A/HRC/4/98* page 3 I. INTRODUCTION 1. This report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 2/113 and has been prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The report is not an exhaustive account of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, but reflects the key challenges that must be addressed most urgently by the Government of Afghanistan with the support of the international community. 2. The Afghanistan Compact, which includes specific human rights benchmarks, is an important achievement following the successful completion of the Bonn Process. However, political, institutional and economic gains are under threat as growing insecurity and violence increasingly permeate the lives of many Afghans. Lack of security remains the greatest obstacle to the enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms. More civilian lives were lost in 2006 than during the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001, among them government figures and humanitarian workers. The death in September 2006 of Safia Ama Jan, Head of the Kandahar Department of Women’s Affairs (DoWA), was the first-ever known targeted assassination of a female government official and sets back further the cause of women in Afghanistan. 3. As affirmed in the Afghanistan Compact, insecurity cannot be overcome by military means alone. It is essential that tangible progress in social and economic development reach the people, especially vulnerable populations. Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of insecurity; it feeds recruitment for the insurgency from among many Afghans who experience few peace dividends and are disillusioned by the Government’s performance. The delivery of basic humanitarian aid has been prevented in parts of the country and new emergencies have been created, including the displacement of some 15,000 families in southern Afghanistan following fighting in the second half of 2006. 4. In a welcome move, President Karzai launched the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice, which is a step towards effectively addressing the legacy of past armed conflict. Continuing political support by the President and the Government is required if the Action Plan is to be implemented. 5. I commend the Government for its efforts to tackle justice and security sector reform, but more progress is needed to ensure that international human rights standards are upheld. Long-term international commitment to Afghanistan must continue if respect for human rights is to become institutionalized. II. POVERTY AND OTHER ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS ISSUES 6. Afghanistan is currently at a crossroads, with frustration at the lack of real improvements in human security manifesting itself among the population. Grinding poverty is one of the greatest challenges currently facing Afghans. It is more widespread in some provinces than others, and the groups most affected are women, children, the disabled, the elderly and the landless. Disparities are considerable between men and women as well as between urban and remote rural areas. Social indicators are very weak with life expectancy under 47 years, a 72 per cent illiteracy rate and infant mortality at 140 per 1,000 live births. One in five Afghan children dies before their fifth birthday.