Support to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission

Current phase: 2008-2011
Project budget: $7 million

CIDA is the largest donor to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), with funding directed towards the Commission’s three-year action plan. CIDA supports the AIHRC’s constitutional mandate to promote and protect human rights and to monitor and investigate alleged violations of human rights. Donors are pooling their funds to help build the Commission's core institutional capacity to fulfill its mandate. The AIHRC is a national institution with regional offices throughout the country.

A wide range of activities are implemented by the AIHRC, including:

• advising the police, judiciary, and Parliament on the enhancement of laws, systems, and procedures from a rights perspective;
• promoting the respect of human rights through research, analysis, and policy advice to public authorities (e.g., producing training manuals and holding workshops for public authorities); and
• monitoring and investigating human rights complaints, in particular by tracking information and trends related to government action, with a focus on detainees

The AIHRC devotes particular attention and resources to addressing the rights of women and children.