person as a member of the community of
Afghanistan would consider to be obscene or
indecent.” 33 The ban on spam or junk mail also
includes unsolicited political or religious tracts
along with commercial advertising and other
information. 34
On June 12, 2006, the National Directorate
of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency, issued a list of broadcasting and
publishing activities that “must be banned” in
light of heightened security problems that could
deteriorate public morale. 35 The list of proscribed
press activities was quite extensive and attributed negative intention, 36 causality,
37
and morality
38
to reporting on specific issues (primarily terrorism and the Taliban insurgency). President
Hamid Karzai denied these were instructions,
saying they were merely guidelines and a request
for media cooperation. 39 Restricted activities
included the publication or broadcasting of exaggerated reports against national unity or peace;
decrees, statements and interviews of armed
organizations and terrorist groups; and even the
proscription against news on terrorism serving as
the lead story. 40
ONI testing results
ONI testing found no evidence of filtering in
Afghanistan, although testing was not as extensive there as it was in some other countries.
Conclusion
In a country where 40 percent of the rural population suffers from low-income food deficit and
life expectancy is less than forty-five years, 41 the
Internet and ICT infrastructure represent only one
component of social and economic development
needed for the government to meet the goals set
forth in the Afghanistan Compact. Only about 0.1
percent of Afghans are online. Testing revealed
no evidence of government-led Internet filtering.
However, through legal regulation and other acts
conducted under the color of authority,
Afghanistan may be constraining media coverage in ways that violate the international human
rights norms for freedom of expression protected
in its own constitution.
NOTES
1. See The Afghanistan Compact, signed at the
London Conference on Afghanistan, January
31–February 1, 2006.
2. Sarah Parkes, “Slow road to the digital age:
Rebuilding communications in Afghanistan and
Iraq,” ITU Telecom World 2003 On-Line News
Service, October 13, 2003,
http://itudaily.com/home.asp?articleid=3101309.
3. BBC News, “Taleban outlaw Internet,” July 13, 2001,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1437852.stm.
4. United Nations, Vision 2020: Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals Report
2005 (New York: United Nations), p. 123.
5. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
6. World Bank World Development Indicators (2006),
http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?
PTYPE=CP&CCODE=AFG (accessed April 23,
2007).
7. United Nations, Vision 2020: Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals Report
2005 (New York: United Nations), pp. 21, 123.
8. See Human Rights Watch, Lessons in Terror: Attacks
on Education in Afghanistan, July 2006,
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/afghanistan0706.
9. See BBC News, “Afghans plant flag in cyberspace,”
March 10, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
technology/2835799.stm.
10. Internet cafés are expensive, and it would be even
more costly for people to purchase a computer and
a telephone line to get individual access to the
Internet. Amanullah Nasrat, “Internet spreading in
Afghanistan,” Kashar World News, July 17,
http://www.kashar.net/technews/complete.asp?id=
1725.
11. William Fisher, “In the Arab world, a blog can mean
prison,” Daily Star. (Beirut, Lebanon), March 21,
2005.
12. Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology Web site, http://www.moc.gov.af/
afghantelecom.asp (accessed March 7, 2007).
Country Summaries
243
Afghanistan would consider to be obscene or
indecent.” 33 The ban on spam or junk mail also
includes unsolicited political or religious tracts
along with commercial advertising and other
information. 34
On June 12, 2006, the National Directorate
of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency, issued a list of broadcasting and
publishing activities that “must be banned” in
light of heightened security problems that could
deteriorate public morale. 35 The list of proscribed
press activities was quite extensive and attributed negative intention, 36 causality,
37
and morality
38
to reporting on specific issues (primarily terrorism and the Taliban insurgency). President
Hamid Karzai denied these were instructions,
saying they were merely guidelines and a request
for media cooperation. 39 Restricted activities
included the publication or broadcasting of exaggerated reports against national unity or peace;
decrees, statements and interviews of armed
organizations and terrorist groups; and even the
proscription against news on terrorism serving as
the lead story. 40
ONI testing results
ONI testing found no evidence of filtering in
Afghanistan, although testing was not as extensive there as it was in some other countries.
Conclusion
In a country where 40 percent of the rural population suffers from low-income food deficit and
life expectancy is less than forty-five years, 41 the
Internet and ICT infrastructure represent only one
component of social and economic development
needed for the government to meet the goals set
forth in the Afghanistan Compact. Only about 0.1
percent of Afghans are online. Testing revealed
no evidence of government-led Internet filtering.
However, through legal regulation and other acts
conducted under the color of authority,
Afghanistan may be constraining media coverage in ways that violate the international human
rights norms for freedom of expression protected
in its own constitution.
NOTES
1. See The Afghanistan Compact, signed at the
London Conference on Afghanistan, January
31–February 1, 2006.
2. Sarah Parkes, “Slow road to the digital age:
Rebuilding communications in Afghanistan and
Iraq,” ITU Telecom World 2003 On-Line News
Service, October 13, 2003,
http://itudaily.com/home.asp?articleid=3101309.
3. BBC News, “Taleban outlaw Internet,” July 13, 2001,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1437852.stm.
4. United Nations, Vision 2020: Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals Report
2005 (New York: United Nations), p. 123.
5. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
6. World Bank World Development Indicators (2006),
http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?
PTYPE=CP&CCODE=AFG (accessed April 23,
2007).
7. United Nations, Vision 2020: Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals Report
2005 (New York: United Nations), pp. 21, 123.
8. See Human Rights Watch, Lessons in Terror: Attacks
on Education in Afghanistan, July 2006,
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/afghanistan0706.
9. See BBC News, “Afghans plant flag in cyberspace,”
March 10, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
technology/2835799.stm.
10. Internet cafés are expensive, and it would be even
more costly for people to purchase a computer and
a telephone line to get individual access to the
Internet. Amanullah Nasrat, “Internet spreading in
Afghanistan,” Kashar World News, July 17,
http://www.kashar.net/technews/complete.asp?id=
1725.
11. William Fisher, “In the Arab world, a blog can mean
prison,” Daily Star. (Beirut, Lebanon), March 21,
2005.
12. Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology Web site, http://www.moc.gov.af/
afghantelecom.asp (accessed March 7, 2007).
Country Summaries
243