Governance

  • Afghanistan Update; United Kingdom

    Dear Colleagues, The developments in Afghanistan over the last few weeks have been extremely difficult to witness. We know many of you, like thousands of people around the country, have been closely involved in working to make Afghanistan a better place over the last two decades and have a deep connection with the country and its people. Yesterday’s callous attacks on innocent people outside Kabul airport brought into stark relief the fragility of the situation in Afghanistan. It was also a terrible reminder of the challenges we face both in getting people to safety now and supporting the country in the long-term. Our thoughts are with the families of all those who lost their lives, including several US service personnel and many Afghan civilians. As you know, in line with US military deadlines and our operational objectives, the UK evacuation effort at Kabul airport, Operation PITTING is concluding. We wanted to update you on the end of our current process and what follows next, including the return of nearly 1,000 HMG personnel over the coming days. We have worked at unprecedented pace to facilitate the largest and most complex evacuation in living memory. The Armed Forces, MoD, FCDO and Home Office staff have worked incredibly hard in very difficult circumstances to bring out over 13,000 people over the last two weeks. This number includes British nationals and their dependants, Afghans who worked for the UK government and military and their dependants, and other Afghans who are at particularly high risk. We have also supported our allies and partners to help their nationals to safety wherever possible. This has only been possible thanks to the extraordinary efforts of UK troops and government officials on the ground, who put themselves in harm’s way and worked around the clock to evacuate as many people as possible. We are grateful for all your efforts to direct those in need of support towards assistance. Our consular teams have been able to reach many in need thanks to your help. A whole of government effort will support and integrate our Afghan friends into UK society through this traumatic period...PLEASE CLICK ON THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT TO READ THE FULL STATEMENT.

    PDF icon 20210827 Afghanistan Update Dear Colleague letter.pdf
  • A House Divided: Can Afghan Elites resolve their differences in the pursuit of peace?

    This report examines the range of views held by key members of the Afghan political elite about future prospects for peace, how these views compare to those held by civil society and women rights activists, and how they might be consolidated into a coherent platform in order to enable a common voice in negotiations with the Taliban. The report draws on 20 qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with representative from across the political spectrum and civil society in Afghanistan (six of whom were women) carried out in Kabul between mid-December 2019 and mid-February 2020.

    PDF icon A HOUSE DIVIDED - AWEC 2020.pdf
  • Avoiding the resource curse: extractives, corruption, and conflict in Afghanistan

    Global Witness policy brief ahead of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan.

    PDF icon 20181016 Policy Brief - Mining and Conflict in Afghanistan CLEAN.pdf
  • The State of the Enabling Environment of Civil Society in Afghanistan 2018

    This is the third iteration of the State of the Enabling Environment of Civil Society in Afghanistan (SEECA) research produced by the Afghanistan Institute for Civil Society (AICS). In this research, civil society is defined as a third "space" outside the state and market wherein actors and groups participate to advance common interests, which is less restraining than he conventional definition that focuses on organisations only. This report presents key recommendations for both government, civil society and international donors to ensure prosperity in Afghanistan. 

    PDF icon AICS-SEECA-2018.pdf
  • AREU: Judicial Review in Afghanistan: A Flawed Practice, August 2017

    This report explores judicial review in Afghanistan. Judicial review is an important practice where a court or a similar institution reviews and decides on the constitutionality of laws and public acts.  Constitutional review was embraced by Afghanistan’s post-conflict Constitution of 2004, and the Supreme Court and the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution (ICOIC) were empowered to ensure the constitutionality of legislation and public actions respectively. In Afghanistan, judicial review has remained broad and imprecise in the text of the constitution, it also proved a difficult practice to institutionalise, as neither institution granted these new powers had ever exercised judicial review. A number of case studies demonstrate the Supreme Court’s inconsistency while conducting judicial review.

