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UNDER ATTACK Innocent civilians in Afghanistan continue to be targeted in the ongoing armed conflict. By
Kanaga Raja While the government of Afghanistan has made some positive strides in the promotion and protection of human rights, significant challenges remain, with civilians – men, women and children – continuing to bear the brunt of the ongoing armed conflict in the country. These are the main conclusions of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, in her report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. The report, to be presented at the twenty-second session of the Human Rights Council later this month, amongst others, found that Anti-Government elements (AGEs) "have increasingly targeted non-combatants as well as purely civilian locations, including roads, public marketplaces and mosques using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide attacks and other indiscriminate tactics." "Ordinary citizens working in a civilian capacity or suspected to be working for the Government or international military forces have repeatedly been targeted for assassination, subjected to threats and other forms of intimidation by anti-Government elements," it added. Over 50% of all civilian deaths and injuries result from the use of IEDs or tactics that employ these devices, such as suicide attacks, the report said. In her report, the High Commissioner, amongst others, recommended that Anti-Government elements "should immediately cease targeting civilians, such as through deliberate attacks which are violations of international law". According to the report (A/HRC/22/37), civilian protection has declined in different parts of the country, even as the process of transitioning lead security responsibility from international military to Afghan National Security forces leadership has advanced throughout the last year. While civilian deaths and injuries resulting from conflict-related violence reduced in the first five months of 2012, this trend then reversed, with the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA/OHCHR) documenting higher civilian casualties each month from June through November. Between 1 January and 30 November 2012, UNAMA/OHCHR documented 7,066 civilian casualties (2,610 killed and 4,456 injured). Although the 2011 and 2012 total figures are very similar, there were fewer civilian casualties in 2012 resulting from ground combat and military operations. There was, however, an increase in the number of casualties resulting from the deliberate targeting of civilians by AGEs. Owing to fewer ground engagements between pro-Government forces (PGFs) and AGEs, there was a 24% reduction in civilian casualties of such operations. "This resulted both from the drawdown and redeployment of international military forces and the change in the tactics of AGEs, who increasingly targeted civilians or civilian locations rather than directly engaging pro-Government security forces." The report found that 82% of all civilian casualties for the reporting period were attributed to AGEs, compared with 70% for the same period in 2011. Between 1 January and 30 November 2012, IEDs and suicide attacks together accounted for 51% of all Afghan civilian deaths and injuries. "Halting the use of victim-activated pressure-plate IEDs and suicide bombings, given their indiscriminate and disproportionate impact on civilians, would be a credible demonstration of the intent to reduce civilian casualties," the High Commissioner recommended. AGEs continued to target civilians and indiscriminately launch attacks in civilian locations, such as mosques, city centres, public roads and civilian Government locations. In the first 11 months of 2012, UNAMA/OHCHR documented seven incidents of attacks targeting civilians in places of worship. In some instances, imams were deliberately targeted, including for performing funeral prayers for members of ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces). The High Commissioner also said that AGEs increasingly targeted civilians, including Government officials, "in clear violation of international humanitarian law". Such tactics were the second leading cause of deaths and injuries of civilians perceived by AGEs to be supporting the Government or international military forces. Between 1 January and 30 November 2012, targeted killings and attempted killings carried out by AGEs killed 641 and injured 359 civilians, more than double the casualties documented in the same period in 2011. A decline was recorded in the number of civilian casualties attributed to PGF between 1 January and 30 November 2012. Seven per cent of civilian casualties resulted from PGF operations in 2012, compared with 15% in the same period in 2011. Yet, the report stressed, civilian deaths resulting from air strikes continued to raise concern. It noted that in one such incident on 6 June, 18 civilians, including 9 children, died in Logar province when an international military helicopter fired on a civilian residence where AGEs had taken cover. On 16 September, a series of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) air strikes in Alingar district, Laghman province, killed four women, three girls and one boy and seriously wounded five women and three girls, while no insurgents were harmed or captured. On 23 March, a United States service member was charged with 17 counts of murder by a United States court over a mass shooting of civilians, mostly women and children, in two hamlets in Kandahar earlier in the month. The High Commissioner's report also found that children continue to suffer disproportionately as a result of the ongoing armed conflict. On average, more than 20 children were killed and injured per week across the country during 2012. Reports received and verified by the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting on children affected by armed conflict show that at least 1,103 children were killed and injured during the first eleven months of the year. This figure, however, represents a near 22% decrease compared to the same period in 2011. In 2012, incidents involving IED detonations, suicide and rocket attacks, unexploded ordnances and explosive remnants of war resulted in a high number of children casualties. "AGEs bore responsibility for most of the child casualties (69 per cent). Another 16% of the casualties were attributed to PGFs, including international military forces. The remaining 15% could not be attributed to any party in the conflict owing to the nature of the incidents, such as crossfire." The report noted that casualties attributed to AGEs increased by 15%, while those attributed to PGFs decreased by 16% in 2012. In 2012, nearly 200 children were killed and injured by detonations of unexploded ordnances and explosive remnants of war, mostly during the seasonal rains period. "Targeting of children and schools is a direct violation of international humanitarian law and all parties to the conflict have an obligation to cease any such activities. Yet, AGEs continued to launch attacks on schools, especially targeting girls' school and their staff. The Country Task Force received reports on 102 incidents of attacks against schools and staff." – Third World Network Features. -ends-
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