Amnesty Intl: Afghan Govt Must Protect Human Rights Workers With Afghanistan’s human rights defenders facing a renewed surge in threats and attacks, the authorities must urgently deliver on their pledge to establish a functional body dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders at risk, said Amnesty International. "More than three months since a presidential decree nominally created the Joint Commission for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, no practical steps have been taken to make it an effective protection mechanism, with a lack of information forthcoming on any plan or strategy to address the escalating threat faced by members of Afghan civil society," said the watchdog group.