AFGHANISTAN – CIVILIAN
CASUALTIES INCREASE 22% IN 2014 – WOMEN & CHILDREN – WIDOWS SUFFER
POVERTY +
KABUL,
18 February 2015 - Increased ground engagements between parties to the
armed conflict in Afghanistan are behind a 22 per cent rise in
conflict-related deaths and injuries of Afghan civilians in 2014, the
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said today on the
release of its 2014 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed
Conflict, prepared in coordination with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
UNAMA
documented 10,548 civilian casualties in 2014, the highest number of
civilian deaths and injuries recorded in a single year since 2009. Included
in the toll were 3,699 civilian deaths (up 25 per cent) and 6,849 civilian
injuries (up 21 per cent) for a 22 per cent rise in total civilian
casualties over 2013. Since 2009, the armed conflict in Afghanistan has
caused 47,745 civilian casualties with 17,774 Afghan civilians killed and
29,971 injured.
For
the first time since 2009, more Afghan civilians were killed and injured in
ground engagements than by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or any other
tactic. The report found that civilian deaths and injuries from ground
operations surged by 54 per cent making them the leading cause of civilian
casualties and the biggest killers of Afghan women and children in
2014.
The
rise in civilian casualties in 2014 resulted mainly from increased ground
engagements across Afghanistan in which parties to the conflict
increasingly used explosive weapons systems such as mortars, rockets and
grenades, sometimes indiscriminately, in civilian-populated areas with
devastating consequences for civilians. The increased indiscriminate use of
IEDs and increased number of suicide attacks by Anti-Government Elements
added to the rising civilian casualties in 2014.
“In
communities across Afghanistan, increased ground fighting among parties to
the conflict and more IED attacks exacted a heavy toll on Afghan
civilians,” said the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Nicholas Haysom. “Rising
civilian deaths and injuries in 2014 attests to a failure to fulfil
commitments to protect Afghan civilians from harm. Parties to the conflict
should understand the impact of their actions and take responsibility for
them, uphold the values they claim to defend, and make protecting civilians
their first priority. We need to see concrete steps and a real drop in
civilian casualties in 2015.”
The
UNAMA report highlighted that Anti-Government Elements remained responsible
for the vast majority of Afghan civilian deaths and injuries. The report
attributed 72 per cent of all civilian casualties to Anti-Government
Elements, 14 per cent to Pro-Government Forces (12 per cent to Afghan
national security forces, two per cent to international military forces)
and 10 per cent to ground engagements between Anti-Government Elements and
Afghan national security forces in which a civilian casualty could not be
attributed to a specific party. Three per cent of all civilian casualties
were caused by unattributed explosive remnants of war with one per cent
from cross-border shelling.
As
the withdrawal of international military forces and combat air support
continued in 2014, UNAMA observed more frequent and larger ground
operations by both Afghan national security forces and Anti-Government
Elements in several regions with fighting often occurring in and near
district centres. Increased ground fighting in civilian populated areas
with all parties using mortars, other explosive weapons and small arms fire
frequently resulted in deaths and injuries to civilians caught in the crossfire.
UNAMA
documented 3,605 civilian casualties (1,092 killed and 2,513 injured) from
ground engagements, accounting for 34 per cent of all civilian casualties
in 2014. Of these, UNAMA attributed 43 per cent to Anti-Government Elements
and 26 per cent to Pro-Government Forces. UNAMA could not attribute
civilian casualties solely to either party in 29 per cent of ground
operations with two per cent of civilian casualties from ground operations
attributed to cross-border shelling.
The
UNAMA report found that half of all civilian casualties from ground
engagements were from the use of indirect weapons with a wide-area impact,
mainly mortars, along with rockets and grenades by all parties. UNAMA
recorded 1,788 civilian casualties (447 killed and 1,341 injured) from
mortars, rockets and grenades, a 73 per cent increase from 2013.
Civilian
deaths and injuries from ground engagements, operations and attacks by
Pro-Government Forces rose significantly with 921 civilian casualties (336
killed and 585 injured) attributed to Pro-Government Forces, a 141 per cent
increase from 2013. An increase in civilian casualties by Anti-Government
Elements during their ground operations and attacks was also documented
with 1,551 civilian casualties (438 deaths and 1,113 injured), up 51 per
cent from 2013.
The
report found that women and children were particularly hard hit by the
armed conflict and increased ground engagements in 2014. UNAMA documented a
40 per cent increase in children casualties with 2,474 children casualties
(714 killed and 1,760 injured) compared to 2013. Women casualties increased
by 21 per cent with 298 women killed and 611 injured.
To highlight the broader social and economic impact of the conflict on
the lives of Afghan women, UNAMA interviewed 60 women from all regions in
Afghanistan whose husbands, all civilians, were killed or seriously injured
from conflict-related violence in 2014. UNAMA found that women who were
left as sole income-providers for their households after the death or
injury of their husbands often experienced long-term negative social and
economic consequences, with poverty forcing many women to give their
daughters in marriage in exchange for debts or to take their children out
of school often to work. Widowed women were often particularly vulnerable
to other forms of violence and abuse from family and community members.
