Despite the launch of the intra-Afghan dialogue in September (2020), violence continued to take its toll, mostly on civilians in various parts of Afghanistan. The latest report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Human Rights Office released Tuesday (Feb 23) puts the total number of civilian casualties in 2020 of 8,820 (3,035 killed and 5,785 injured), including 1,150 women and children were killed (390 women and 760 children). This is the highest toll on women and children since UNAMA began systematic documentation in 2009, and make up 43 per cent of all civilian casualties. Although the overall numbers fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2013 and was 15 per cent down on 2019, yet the uncharacteristic increase in civilian harm in the last quarter of 2020 remains a big source of concern.
The Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Annual Report 2020 documents the appalling level of harm inflicted on civilians and traces the disturbing spike in violence against them in the last quarter of the year.
“2020 could have been the year of peace in Afghanistan. Instead, thousands of Afghan civilians perished due to the conflict,” said Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. “This important report has the overriding objective of providing the parties responsible with the facts, and recommendations, so they take immediate and concrete steps to protect civilians. I urge them not to squander a single day in taking the urgent steps to avoid more suffering,” said Deborah Lyons, who is also head of UNAMA. “Parties refusing to consider a ceasefire must recognize the devastating consequences of such a posture on the lives of Afghan civilians.”
Afghanistan Peace Negotiations, that began between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban in Qatar on 12 September, failed to alleviate the scale of civilian harm, a key indicator of violence levels. Instead, there was an escalation of violence with disturbing trends and consequences.
Reports from Doha suggest that Taliban and government negotiators resumed their dialogue after a break of almost a month. Both sides remain bogged down in basic questions such as whether and how Islamic is the Taliban characterization of their armed activity as “jihad.”
