At the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the HAMRAH Initiative co-hosted on the Impact of Aid Cuts on Human Rights in Afghanistan bringing together, UN mandate holders, experts and frontline Afghan defenders to examine how shrinking aid budgets are threatening not just programmes and services—but lives, rights, and the very future of Afghan civil society. ##

Across the panel, one message resonated: Afghanistan does not only need more aid—it needs better aid. Funding that is flexible, inclusive, and grounded in the realities of those working inside and outside the country.

Opening the panel, Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, described the aid cuts as a “life-ending decision.” He warned that without urgent corrective action, Afghanistan faces the collapse of its civil society sector—one of the last remaining spaces for accountability, voice, and protection.

Surya Deva, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, underscored the contradictions in the global aid architecture. He called for rethinking the rigid divide between humanitarian and development funding, arguing that “there can be no right to development where gender equality is denied.”

Fereshta Abbasi of Human Rights Watch highlighted the compounding impact of recent crises—from the the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan to the mass deportations of Afghan refugees from neighbouring countries—warning that humanitarian needs are rising sharply even as aid decreases.

Artemis Akbary, the Founder and Executive Director of Afghanistan LGBTIQ+ Organization (ALO) raised the alarm about funding restrictions undermining life-saving protection and documentation efforts for the most at-risk groups.

From the HAMRAH Initiative, Lucia Withers detailed how severe funding contractions have forced Afghan civil society organisations to close legal aid offices, pause expansion of girls’ education programmes, and scale back independent research and journalism. She emphasised that the consequences are not abstract—they translate into real harm for individuals and communities who depend on these services for safety, justice, and dignity.

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