These findings call for urgent action by the Government of Afghanistan to
address the basic needs of this group of very vulnerable and often
marginalized women and their children.
“For Afghan women and children, the anguish of losing a husband and father
in the conflict is often only the beginning of their suffering and
hardship,” said the UNAMA Director of Human Rights, Georgette Gagnon. “The
long-term social and economic consequences are devastating affecting the
most vulnerable the hardest. After a year in which conflict-related
violence led by ground engagements killed and injured record numbers of
women and children, the destruction and damage to Afghan lives must be met
with a new commitment by all parties to avoid harm to Afghan civilians.”
The
UNAMA report documented 2,978 civilian casualties (925 killed and 2,053
injured) from IEDs used by Anti-Government Elements, up three per cent from
2013 and the highest civilian casualties from IEDs recorded in a single
year since 2009. Civilian victims of suicide and complex attacks by
Anti-Government Elements increased by 28 per cent with UNAMA recording
1,582 casualties (371 killed and 1,211 injured), the third leading cause of
civilian casualties after ground engagements and IEDs.
Targeted
killings of civilians by Anti-Government Elements accounted for 11 per cent
of all civilian casualties, with UNAMA recording 1,114 casualties (753 killed
and 361 injured), down five per cent from 2013. These included killings of
tribal elders, civilian Government officials, mullahs and civilian justice
officials.
The report found that four per cent of all civilian casualties in 2014 were
caused by explosive remnants of war and two per cent from aerial operations
by international military forces.
Pro-Government Forces continued to implement measures aimed at reducing
civilian casualties in 2014. Despite these measures, UNAMA documented an
increase in civilian casualties by Pro-Government Forces mainly Afghan
national security forces. UNAMA recorded 1,478 civilian casualties (622
deaths and 856 injured) caused by Pro-Government Forces, a 51 per cent
increase from 2013. The majority of these civilian casualties occurred
during ground operations.
Of
the total 1,478 civilian casualties caused by Pro-Government Forces, UNAMA
attributed 1,225 civilian casualties (468 deaths and 757 injured) to Afghan
national security forces (up 85 per cent from 2013), 102 civilian
casualties (53 deaths and 49 injured) to Pro-Government armed groups (up 85
per cent from 2013), and 151 civilian casualties (101 deaths and 50
injured) solely to international military forces (down 43 per cent from
2013).
UNAMA’s
report noted a significant increase in human rights abuses committed
against civilians by Pro-Government armed groups in the north, northeast
and southeast regions of Afghanistan, together with a widespread failure by
the Government of Afghanistan to hold these armed groups accountable, and
to protect affected civilians and communities. UNAMA called on the
Government of Afghanistan to promptly disband and disarm these armed groups
in line with its stated commitments.
In
2014, UNAMA documented increased incidents of Anti-Government Elements,
including the Taliban, punishing civilians for alleged infractions of
sharia law, perceived offences and allegations of spying. Incidents
recorded included Anti-Government Elements’ carrying out summary
executions, beheadings, amputations of body parts, beatings, lashings and
illegal detention. UNAMA highlights that such parallel judicial structures
are illegal and have no legitimacy or basis under the laws of Afghanistan.
Punishments meted out by these structures amount to human rights abuses,
criminal acts under the laws of Afghanistan, and, in some circumstances,
war crimes.
“The
appalling levels of violence in Afghanistan in 2014 should not be repeated
in 2015,” said Special Representative Haysom. “Parties to the conflict, in
particular the Anti-Government Elements, should do everything in their
power to prevent civilian casualties in line with their obligations under
international humanitarian law. This means that Anti-Government
Elements should now abide by their public commitments to avoid civilian
casualties by preventing or ceasing the use of IEDs and mortars in
civilian-populated areas, and stop deliberately attacking civilians.”
SELECTED
ACCOUNTS OF AFGHAN CIVILIANS FROM UNAMA’s 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
“It
was midnight and we were all asleep. A mortar round landed in our bedroom
and injured my two small daughters and I. Everybody in the house ran to our
bedroom and saw that we were buried in rubble. They started to take us out
of the debris when a second mortar round landed, injuring my third small
daughter and my son. My wife and my nephew, who were not hurt, continued
trying to help us, when a third mortar round landed in the compound, this
time killing my wife and injuring my nephew and my fourth daughter. I do
not know who fired all the rockets since both Taliban and Afghan national
security forces use mortar rounds and rockets against each other. I have no
life anymore, since I have no money to take care of my injured children’s
health and no money left to feed them.”
--
Man whose wife was killed and whose four daughters, son and nephew were
injured when multiple mortar rounds landed on their house in Sangin
district, Helmand province, during a ground engagement between Afghan
national security forces and the Taliban on 16 June 2014.
“It was in the afternoon. I was doing construction work in a building.
