CIVILIANS OF AFGHANISTAN

“In Afghanistan, if someone comes to your home [to apologize] you do not get revenge on them. But we also request them to help the families of those killed… If they dont help our families, we take it as a sign that they did this intentionally. And then people will raise their guns to fight them.”-Abdul*, whose eight-year-old son was killed in an ISAF airstrike
When we first went to Afghanistan in 2003, civilian protection was not a priority for international forces and little help was available for civilians harmed. That has changed, thanks in part to our work.
We convinced NATO to adopt its first compensation policy for Afghan war victims. We pressed international forces to create a formal way to track civilian casualties and improve their operations, which they did. We convinced the US Congress to create its first assistance program specifically for civilians harmed by its combat operations.  We created a step-by-step process for international and Afghan forces to respectfully respond to civilian casualties.
Now international forces are turning over operations to Afghan forces. We’re concerned that civilians will be at increased risk if Afghan forces don’t fully prepare to prevent harm.  We’re offering the Afghan government practical solutions to prevent and respond to potential civilian harm—such as training for its forces, a way to track civilian casualties and to learn lessons, and a policy for responding to civilian losses.