In a recent report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that civilian casualties in Afghanistan have had an “unprecedented increase” this year. The report, which covers the first six months of 2015, states that the conflict in Afghanistan is responsible for the increase in civilian deaths, and the civilian casualties has been “equal or more” than the same period last year. The report states that in the course of the first six months of this year, 1592 civilians had been killed and 3329 wounded, which shows 1% increase compared to that period last year. The report says that 90 percent of civilian casualties are attributed to ground fighting, bombings, suicide attacks and target killings. The UN mission in Afghanistan emphasizes that the increase in civilian casualties indicates the urgency of the fact that the killing of civilians should be ended as soon as possible and the parties involved should resolve the conflict through negotiations.

The unprecedented suffering of Afghan civilians from prolonged war against the insurgent groups indicates that the situation has reached to an explosive point for the civilian population in Afghanistan. Many Afghan families lose their loved ones in explosions and battles among insurgent groups and Afghan National Security Forces. Even in relatively safe cities like Kabul, the citizens no more feel secure as the militants continue to hit areas populated by civilians. The prospect of the ongoing war in the country seems dismal, leaving ordinary Afghans in a difficult situation and diminishing their hopes for improved lives. The direct impacts of the high casualties of the wars are deaths, suffering and poverty for Afghan families as they lose their loved ones and breadwinners in the conflict. The day-to-day misery stemmed from insecurity and wars lead many Afghans to leave their country and live abroad as refugees while others choose to stay with the hopes of an end to the conflict.

There are concerns that the prolonged insurgency in the country could mean persistent increase in civilian casualties for indefinite time. Afghan civilians have long suffered from the devastating war, and the unabated trend is quite worrisome. The UNAMA report suggests a continued increase in civilian tolls while the insurgents are continuing to wage a deadly war against the government of Afghanistan. The insurgent groups care the least for civilian lives as they use civilian populated areas as ground of wars against the government of Afghanistan. This year, many of northern and eastern provinces such as Kunduz, Faryab, Nangarhar and other provinces were scenes of intense fighting between insurgent groups and government forces. As like in the past, the UN report blames the insurgent groups for most of the civilian casualties while there have been a visible increase in government forces’ share of the casualties of Afghan civilians.

The government needs to be accountable regarding the share of the government forces of the civilian casualties particularly in circumstances that the deaths are preventable. The government should take specific strategies for further minimizing the percentage of civilian casualties that are attributed to the Afghan security forces. Given the insurgents’ share of the casualties, the question is what is the purpose of killing civilians? What the militants achieve by taking lives of dozens of women, children and other ordinary citizens who buy groceries and manage their daily affairs of life? Why the militants are not caring for the lives of the civilians by their own standards and carry out bomb attacks, suicide, and indiscriminate attacks which claim lives of civilians on daily basis.

The Taliban and other insurgent groups who officially proclaim their respect for civilian lives should be committed to the laws of wars and conflicts and avoid war strategies leading to civilian casualties. The United Nations is the international body that has the best credibility and reputation for negotiating with parties involved in conflicts. The United Nations can play a crucial role in convincing all parties involved in the Afghan conflict to respect civilian lives. The UN mission in Afghanistan should do all efforts it is capable of to pressurize the government and the insurgent groups for minimizing the civilian casualties. One of key responsibilities of the UN is to protect civilians in the conflicts. The UN has negotiated with the Taliban in the past and it should do so in the future to protect civilians in Afghanistan and convince the insurgents to care for the civilian lives.

The UN representative in Afghanistan has emphasized in the report that until a peace deal is reached in Afghanistan, the parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian laws so to minimize effects of war on civilians. The UN appeal is coming at a time when the peace efforts of the Afghan government have stalled for an unforeseeable time due the announcement of death of Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar. The Taliban has dismissed the peace process for the time being, meaning there is no clear prospect for resumption of a potential peace negotiations with the insurgent groups. The dismissal of the peace process by new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor may mean further prolongation of the conflict in the country. This, in turn, would mean continuation of civilian suffering for the coming years. Therefore, Taliban’s continued war efforts may further increase civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

The government has a responsibility to protect the lives of people. Therefore, it needs to redouble its efforts to improve security and provide better protection for the civilian population. The government needs to try hard for resuming the peace talks with the Taliban. The peace talk with the insurgent groups is an opportunity for the government to negotiate for Taliban’s commitment to protecting civilians. The government should condition any peace talks with the insurgent groups to an immediate ceasefire and the militants’ respect to civilian lives. As mentioned in the report, a share of civilian deaths is attributed to NATO and Afghan government forces. These forces also should commit themselves to combat the enemies in a way to avoid harms to civilians.