Afghanistan

Fighting between the Taliban and government forces in Afghanistan has escalated. The upsurge in violence had devastating consequences for civilians, with suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and targeted attacks by the Taliban and other insurgents causing 70 percent of all civilian casualties. The number of civilians killed during government military operations increased as well. The number of internally displaced people nearly reached 1 million in 2015. While the government affirmed its commitment to human rights, it failed to address violations of women’s rights and attacks on journalists. Parliamentary and provincial elections scheduled for 2015 were postponed pending contested electoral reforms and are now tentatively scheduled for late 2016.