor by President Ghani. The Corridor is expected to facilitate the export of Afghan products, particularly to European markets. During the reporting period, the first batch of Afghan goods reached Turkey via this route. […] On 25 February 2019, UNAMA released its 2018 annual report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The Mission documented 10,993 civilian casualties (3,804 people killed and 7,189 injured) between 1 January and 31 December 2018, the highest number of civilians deaths recorded in a single year since UNAMA began systematic documentation in 2009, and an overall increase of 5 per cent compared with
- UNAMA attributed 63 per cent of all civilian casualties to anti-government elements (37 per cent to the Taliban, 20 per cent to ISIL-KP and 6 per cent to unidentified anti-government elements, including self-proclaimed ISIL-KP), 24 percent to pro-government forces (14 per cent to Afghan national defence and security forces, 6 per cent to international military forces, 2 per cent to pro-government militias, and 2 per cent to undetermined or multiple pro-government forces), 10 per cent to unattributed crossfire during ground engagements between anti-government elements and pro-government forces and 3 per cent to other incidents, including explosive remnants of war and cross-border shelling. […] (zie noot 23) From 1 October to 31 December 2018, the country task force on monitoring and reporting on grave violations against children in armed conflict verified 69 incidents targeting schools and related personnel, compared with 33 incidents during the previous quarter. […] The increase is mainly the result of attacks by the Taliban against schools used as polling centres. […] (zie noot 24) The Government took further steps for the promotion and protection of women's rights. […] The reporting period saw heightened concern regarding the preservation of the achievements of human rights, particularly women's rights, over the past 18 years. […] (zie noot 25) By the time of the Geneva conference, all 10 national priority programmes had been finalized and approved by high development councils. All are currently under implementation. According to the progress update on national priority programmes, issued in November 2018, the implementation of the Citizens' Charter programme had begun in more than 11,000 communities across all 34 provinces, reaching nearly 10 million people. As at January 2019, more than $100 million in community grants had been disbursed to communities and more than 4,000 projects were under way. Women's participation in local decision-making increased under the programme, with women making up more than 49 per cent of more than 200,000 elected community development council members and 50 per cent of council leaders. An estimated 78 per cent of eligible female voters participated in the elections, which was higher than the participation rate among male voters. On 31 December, the National Assembly approved the 2019 national budget, marking the first time the budget was approved on its first submission. The security, infrastructure, education, health and agriculture sectors received the greatest share of budget allocation. […] The Government continued its efforts to implement civil service reform. […] The programme is aimed at improving human resources planning, enhancing merit-based recruitment and strengthening the capacity of government ministries and agencies. It is also aimed at increasing the representation of women in the civil service, through the imposition of an additional quota of 10 per cent for women in all new recruitments in order to meet the Government's commitment that women will represent 30 per cent of the civil service by
- The Government also made progress towards the implementation of its subnational governance policy. […] (zie noot 26) The Government continued its efforts to combat impunity for high-level offences, with mixed results. […] The enforcement of arrest warrants for Justice Centre Cases remains a concern. As at January 2019, about one third of pending warrants had been executed, with none of the concerned defendants in detention. […] Between 1 November and 10 January, 49,001 people were newly displaced by the conflict, bringing the total number of displaced in 2018 to 364,883 people. More than half of this figure (58 per cent) comprised children under the age of
- Although conflict-related displacement in 2018 was down by more than a quarter compared with 2017, many displaced families continued to have no immediate prospect of returning to their areas of origin in safety and dignity. In 2018, humanitarian partners provided life-saving assistance to 144,697 people displaced by conflict. In November 2018, heavy fighting among ethnic groups in the Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan Province spilled over to the Jaghuri and Malistan districts in Ghazni Province, affecting Hazara communities and resulting in the displacement of almost 5,000 families to surrounding villages and provinces. In response, displaced families received a combination of assistance from the Government, United Nations agencies and humanitarian parnters, including fuel and firewood for heating, multipurpose cash, food and non-food items, as well as family reunification and psychosocial support. […] (zie noot 27) In the final two months of 2018, the humanitarian community significantly scaled up its operations to respond to the 22 provinces most severely affected by drought, as well as the worsening displacement in the western region. As at 31 December 2018, humanitarian partners had reached 3.5 million drought-affected people with a range of humanitarian assistance. […] Also in November, the country's first all-female demining team successfully cleared one of the last minefields in Bamyan Province. The 13-member team released 51,520 m2 of contaminated land back to the community. In December, the United Nations cleared contamination from explosive remnants of war in and around the Girls' Central High School of Almar district in Faryab Province. […] From November to January, the United Nations and its partners cleared 4.78 km2 of contamination from high-impact explosives, benefiting 46 communities. […] (zie noot 28) Constraints on humanitarian access continued, with a total of 79 incidents affecting the United Nations and its humanitarian partners between 1 November 2018 and 27 January
- […] Humanitarian access in contested areas and areas under control of anti-government elements remained a persistent challenge. […]" (zie noot 29) In het rapport van USDOS van 21 juni 2019 staat onder meer het volgende (pp. 1 en 2): "The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of ISIS and a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, again targeted and killed members of minority religious communities, and the Taliban again targeted and killed individuals because of their beliefs or their links to the government. According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), consistent with trends observed in the past two years, many of the suicide and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on civilians targeted Shia Muslims, particularly ethnic Hazaras. During the year, UNAMA recorded 22 attacks targeting places of worship, religious leaders, and worshippers, causing 453 civilian casualties (156 deaths and 297 injured), all attributed to ISKP and other antigovernment elements. […] Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, and other non-Muslim minority groups reported continued harassment from some Muslims, although Hindus and Sikhs stated they were able to practice their respective religions in public. […]" (zie noot 30) Voetnoten