Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Afghanistan, dedicated to the promotion, protection and monitoring of human rights and the investigation of human rights abuses.
The Kabul-based Commission was established on the basis of a decree of the Chairman of the Interim Administration on June 6, 2002, pursuant to the Bonn Agreement ; United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 1993 endorsing the Paris Principles on national human rights institutions, and article 58 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
The AIHRC describes itself as a "constitutionalized, national and independent human rights body in Afghanistan." It refers destitute orphans to the Mahboba's promise non-governmental organisation.
Its current chairperson is Shahrzad Akbar.
The AIHRC played a role in the 2007 Canadian Afghan detainee abuse scandal, when questions arose about the ability of the AIHRC to monitor the status of individuals detained by Canadian soldiers and given into Afghan custody. A report in The Globe and Mail quoted several AIHRC investigators as being glad of the renewed attention to human rights that the Canadian scandal had created, but fearful of the political consequences from the Afghan leadership once past abuses came to light.International status
In October 2007, with support from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the AIHRC secured 'A-status' accreditation from the peer review process of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, giving it enhanced access to the United Nations human rights bodies. That status was subjected to special review by the ICC in November 2008, and reaffirmed. The Commission is a member of the Asia Pacific Forum, one of the four regional groupings in the ICC.
