• Afghanistan: No Amnesty for Taliban Crimes
    Nov 25, 2012
    Press release
    The Afghan government should not grant Taliban representatives amnesty from prosecution for serious crimes as part of talks with the insurgent group, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 17, 2012, the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, Salahuddin Rabbani, told journalists that Taliban officials who join peace negotiations with the Afghan government will receive immunity from prosecution and will have their names removed from the United Nations sanctions.
  • Afghanistan: Karzai Should Halt Executions
    Nov 20, 2012
    Press release
    The Afghan government should end its sudden surge of executions and institute a moratorium on further executions.
  • Keep Soldiers Out of Schools and Universities
    Nov 20, 2012
    Press release
    The use of schools and other education institutions for military purposes by armed forces and non-state armed groups during wartime endangers students and their education around the world, said the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack in a study released today.
  • Afghanistan: US Should Articulate Women’s Rights Strategy
    Oct 19, 2012
    Press release
    US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should publicly announce a strategy to protect women's rights in Afghanistan before she leaves office in 2013, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Clinton today. Women's rights are increasingly at risk in the run-up to the scheduled drawdown of international troops at the end of 2014 and decreasing funding and attention to Afghanistan.
  • UN: Mark Day of Girl By Fighting Child Marriage
    Oct 10, 2012
    Press release
    As the world celebrates the first International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, 2012, eliminating child marriages should be a key political priority for governments to protect the rights of girls and women.
  • Afghanistan: Free Women Jailed for ‘Running Away’
    Sep 18, 2012
    Press release
    High-level Afghan government officials have for the first time publicly confirmed that it is not a criminal offense for women and girls to run away from home.
  • Afghanistan: Break Deadlock on Rights Appointments
    Sep 5, 2012
    Press release
    President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan should promptly end a nine-month stalemate by appointing independent and experienced human rights experts to fill empty seats on the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
  • Afghanistan: Appoint Rights-Respecting Intelligence Chief
    Aug 30, 2012
    Press release
    The Afghan government should drop reported plans to appoint a senior official linked to torture as head of the country’s main intelligence service. Numerous and credible reports allege that Asadullah Khalid, while governor of Kandahar province and in other posts, commanded forces that committed grave human rights violations.
  • Afghanistan: Commute ‘Green on Blue’ Death Sentence
    Jul 18, 2012
    Press release
    The Afghan government should commute the death sentence imposed on an Afghan soldier convicted of killing four French soldiers in January 2012.
  • Afghanistan: Make Rights a Priority at Tokyo Conference
    Jul 3, 2012
    Press release
    Donors meeting in Tokyo to discuss Afghanistan’s future should make human rights in the war-torn country a top priority. Representatives of about 70 countries will meet on July 8, 2012, at the Tokyo Conference to discuss support for Afghanistan in the critical years following the departure of most international forces in 2014.