“Life for the average Afghan remains short, miserable, and brutal. Average lifespan for men and women hovers at around 45 years. According to the United Nations, nearly a third of all Afghans, some 6.5 million people, suffer from chronic food insecurity. Afghans face escalating violations of their human rights at the hands of a variety of abusers: the Taliban and other anti-government insurgent groups, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islami and tribal militias, criminal groups and loc more...

Sobbing and barely abe to speake, a teenage girl from Afghanistan's northern Takhar province describles the horror of being gang-rapped at gunpoint.

'They raped me for three days and nights. I felt like I was going crazy', she said. 'They forced me to drink alcohol. I couldn't get up. They had guns, knives. They were so cruel and brutal. I screamed and cried, but they didn't care'.

How 'humanitarian intervention' made a world in which stateless terror could flourish - Article by Brendan O’Neill.
'Over the past decade, a new player has emerged in world affairs - the cross-border terrorist. Unlike the national liberation movements of old, like the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or the Irish Republican Army (IRA), cross-border terror groups do not confine themselves territorially or ideologically to a particular region. Instead, in the words of one foreign policy more...

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 11 September 2002 and the treaty entered into force on 1 March 2003. Afghanistan has not adopted new national implementation legislation, including penal sanctions, for the Mine Ban Treaty.
Afghanistan submitted its fifth Article 7 transparency report on 30 April 2007, covering calendar year 2006. Afghanistan was unable to meet its 1 March 2007 deadline for stockpile destruction. It expects to finish by November 2007. From 20 more...

Columnist Conn Hallinan of Foreign Policy in Focus - argues that we must abandon our “story” about the Afghan conflict as a “good war.” In this new millennium, he says, there are no good wars. Read the full article with latest comments.

This research based report published by Center on International Cooperation (CIC) about Counter-Narcotics to stabilized Afghanistan. The author of the book - Barnett R. Rubin is Director of Studies and Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation of New York University.

Every Agfghan deserves a life free from poverty and fear, conducted in security and dignity, as emphasised n the 2004 United Nations analysis of Afghanistan's priority development challenges.

But millions of Afghans have no such right, nor equitable opportunities to fully develop their human potential.

The RAND Corporation :Rescuing Afghanistan out of its Dangerous Traps
- Keynote Address by M. Ashraf Haidari

- There is much that we may talk about our recent history and the way contemporary international events have affected the conditions in Afghanistan. But I would like to discuss the key challenges facing the Afghan people now, as we and our international partners strive to secure and rebuild Afghanistan.

I believe that four inter-connected challenges with domestic, international, more...

Synopsis: "This USIPeace Briefing discusses Afghanistan’s challenges and proposes solutions in economic development, project implementation, coordination and security. The briefing was prepared in anticipation of the June 2008 Paris donors conference to renew commitments to the country and discuss the Afghan National Development Strategy." PDF. 9 pages

Afghanistan Umbrella Organization representing hundred NGO members from the national and international humanitarian, reconstruction and development NGOs community in Afghanistan. ACBAR was formed in 1988 in response to the need for NGOs to coordinate their activities in order to maximize their efficiency and resources.

The Core Functions of ACBAR Currently Are:

1. Coordination - To avoid duplication of work and to identify gaps to be filled.

2. Planning NGO strategy to meet humanitar more...