Rights Group Proposes Criteria for Representatives at Doha Meeting

Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) proposed a criteria for the participation of civil society representatives in the Doha conference.

The Human Rights Defenders in a proposal said: “The Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+) welcomes both the holding of this conference and the invitation of representatives of civil society and human rights defenders to this conference.”

According to HRD+’s proposal, to maintain transparency and strive for greater impact, it asks that the following criteria be considered when selecting civil society representatives:

• Selection through a clear and transparent channel: The United Nations must have a clear and transparent mechanism for the selection of real civil society representatives inside and outside the country so that those who attend the session on behalf of civil society and human rights defenders have the necessary legitimacy.
• Full commitment to human rights values: Individuals attending the session on behalf of civil society and human rights defenders must have a firm commitment to human rights values and an acceptable track record in defending these values, and are selected in consultation with civil society bodies and human rights defenders.
• Lack of political and ideological affiliation: Due to the sensitivity of the topic, persons who have political affiliations and ideological commitments to political and religious movements should not attend this meeting as representatives of civil society and human rights activists.
• Accountability and regular communication of representatives: The representatives of civil society and human rights defenders at this conferece must have strong communication and the ability to respond to the main body of civil society and be accountable for their actions and responses at the conference.
• The significant and prominent role of women: Due to the prevalence of gender apartheid in Afghanistan, at least half of the civil society representatives should be women human rights defenders so that they can directly convey the voice of protest and the views of women to the other participants.
• The English language requirement: Knowledge of English should not be a criterion for participation in the conference and should not prevent women human rights defenders in particular from attending the conference.

Meanwhile, some women’s rights activists inside the country want the United Nations to provide opportunities for women who operate inside the country to participate in the Doha conference.

Tafsir Syahposh, a women’s rights activist, told TOLOnews: “It has more effects because those who live in Afghanistan are aware of all the cases, but the women who are outside Afghanistan, we are not saying that they cannot represent, but they do not know the cases that we know inside Afghanistan.”

“The pain we are suffering and the human crisis that the nation is facing currently, especially women — only we can express our pain, not those who are outside of Afghanistan. They only lost their positions and power,” said Fazela Sorosh, another women’s rights activist.

The Doha conference will be hosted by the United Nations on February 18th and will last for two days.