Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)

The AIHRC is a national human rights institution working in the area of protection and promotion of human rights. This Institution was established based on the Bone Agreement and Presidential Decree and afterwards, pursuant to Article 58 of the Afghan Constitution, it found a legal base to monitor the observance of human rights as well as to protect and promote human rights in the country, "Every individual shall complain to this Commission about the violation of personal human rights. The Commission shall refer human rights violations of individuals to legal authorities and assist them in defense of their rights.  The structure, duties and mandates of the AIHRC have also been defined in a special law. The AIHRC has a board of leadership composed of 9 Commissioners that are determined by the President for a period of five years. The AIHRC’s Chairperson is a member of the Commission that is appointed by the President. Deputy Chairperson of the AIHRC is elected from among the members of the AIHRC. The Secretariat of the AIHRC is headed by the Executive Director of the Commission. All the administrative and executive activities of the Commission are regulated by the Executive Director. There are several program units in the structure of the AIHRC to carry out the activities of the Commission. These Units are as follows: - Human Rights Education; - Monitoring and Investigation of Human Rights Violations; - Police Ombudsmen; - Women’s Rights Unit - Children’s Rights Unit - Persons with Disability Rights Unit - Transitional justice Unit - Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Unit - Research and Investigation Unit - Special Monitoring Unit (monitoring the observance of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts) - Publications Unit. Objectives, activities and programs of the AIHRC: According to the Law on the Structure, Duties and Mandate of the AIHRC, the Commission is mandated to carry out the following five activities: - Monitoring the observance of human rights - Promotion and protection of human rights - Monitoring the situation of and the people’s access to human rights and freedoms - Investigations of research on violations of human rights - Adoption of measures to improve and promote the human rights situation in the country.  The AIHRC’s activities and programs focus on four strategic objectives: - Leadership - Promotion of human rights - Empowerment - Protection and monitoring of human rights