Virtual Event | Against All Odds: Supporting Civil Society and Human Rights in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan

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Watch the event that coincided with the release of a report by CNAS Indo-Pacific Security Program Director Lisa Curtis and CSIS Senior Non-resident Associate Annie Pforzheimer, “Against All Odds: Supporting Civil Society and Human Rights in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan.” This landmark new report examines the Taliban's intensifying repression of Afghan civil society, including its crackdown on the rights of women and girls by restricting their access to education, work, mobility, and speech. The report assesses the international community's response to the unprecedented human rights crisis and provides recommendations for U.S. policy moving forward to protect Afghan women and preserve civil society gains.

The event featured keynote remarks by U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights Rina Amiri. Amiri was followed by remarks from co-authors Lisa Curtis and Annie Pforzheimer on the report's findings and recommendations. The program continued with an expert panel discussion, which featured Shaharzad Akbar, Executive Director of Rawadari and former Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Aref Dostyar, Senior Advisor at the Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame, and former Consul General of Afghanistan in Los Angeles; and Anne Richard, Distinguished Fellow and Afghanistan Coordination Lead at Freedom House. The event concluded with an audience Q&A session.

Keynote Remarks:

Rina Amiri
U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights

Author's Remarks:

Lisa Curtis
Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, CNAS

Annie Pforzheimer
Senior Non-resident Associate, CSIS

Expert Panel Discussion:

Shaharzad Akbar
Executive Director, Rawadari
Former Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission

Aref Dostyar
Senior Advisor, The Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame
Former Consul General of Afghanistan, Los Angeles

Anne Richard
Distinguished Fellow and Afghanistan Coordination Lead, Freedom House

For registration questions, contact Jasmine Butler at jbutler@cnas.org. For media inquiries, contact Cameron Edinburgh at cedinburgh@cnas.org.

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