Monitoring and reporting on human rights and the protection of civilians can ...

Monitoring and reporting on human rights and the protection of civilians can also play a role in raising awareness of the impact of military operations on civilians and in encouraging the parties to a conflict to take steps to strengthen the protection of civilians. Since 2007, the human rights contingent of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has monitored and reported on civilian casualties in the conflict in Afghanistan, and engaged in advocacy to strengthen the protection of civilians. The Afghanistan mid-year report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict in Afghanistan, released on 10 August, found that in the first half of 2010 there was an overall decrease of 29 per cent in civilian deaths attributed to pro-Government forces, as compared to the same period in 2009, with a 64 per cent decrease in civilian deaths caused by aerial attacks. UNAMA concluded that the implementation of tactical directives governing air strikes, night searches and the escalation of force contributed to this significant reduction in civilian casualties.