This celebration was not only for the human rights communities to honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also an opportunity to sympathize with the Afghan people in general and with the war victims in particular. One of the important objectives of this celebration was to widen the spectrum of discussion on transitional justice and victim’s expectation, in order for civil society and families of victims to be able, in the future, to come to terms with their violet past. The several interactive forum and Play Back theatre performances of AHRDO staffs contributed to create space for victims to tell their horrible stories heard, acknowledged, remembered and documented.
Mainly, the celebration was designed for victims in which more than 140 participants represented different victims groups / organizations, and women were the majority of the event participants with exciting interests. The participants found this environment very secure and raised their silenced voices against past human rights abuses through truth telling , untold stories and dialogue on the stage.
In addition, AHRDO brought different human rights and TJ activists/ experts together to answer the concerns and hear the silenced voices of the victims. The Transitional Justice Focal Point of UNAMA, the representative of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), representative of Transition Justice Coordination Group (TJCG), The Country Director of Foundation for Open Society Institute (FOSI) and Ms Najiba Ayubi from Killid Group were invited to listen to the victims’ demands as part of the forward looking activities on TJ in Afghanistanan, particularly updated victims on the progress of TJ process, and finally encouraged the victims for collective efforts and jointly efficient coordination to become forcing figures in Afghanistan.
