Roundup: Afghan gov't upgrades efforts for civilians' security

Afghan government announced Tuesday to step up efforts to ensure civilians under protection as violence is in constant rise since the withdrawal of foreign forces in late 2014.

On Monday, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published a mid-year report, showing the civilians' casulties have reached a record-high in the first half of this year since 2009.

"Between January and June this year, the Human Rights team of UNAMA documented 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injured civilians. This represents an increase of 4 percent in the total number of casualties compared to the first six months of 2015 - and is the highest half-year total since 2009," UNAMA report attested.

"The Government of Afghanistan is fully committed to implementing its obligations as enshrined in the Constitution as well as international humanitarian laws concerning protection of civilians, and has made them an integral part of the conduct of the Security and Defense Forces of the country," Afghan Presidential Palace said in a statement posted on its website.

In the report, the UN office attributed 60 percent of civilian casualties to anti-government militants. However, it also noted an increase in the number of civilians killed and injured by pro-government forces in the first half of the year.

The security forces were responsible for some 1,180 civilian casualties over the period, according to the report.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has ordered the country's security forces to place protection of civilians on top of their priorities as per their obligations before the national and international laws, said the statement of Presidential Palace released here.

"The people of Afghanistan and history will never forget the terrorists' crimes, and it is our commitment to take the perpetrators to court and ensure justice," Ghani was quoted in the statement as saying.

"The Government of Afghanistan, in addition to ruling laws and regulations on protection of civilians also guiding the conduct of the Security and Defense Forces, has finalized the policy on protection of civilians, and as UNAMA has recommended in the report, will soon have it passed," the Palace statement noted.

In the statement, the Presidential Palace also blamed the Taliban and other militants for using the civilians in residential areas as human shields.

The Government of Afghanistan is fully committed to thoroughly investigating instances where civilian casualties may have been caused by negligence of the security forces, and will hold them to account, the statement said.

Of the casualties in the first six months, 388 were children reported killed and 1,121 children were injured with the total number of child casualties up 18 percent compared to the same period last year.

After the release of the report, Save the Children, an international agency working for safety of children, also called for protection of children in the militancy-hit country.

"These findings are truly shocking, and represent a significant backtrack on progress for Afghan children," Ana Locsin, director of Save the Children in Afghanistan , said in a statement issued Monday.

Locsin was quoted as saying the Save the Children condemns any attacks on children and it urges all parties in Afghanistan to make sure the protection of civilians, especially children, a priority.

"Aside from the obvious risk to their lives, witnessing civilian attacks can cause a great deal of distress for children, often leading to psychosocial issues and impacting their longer term development. Children are seeing their family members killed or injured, which can have huge knock on effects on their lives, especially if the breadwinner can no longer work or take care of them." she said.

"Children are always innocent victims, they have no part in conflict and, as such, must be protected from harm." she noted.

The UNAMA finding also showed that 130 women also lost their lives and 377 wounded in the first half of the year. Endit