Establishment

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission was established under the Bonn Agreement and commenced operations following a Decree of the President of the Interim Administration of Afghanistan on 6 June 2002.

On 7 January 2004, the Commission became constitutionally entrenched following the adoption of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by the Loya Jirgah (the Afghan Grand Assembly).

The Commission's establishing legislation – the Law on the Structure, Duties and Mandate of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission – was adopted by the Afghanistan Cabinet and enacted by the President of Afghanistan on 2 May 2005.

The Commission's accreditation with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) was suspended in 2022 following the Taliban's occupation of government in Afghanistan.

Role and Functions

Prior to its suspension, the Commission's mandate included:

• Monitoring the situation of human rights in the country
• Promoting and protecting human rights
• Monitoring the situation of and people's access to their fundamental rights and freedoms
• Investigating and verifying cases of human rights violations
• Taking measures for the improvement and promotion of the human rights situation in the country.

APF membership

The AIHRC joined the APF in 2004 as an Associate Member. In 2005 it was accredited as an A-status institution with GANHRI and subsequently became a Full Member of the APF from 2005 until 2022.

The Commission's APF membership is currently suspended.

• Human Rights Defenders
• Afghanistan
• Statement

FEATURE ARTICLE

Afghanistan: Joint call for an immediate end to attacks against human rights defenders

Human rights organisations have called for an immediate end to attacks against human rights defenders, in a joint statement.

Read more Read more about Afghanistan: Joint call for an immediate end to attacks against human rights defenders

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