The objective for the ARM monitoring rounds is to assess changes in fundamental rights conditions across ten target provinces from January 2016 to December 2017. “Fundamental Rights” are conceptualized broadly to include Civic, Social, and Economic rights. A baseline assessment was concluded in December 2015 to establish the basis against which to monitor changes in fundamental rights conditions, followed by the first monitoring cycle between January and April 2016.

This is the second monitoring report of Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) following the first monitoring report released in April 2016 and a baseline assessment released in December 2015. The objective for the ARM monitoring rounds is to assess changes in fundamental rights conditions across ten target provinces from January 2016 to December 2017. “Fundamental Rights” are conceptualized broadly to include Civic, Social, and Economic rights. A baseline assessment was concluded in December 2015 to establish the basis against which to monitor changes in fundamental rights conditions, followed by the first monitoring cycle between January and April 2016. The reporting period for this second monitoring cycle covers May to August 2016. Data were collected in 29 rural and urban districts in the Central, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western geographical zones of Afghanistan.

This paper examines ordinary citizens’ views about the notions of human and fundamental rights as well as the activities and impacts associated with them. The paper identifies ways in which human / fundamental rights may be best addressed in Afghanistan, given the contextual sensitivities and the uneven approach to implement these rights since 2001. This paper was made possible through funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands.

This paper examines the situation of fundamental rights in Kashmir with a specific focus on the impact of conflict on the institutionalization, or lack thereof, of these rights. It explores the interaction between civil society organizations (NGOs) and the government from a “good governance” perspective for Kashmir. The NGOs (local, national, and international organizations) and government institutions engaged for this research include entities working on the delivery of basic services such as education, health, food security, employment, and shelter. The research finds that there are numerous lessons from the Kashmir experience for Afghanistan, including awareness of the high risk of fundamental rights becoming secondary to concerns about managing social unrest and a volatile security environment.