Skip to main content

Abbreviations and glossary


A • B • C • D • E • H • I • J • K • L • M • N • P • Q • R • S • T • U • V • W • X • Y • Z 


 

A

 

AAF
 
Afghan Air Force
ACLED
 
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
AFF   Afghanistan Freedom Front
AGEs
 
See ‘anti-government elements’
ALM   Afghan Liberation Movement
ALP
 
Afghan Local Police, a security initiative to include armed militias in the police force, under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior.
ANA
 
Afghan National Army
ANDSF
 
Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, see also ANSF
ANP
  
Afghan National Police
ANSF
 
Afghan National Security Forces, including Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP) and National Directorate of Security (NDS)
Anti-government elements
 
Armed opposition fighters, or insurgents, who are fighting against the Afghan government and its international allies. Examples of such groups of fighters are the Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Asylum Procedures Directive
 
Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection

 

B

baad
 
The practice of exchanging women/girls to resolve a dispute; exchanging daughters between families for marriage to avoid bride price costs.
Badal/ badaal   The concept of revenge or retribution in the Pashtunwali.
bacha bazi
  
Dancing boys: boys or young men who are sexually exploited by men for entertainment. They are made to dance in female garb and provide sexual favours. This practice is often associated with men in power.

 

C

 

CAT
  
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
CJEU
 
Court of Justice of the European Union
COI
 
Country of origin information
complex attack
 
A deliberate and coordinated attack that includes a suicide device, more than one attacker and more than one type of device. All three elements must be used for an attack to be considered complex.

 

E

 

ECHR
 
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights), as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, 4 November 1950
ECtHR
  
European Court of Human Rights
EU
 
European Union
EU+
 
Member States of the European Union plus Norway and Switzerland
EUAA   European Union Agency for Asylum

 

F

fatwa
  
A ruling or opinion given by the head of religious community in Islam.

 

G

ground engagement
  
Ground engagements include kinetic ground operations, stand-off attacks, crossfire and armed clashes between parties to the conflict. Ground engagements include attacks or operations in which small arms, heavy weapons and/or area weapons systems, i.e. mortars and rockets are fired.

 

H

Hanafi
  
Sunni jurisprudence in use in Afghanistan; one of the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence.

 

I

ICC
 
International Criminal Court
IDP(s)
  
Internally displaced person(s)
IED
 
Improvised Explosive Device. A bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action.
ILO
 
International Labour Organisation
IMU
 
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
IOM   International Organization for Migration
IPA
 
Internal protection alternative
ISKP
 
Islamic State Khorasan Province

 

J

jirga
  
A council or assembly of tribal elders held for dispute resolution; jirgamar refers to elders whose profession is dispute settlement

 

L

LGBTIQ
  
LGBTIQ people are people:
who are attracted to others of their own gender (lesbian, gay) or any gender (bisexual);
whose gender identity and/or expression does not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth (trans, non-binary);
who are born with sex characteristics that do not fit the typical definition of male or female (intersex); and
whose identity does not fit into a binary classification of sexuality and/or gender (queer).
LWJ   Long War Journal, blog by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, www.longwarjournal.org

 

M

mahram   A male guardian who is a relative
madrassa
 
Islamic religious school
MoI
 
Ministry of Interior Affairs of Afghanistan
mujahideen
  
Islamic ‘holy warriors’. In the context of the conflict of Afghanistan, the term dates back to the 1980s, when it referred to Islamic fighting groups opposed to the communist regime and the military forces of the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Its fighters have since been called mujahideen. Currently, the Taliban refer to their fighters as mujahideen.

 

N

NATO
 
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NDS
 
National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s intelligence service
NGO
  
Non-governmental organisation
NLFA   National Liberation Front of Afghanistan
NRF
 
National Resistance Front

 

P

Pashtunwali  

A traditional social, cultural, and quasi-legal code regulating the Pashtun way of life.

PDPA
 
People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan
PGM
 
Pro-government militia

 

Q

QD (Qualification Directive)
  
Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted

 

S

Sharia
 
The religious law of Islam; Islamic canonical law
shura
  
A decision-making community council; often formed for non-State dispute settlement; made up of a group of people with community authority (elders) to discuss and find solutions to a problem.

 

T

Targeted/ deliberate killing
  
Intentional, premeditated and deliberate use of lethal force by States or their agents acting under colour of law or by an organised armed group, party to an armed conflict against a specific individual who is not in the perpetrator’s physical custody.
TTP   Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan

 

U

UCDP   Uppsala Conflict Data Program
Ulema
 
Body of Muslim scholars who are recognised as having specialist knowledge of Islamic law and theology.
UN
 
United Nations
UNAMA
 
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
UNDP   United Nations Development Programme
UNHCR
  
UN High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF   United Nations Children's Fund
UNOCHA
 
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
US
 
United States of America
USDOS
 
US Department of State

 

W

WHO
  
World Health Organisation

 

Z

zina
   A criminal offence in Islamic law referring to unlawful sexual intercourse, fornication or adultery.