My wife called me crying and told me to return home immediately because an
explosion had killed our children. I was shocked and collapsed. Other
workers helped me and took me to my home. My wife told me that all the
injured and the killed were taken to hospitals. I went to a nearby hospital
and saw my nine-year-old son lying dead on a bed. I was told that my other
son was also dead. Then I saw my little daughter who was seriously injured,
and my other son who was also severely injured, covered in blood. My
daughter died the following day. It was such grief for me. Oh Allah
Almighty, I lost three children! What was the crime committed by my
children? They were playing, as usual, outside our house. I was told that
it was a remote-controlled bomb and that the target was an Afghan National
Army officer. Why don’t the Taliban care about civilians, women and
children? Which civilization, which law are the Taliban following? It is
very simple: killing children and civilians is completely against Islamic
law.”
-- Father of three children killed and another child injured by a
remote-controlled Improvised explosive device targeting an Afghan
National Army convoy, Kabul city, 21 September 2014. Five civilians were
killed and two injured.
“The wedding ceremony was transformed into a funeral when our house was hit
by mortar rounds fired by the Afghan National Army. We do not know why we
were targeted or why we have suffered casualties for nothing. Who can we
approach to listen to us? I am sure that no-one but Allah can hear us and
understand what is happening in our area.”
-- Relative of a groom whose wedding party was hit by mortars fired by the
Afghan National Army in Sangin district, Helmand province on 31 December
2014.
“I am an illiterate woman and cultural sensitivity means that women are not
allowed to work outside and support their families, so I am not able to
provide economically. My three children who were at school before my
husband was killed have now dropped out and work as shepherds to support
our family.”
-- 35-year-old woman and mother of six children from Badakshan province,
widowed in 2014 after an improvised explosive device killed her husband.
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UNAMA shared a draft of its 2014 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians
with the Government of Afghanistan, the Taliban and NATO’s Resolute Support
Mission. Comments were carefully reviewed and addressed as appropriate in
the report. UNAMA continues to work with all parties to the conflict to
support their efforts to protect civilians from harm.
UNAMA
makes the following recommendations in its 2014 Annual Report to improve
the protection of civilians:
Anti-Government
Elements
In
compliance with obligations under international humanitarian law:
- Cease carrying out
indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, and firing mortars,
rockets and grenades into civilian-populated areas.
- Cease the deliberate
targeting of civilians and civilian objects including places of
worship and culture, and civilian Government offices.
- Cease the use of IEDs,
particularly suicide attacks in all areas frequented by civilians, and
stop using illegal pressure-plate IEDs.
- Apply a definition of
‘civilian(s)’ that is consistent with international humanitarian law
and comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and
precautions in all military operations.
- Enforce statements made by
the Taliban leadership that prohibit attacks against civilians and
attacks in civilian-populated areas. Implement directives ordering
Taliban members to prevent and avoid civilian casualties and hold
accountable those members who target, kill and injure civilians.
Government
of Afghanistan
- Cease firing mortars,
rockets and grenades into civilian-populated areas.
- Enhance efforts to protect
civilians from conflict-related harm by developing and implementing
clear tactical directives, rules of engagement and other procedures,
and by training and resourcing all Afghan national security forces on
civilian protection measures, mitigation, accountability, and
compensation for victims.
- Disband and disarm all
armed groups and ensure accountability for those members of armed groups
who carry out human rights abuses.
- Prioritize the further
development of Afghan national security forces’ capacity to command,
control and effectively conduct counter-IED operations and
IED-disposal, including exploitation. Dedicate all necessary resources
to ensure the full implementation of the national counter-IED
strategy.
- Develop policies and
procedures to ensure the marking and clearance of unexploded ordnance
from the battlefield following ground engagements.
- Investigate all allegations
of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and
human rights abuses by Afghan national security forces and
Pro-Government armed groups and allied forces. Prosecute and punish
those found responsible as required under Afghan and international
law.
- Review and revise current
procedures in place for compensation to women and families of
civilians killed and injured in conflict-related violence and raise
public awareness of procedures to obtain compensation and access to
basic services.
International
Military Forces
- Provide support from the
NATO Resolute Support Mission to Afghan national security forces
beyond 2015 to ensure Afghan forces are sufficiently resourced,
trained and equipped in the current operational context. Continue
support to Afghan security forces to command, control and effectively
conduct counter-IED operations and IED-disposal, including
exploitation in 2015-17.
- Continue efforts to map,
mark and ensure full clearance of unexploded ordnance from all
international military bases and firing ranges that have closed since
the onset of ISAF operations.
- Ensure that all
international military or foreign intelligence and security forces
operating in Afghanistan, either independently or in support to Afghan
security forces, take all necessary measures to protect civilians
during ground and aerial operations.
- Continue to ensure
transparent post-operation reviews and investigations following
operations where civilian casualties have occurred from operations
involving international security or intelligence forces. Continue to
take appropriate steps to ensure accountability, compensation and
better operational practice.
IED’s – Improvised Explosive Devices
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