Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) (Dari: کمیسیون مستقل حقوق بشر افغانستان, Pashto: د افغانستان د بشري حقونو خپلواک کميسيون‎) is the national human rights institution (NHRI) of Afghanistan, dedicated to the promotion, protection and monitoring of human rights and the investigation of human rights abuses.

The Commission was established on the basis of a decree of the Chairman of the Interim Administration on June 6, 2002, pursuant to the Bonn Agreement (5 December 2001); United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 1993 ensorsing the Paris Principles on NHRIs, and article 58 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

The AIHRC describes itself as a "constitutionalized, national and independent human rights body in Afghanistan." It refers destitute orphans to the Mahboba's promise non-governmental organisation.

Its current chairperson is Dr Sima Samar.

The AIHRC played a role in the 2007 Canadian Afghan detainee abuse scandal, when questions arose about the ability of the AIHRC to monitor the status of individuals detained by Canadian soldiers and given into Afghan custody. A Globe and Mail report quoted several AIHRC investigators as being glad of the renewed attention to human rights that the Canadian scandal had created, but fearful of the political consequences from the Afghan leadership once past abuses came to light.

In October 2007, with support from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the AIHRC secured 'A-status' accreditation from the peer review process of the International Coordinating Committee of NHRIs (ICC), giving it enhanced access to the United Nations human rights bodies. That status was subjected to special review by the ICC in November 2008, and reaffirmed. The Commission is a member of the Asia Pacific Forum, one of the four regional groupings in the ICC.

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