A/HRC/13/62 38. Poor Afghans experience sustained deprivation of the resources, choices, security and power that are necessary for the enjoyment of their human rights. Poverty reduction needs to focus on abusive structures and institutions of power, opportunities for choice and inclusion in decision-making processes, equitable resource allocation, and improved security. Deprivation of the enjoyment of human rights is well demonstrated by, for example, Afghanistan’s high child mortality rates and low life expectancy, and by the limited progress achieved in access to health care. In this regard, Afghanistan has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world (1,600 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), which points to the failure of the health system to provide care for women. 39. The Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), while highlighting human rights, does so in a limited way by mainly focusing on civil and political rights. The Afghanistan Compact, the outcome of the 2006 London Conference on Afghanistan, established the framework for international cooperation with Afghanistan for the following five years. However, human rights were grouped with governance and rule of law, thus failing to acknowledge the cross-cutting nature of human rights, particularly in the area of economic and social development. Similarly, the Compact benchmarks on human rights, against which progress is measured, are civil and political rights-oriented, while the benchmarks in the economic and social development pillar that have human rights relevance are not framed as legal entitlements. 40. In October 2009, the Afghanistan United Nations Country Team (UNCT) launched the 2010–2013 United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Human rights perspectives guided the United Nations analysis of development challenges in each of the three priority areas: (a) governance, peace and stability, (b) sustainable livelihoods, and (c) basic social services covered by UNDAF. UNDAF provides an opportunity to refocus development understanding of human rights to include economic and social rights, such as education and health. UNDAF recognizes that a key challenge is the collection of data that is disaggregated by, at a minimum, sex, age and main population groups, in order to have a better understanding of which groups are vulnerable and marginalized. Consistent with the human rights-based approach (HRBA) principles of accountability and transparency, the United Nations is supporting government efforts to generate disaggregated data so that findings from such data are available to inform policy and subsequent programming. 41. OHCHR collaborated with UNCT in two specific areas in 2009. The first area of collaboration was the involvement of UNCT with the reporting process to treaty bodies, specifically the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The report of the State party will be considered by the Committee at its May session in 2010. The second was the questionnaire of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food concerning the response of United Nations entities in Afghanistan to the global food crisis. Positive steps include improved mapping of the food security situation and the Government’s ownership of the National Risk Vulnerability Assessment, which is used to identify food insecure households. Food insecurity is still very high, despite an increase in agricultural production in 2009. This indicates the need to move away from an exclusive focus on increasing agricultural production towards finding options for increasing the ability of Afghans to access the means of procuring food. Three key barriers to procuring adequate food were identified: the lack of alternative livelihood options; the numerous land conflicts preventing access to available land; and the absence of formal social safety nets. 42. The right to food is not explicitly contained in relevant national strategies such as the ANDS, the National Health and Nutrition Strategy, or the National Agriculture Development Framework; although certain elements such as adequacy and availability have been addressed. The right to food is also not expressly included as an obligation in the GE.10-10230 11

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