Afghanistan

Article 7

The state shall observe the United Nations Charter, interstate agreements, as well as international treaties to which Afghanistan has joined, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The state shall prevent all kinds of terrorist activities, cultivation and smuggling of narcotics, and production and use of intoxicants.

Article 24

Liberty is the natural right of human beings. This right has no limits unless affecting others freedoms as well as the public interest, which shall be regulated by law. Liberty and human dignity are inviolable. The state shall respect and protect liberty as well as human dignity.

Article 48

Work is the right of every Afghan. Working hours, paid holidays, employment and employee rights and related matters shall be regulated by the law. Choice of occupation and craft shall be free within the bounds of law.

Article 49

Forced labor shall be forbidden. Active participation in times of war, disaster, and other situations that threaten public life and comfort shall be among the national duties of every Afghan. Forced labor on children shall not be allowed.

Constitution of Afghanistan 2004 (PDF)

Article 517

1– A person who gives in marriage a widow, or a girls who is 18 years or older, contrary to her will or consent, shall be sentenced in view of the circumstances to short imprisonment.

2– If commitment of the crime specified under the above paragraph is for the purpose of compensation for a wrongdoing (bad dadan), the offender shall be sentenced to medium imprisonment not exceeding 2 years.

3– A criminal claim against perpetrator of crimes listed in paragraphs 1–2 of this article may be filed only if the victim makes a complaint.

Penal Code of Afghanistan (PDF)

Article 10

Forced labor shall not be allowed. The labor shall be deemed forced when an individual is forced to work through intimidation or through other means contrary to his volition. And the labor which a person is obliged to perform legally shall not be deemed forced labor.

Article 79

Special Regulations Mineral Activities shall be conducted in accordance with applicable laws and international norms relating to labor, social protection and human rights. The use of Forced Labor or Harmful Child Labor in connection with Mineral Activities is prohibited.

The 2017 Law to Combat Crimes of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking, including bacha bazi. The law prescribed penalties between five and eight years’ imprisonment. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those for other serious crimes. Aggravating factors increased the maximum sentence to between 10 and 15 years and the imposition of the death penalty if exploitation for armed fighting resulted in the victim’s death.

Article 3 Definitions

The following terms in this Law shall have the following meanings:

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2–           Trafficking in Persons: Is transferring, transiting, employment, keeping of a person for the purpose of exploitation by taking advantage of poor economic and desperate condition of the victim through paying and receiving money, interest or using other deceiving means in order to obtain the consent of the victim or his/her guardian.

3–           Exploitation: Getting advantage of the victim of crimes of abduction and trafficking in persons through employment, selling, engaging in sexual, criminal activities, provision of pictures and movies that are prejudicial to public morality (pornography), armed conflicts, forced labor or removal his/her organ or body tissues or conducting medical and health examinations and forcing him/her into other illegal activities.

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Article 8 Human Trafficking

(1)            Any person who commits human trafficking offence, in accordance with circumstances shall be sentenced to long imprisonment not more than 8 years.

(2)           If the victim is a child or a female, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to long imprisonment not less than 12 years.

(3)           If adultery or pederasty is taken place against victim, the perpetrator in addition to punishment prescribed for the human trafficking crime shall be also convicted to the punishment of adultery or pederasty crime.

Article 10 Punishment for Person Who Cuts and Removes Body Organs or Tissues

(1)     Any person who cuts and remove organ and tissues of the body of the victim of this Law but does not cause his/her death, in accordance with circumstances he/she shall be sentenced to long imprisonment.

(2)     If the action stated in paragraph (1) of this Law causes death of the victim, the perpetrator in accordance with circumstances shall sentenced to continued imprisonment or execution.

Law on the Campaign against Abduction and Human Trafficking 2008 (PDF)

Article 44

Obligations of Holders of Authorizations for Quarry Exploration (4) The Holder of an Authorization for Quarry Exploration must comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding health, safety of labor, human rights, use of water, protection of the environment and protection of communities affected due to the Exploration work.

Article 50

Obligations of Holders of Authorizations for Quarry Exploitation 3) The Holder of an Authorization for Quarry Exploitation must comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding health, safety of labor, human rights, use of water, protection of the environment and protection of affected communities.

Article 55

Obligations of the Holder of the Authorization for Artisanal Exploitation (1) TheHolder of an Authorization for Artisanal Exploitation must comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding health, safety of labor, human rights, use of water, and protection of the environment and protection of affected communities.

Article 20

Child Labor or" means the employment of persons under the age of eighteen (18) years that is economically easily exploitative, interferes with, the child's education, is harmful to the child's health, [or] has a mal effect on the child’s physical, mental, or social development.

Article 79

Special Regulations Mineral Activities shall be conducted in accordance with applicable laws and international norms relating to labor, social protection and human rights. The use of Forced Labor or Harmful Child Labor in connection with Mineral Activities is prohibited.

Article 2

“fighting against customs, traditions and practices that cause violence against women contrary to the religion of Islam,” and preventing and prosecuting violence against women.

Article 5

Lists 22 acts, the commission of which constitutes violence against women: rape; forced prostitution; publicising the identity of a victim in a damaging way; forcing a woman to commit self-immolation; causing injury or disability; beating; selling and buying women for the purpose of or under pretext of marriage; baad (retribution of a woman to settle a dispute); forced marriage; prohibiting the choice of a husband; marriage before the legal age; abuse, humiliation or intimidation; harassment or persecution; forced isolation; forced drug addiction; denial of inheritance rights; denying the right to education, work and access to health services; forced labour and marrying more than one wife without observing Article 86 of the Civil Code.

Article 31

If a person forces a woman to isolation, he shall, depending on the circumstances, be convicted to short-term imprisonment of not more than three months.

Article 35

If a person prohibits a woman from the right to education, work and access to medical services or use of other rights stipulated in the law, he shall, depending on the circumstances, be convicted to short-term imprisonment not exceeding six months.

Article 510 of the 2018 Criminal Code criminalises sex trafficking and labour trafficking, including bacha bazi. Article 511 prescribed penalties of five to 10 years’ imprisonment for trafficking offenses involving adult male victims, and 10 to 16 years’ imprisonment if the victim was a woman or child, or exploited in bacha bazi.

Afghanistan Penal Code 2017

Afghanistan - US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 

The 2017 Law to Combat Crimes of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants criminalises sex trafficking and labor trafficking, including bacha bazi. The law prescribes penalties between five and eight years’ imprisonment. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those for other serious crimes. Aggravating factors increased the maximum sentence to between 10 and 15 years and the imposition of the death penalty if exploitation for armed fighting resulted in the victim’s death.

Anti-Trafficking Law 2017

Afghanistan - US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2020