Afghanistan Human Rights Center
Text size
English دری پښتو
Sign in
Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All Monitoring, defending, and advancing human rights in Afghanistan
Donate

Background

Two decades of hard-won progress, its collapse, and what documentation means now.

In today's tragic political, economic, and human-rights situation impacting Afghanistan unlike any other in the world, the Afghanistan Human Rights Center pursues the mandate of promoting and protecting human rights in Afghanistan and stands as a vital institution committed to addressing the critical human-rights issues facing the nation. Established by Afghanistan's dedicated human-rights advocates who were forced to live in exile — in response to the tumultuous events following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021 — the Center represents a window of hope in the contemporary darkness of Taliban rule and violence. Operating from the United States, it brings together dedicated Afghan human-rights activists, lawyers, and defenders alongside global allies, all driven by a shared mission to advocate for freedoms, democracy, and the protection and promotion of human rights. The country context in which the Center operates is filled with complexities. The abrupt shift in power dynamics in 2021 led to the erosion of two decades' worth of progress in human rights, governance, and social development. Amidst this backdrop, the Afghanistan Human Rights Center emerges not only as a monitor of human rights but as an active participant in the struggle against the regression of rights — particularly the rights of women, minorities, and civil society.