
“I always call it a ‘double-paid’ job,” he says. “You
are paid in money and in altruism credits.”
It must be said that Hassan Ali is working to promote human rights in Afghanistan — a very complex and changing environment — where chronic instability and conflict have left the economy and infrastructure in shambles. Yet he sticks to his goal, convinced that he is making a difference in decreasing the number of cases of torture and ill treatment in his country.
From the outside at least, it would seem that things in the landlocked, mountainous country are only getting worse. After the Talibans’ strict Islamic rule, a bloody civil war, a United States-led invasion of the country in 2001, the formal end of NATO’s security-keeping mission in December 2014, the Taliban are now making a comeback, with more and more supporters of Islamic State in the country. All of this further threatens the Afghan Government’s nascent peace efforts.
The power struggle between the June 2014 presidential election contenders (turned president and chief executive) and the growing pressure from Taliban insurgents, has, according to Human Rights Watch, contributed to a decline in respect for human rights throughout the country: unpunished abuses by security forces, threats to women’s rights and freedom of expression, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
Though the Government of Afghanistan ratified the Convention against Torture in June 1987, and punishes public officials using torture for the purpose of obtaining a confession with a 15-year jail sentence, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment are regularly used during interrogation in government detention facilities across the country, according to February 2015 report of the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Out of 635 conflict-related detainees, 326 were tortured, the report said, also denouncing widespread inhuman treatment. Afghanistan, which is expected in coming months to submit its latest report on its implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture, denies the use of torture in its detention facilities.
At 34, Hassan Ali, who holds a Master’s degree in Islamic studies, has already been working in the field of human rights for over a decade. As Senior Researcher for the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), an umbrella organization comprising 138 members aiming to promote a collective voice for civil society and human rights in Afghanistan, he produces reports and research on human rights and women’s rights issues.
Hassan Ali also contributes to the job an insider’s view of the State’s functioning having been, from 2010 to 2013, head of the Human Rights Unit of the Afghan Ministry of Justice with support from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He at times laments the “snail pace” at which his work advances in the face of the Government’s lack of cooperation. The reasons to keep going are, however, imperative.
“Torture induces a culture of fear among citizens
which in turn affects many rights such as freedom of expression,” he says.
“Torture costs society financially, socially and spiritually.”
Founded in 2004, in the aftermath of the demise of the Taliban regime in 2001, CSHRN acts as a human rights watchdog while trying to reach out and influence the State in order to give way to “a society based on democracy, rule of law in accordance with human rights for all males and females in Afghanistan.” (CSHRN Strategy Document, March 2011). Sharing more Western liberal-democratic values than traditional fringes of Afghan civil society, CSHRN is significantly dependent on international assistance for its existence. It was set up with core funding from Danish agency for development cooperation, DANIDA.
Through radio programmes raising public awareness on torture, securing funding for the Government to develop its CAT report, or hosting a number of debates on human rights, CSHRN is seen to be contributing to bring about a more stable and democratic Afghanistan. It is often the first steps that are the most costly.
“I still deeply believe that ‘Many drops make a river,’
says Hassan Ali.
— by Lori Brumat in Geneva

OMCT wishes to thank the OAK Foundation, the European Union and the Republic and Canton of Geneva for their support. Its content is the sole responsibility of OMCT and should in no way be interpreted as reflecting the view(s) of the supporting institutions.



| Tweet |
English
French