Our origins
On 15 August 2021, Taliban forces took control of Kabul. Human rights graduates from the European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation came together through the Global Campus of Human Rights to support their fellow human rights activists in Afghanistan.
​
From the first generation of Human Rights activists trained in Venice, Italy by professors and professionals from all over the world, to the last generation of recently graduated students (2020-2021), this network gathers professionals from all fields, quickly involving human rights defenders from outside the European Master (EMA) as well.
​
The network, which at its peak oscillated at around forty persons, used all their possible resources; sharing their knowledge, networks, and experience in the field of human rights and democracy to begin to support over 120 families who are linked in some way to the human rights and democracy community. Each alumni volunteered their time to support the network that has gradually found its feet and established important networks with similar endeavours around the world.
​
This is not the first time that alumni have decided to collectively act to support colleagues, however, this is the first time all generations of alumni met around a human rights crisis. This is opening a door to a new kind of human rights response.
Although starting with different nationals guiding Afghan colleagues with their national evacuation request processes, with the initiative of Charlemagne Gomez, network members quickly understood this will not suffice and partnerships and resource mobilisation were key to the success of safe evacuations.
​
The families which are currently being supported by the Afghans in Crisis Network (AiCN) are particular at risk given their work activities in the field of human rights, women’s rights, elections, journalism, and security. Many of our colleagues in Afghanistan worked alongside international colleagues for many years advocating for the same democratic values that are enshrined in the European Charter of Human Rights. These persons are targeted for expressing their right to freedom of expression, and support of political and women’s rights as well as the right to life and to live life in dignity.
Some of the families have now endured 18 long months in appalling conditions with many of them already being direct targets of warnings, beatings and death threats from the Taliban and insurgents. Almost all of the families have been targeted in some way or another, and many have suffered killings of their relatives given their ties to the human rights community.
Support Afghan families at risk.
Your support is still needed to finance overstay fines, tickets, housing or other logistic needs of the families that we have supported and whose asylum cases have been accepted in a third country. Without your support, they risk losing asylum and a chance for safety and freedom.