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The Trouble with Torture: NDS, Special Forces and the CIA

Fresh evidence of abuse in more than a dozen NDS and police facilities has been presented in a report by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and Open Societies Foundations (OSF). The allegations, which include testimony of security detainees being beaten, given electric shocks and having their genitals wrenched, were described by NDS as […]

29 Mar 2012 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

12 April 2012: Our World in Transition: Impact on Human Security and EU Response

AAN’s Sari Kouvo chairs a panel on Afghanistan’s transition at the international student conference organised at the Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS). Read more about the conference here.

25 Mar 2012 AAN • admin • Events

The ‘Other Bagram’ (1): A Memorandum for handover

President Karzai’s legal advisor, Nasrullah Stanekzai, has confirmed to AAN that there will be detention without trial of Afghans by Afghans when the Detention Facility at Parwan (DFIP), also referred to simply as ‘Bagram’, is handed over to Afghan government control, at the latest, on 8 September 2012. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by […]

21 Mar 2012 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

Afghan New Year: Sal-e Naw Mubarak

Three swallows were sighted in the skies over Kabul by members of the AAN team this week – a welcome harbinger of spring after this year’s long, cold winter. They disappeared again, as a dust storm racked Kabul on the last day of the Afghan year. Nawruz has now dawned, even with grey and gritty […]

20 Mar 2012 Kate Clark • Context and Culture

6 April 2012: Combattre en Afghanistan?

AAN’s Sari Kouvo speaks about Afghan women’s rights and reconciliation at a one-day seminar on Afghanistan organised by the Institut International des droits de l’homme et de la paix (Caen, Normandie). Read more about the seminar here.

20 Mar 2012 AAN • admin • Events

One Year of Transition: A Look Back (2)

Second part of the retrospective look at the last three months’ transitions which took in many Afghan provinces. AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini briefly comments on each of these and on some characteristics of the overall process. The second phase of transition continued on 11 January 2012 with a ceremony in the Wardak provincial capital of Maidan […]

18 Mar 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • International Engagement

One Year of Transition: A Look Back (1)

The second phase of transition, which was announced on 27 November 2011, is drawing to a close after a long winter, and after a turbulent few weeks that have refocused attention on the fall-out over the ongoing conflict. Many more areas of Afghanistan have witnessed an official transfer of security, while information about the third […]

18 Mar 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • International Engagement

The End of the Affair? Taleban Suspend Talks

The Taleban have announced that they are suspending talks with the Americans, only six weeks after the opening of their political office in Qatar. In a statement, they described the US approach as ‘shaky, erratic and vague’ and accused the Americans of breaching a memorandum of understanding which had been previously arrived at. This decision […]

16 Mar 2012 Kate Clark • War and Peace

The Kandahar Killing: With friends like this… (amended)

After the killing of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier in Kandahar province, Western military and political officials have – duly – apologised again but also called the incident ‘rogue’, a ‘first time’ or a ‘completely out-of-the-ordinary’ event. Thomas Ruttig, a Senior Analyst at AAN, wonders whether this is the case or whether it […]

12 Mar 2012 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

Freeing the ‘Guantanamo Five’ 2: Kafka in Cuba

Five Taleban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, whose release is a key demand of the Taleban, prior to/as part of peace talks, have said they are willing to be transferred to Qatar. President Karzai had said they had to be handed over to his government, but after a high level visit by Afghan officials, both Taleban […]

11 Mar 2012 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms