Protection Monitoring 2021

The people of Afghanistan are facing a humanitarian, human rights and protection crisis. The numbers are overwhelming: 97% of Afghans could potentially plunge into poverty by mid-2022 and half the country’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance. Following the record displacement of nearly 700,000 people in 2021, some 9.2 million IDPs and returnees remain in some form of displacement and in need of support to return where possible. These staggeringly high levels of displacement are fueling a range of protection risks, particularly for undocumented Afghans returning to the country, including those deported from neighbouring countries. Massive economic contraction along with crisis in banking and financial system, severe drought and rising food prices, has meant people have resorted increasingly to negative coping strategies. Despite the significant decrease in the overall level of conflict and number of civilian casualties following the changes in the political environment since 15 August 2021, threats to the civilian population in Afghanistan persist including the killing and injury of civilians, high levels of explosive ordnance contamination, forced displacement, gender-based violence and violations against children. The report was prepared in collaboration with six partners undertaking protection monitoring: DRC, IOM, IRC, NRC, CORDAid and UNHCR, using the data collected in 2021 from 37,258 households.