    PDF icon AREU__Judicial-Review-in-Afghanistan__English_Print_covers.pdf
  • AREU: Evolution of the Executive Branch in Afghanistan: A Look Back and Recommendations on the Way Forward, August 2017

    The findings of this report illustrate that legitimate change in the political system of Afghanistan will require an amended Constitution. The authority to amend the Constitution of Afghanistan has been given to the Loya Jirga in the Constitution. The majority of experts interviewed recognized that in the present situation, there are significant obstacles to convening a Loya Jirga. As a legal matter, it is unlikely that a Loya Jirga could be convened under the Constitution, because firstly Afghanistan has not held District Council elections; and secondly as some of the Experts point out, the legitimacy of the current Parliament is also in question. All but one of the Experts also considered the social, political and security obstacles to convening a Loya Jirga. In particular, some Experts fear that ethnic issues may predominate, leading to the Loya Jirga spending more time debating identity and language issues than it would addressing the structure of the government.

    PDF icon AREU__Executive-Review-in-Afghanistan__English_print_covers.pdf
  • Understanding the impact of illicit economies in Afghanistan's Development

    A summary report of the APPG Afghanistan briefing and discussion on the role illicit economies play in Afghanistan's development. Core themes include the drug economy, mining, and migration.

    PDF icon BAAG_IllicitEconom_Final.pdf
  • Integrity Watch Afghanistan: CSO Recommendations for Brussels Conference, September 2016

    Integrity Watch Afghanistan and other governance-focused civil society organisations have prepared recommendations ahead of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan on 5th October. Based on consultations & meetings with H.E. President Ghani and his ministers, donors, civil society and leading organizations to assess the National Integrity System of Afghanistan, these recommendations are aimed at informing the  Afghan and International community about their commitments on how to move the governance agenda forward in the new Afghan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF).

    PDF icon Integrity Watch Afgh CSO Policy Recommendations Sept 2016.pdf
  • Global Witness: The Brussels Conference & Extractives in Afghanistan, August 2016

    Ahead of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan on 5th October 2016, Global Witness have prepared this policy brief for the Afghan government and its international partners, regarding the need for governance strengthening and reform around the potentially lucrative extractives industry. 

    PDF icon GW Policy Brief - Brussels and the extractive industries in Afghanistan UPDATED August 25 2016.pdf
  • Global Witness: Afghanistan, lapis lazuli & the battle for mineral wealth, June 2016

    Global Witness's two year investigation reveals that lapiz lazuli mines in the northeastern province of Badakhshan are a major source of conflict and grievance, supplying millions of dollars of funding to armed groups, insurgents, and strongmen, and providing a tiny fraction of the benefit they should to the Afghan people.  Mining is implicated in violence from Balkh to Helmand. Nationally, it is thought to be the Taliban’s second largest source of revenue, while contributing less than 1% of state income in 2013. Armed groups made an estimated $12m from lapis in 2015.

    PDF icon GW war_in_the_treasury_mr1.pdf
  • AREU: A balancing act for extractive sector governance, May 2016

    Today, most extractive sector activities in Afghanistan are artisanal, small-, or medium-scale and up to 10,000 deposits remain out of government control. This is linked with continuing conflict and violence in the country, resulting in significant revenue losses from illegal extraction. On the other hand, this report highlights the practical challenges faced by civil society to play their role in improving transparency, accountability, and equitable sharing of the sector’s benefits include an unstable legal framework characterised by rushed development because of pressure to generate revenues internally, decreasing political will to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and variable and decreasing role of CSOs.

    PDF icon AREU A Balancing Act for Extractive Sector Governance.pdf
  • Global Witness: SMAF & the extractives industries in Afghanistan, February 2016

    This briefing paper, written ahead of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016, highlights how mining in Afghanistan, far from being an economic lifeline for the country, is being exploited by the Taliban, strongmen and others. Global Witness and Integrity Watch Afghanistan pose various recommendations to regulate the sector, increase transparency and reduce opportunities for mining income to fuel conflict. 

    PDF icon Policy Brief - SMAF and the extractive industries in Afghanistan February 2016.pdf
  • ODI: Mobilising around Afghanistan's Elimination of Violence Against Women law, February 2016

    As part of an international ODI study on women in politics, this report asks two central questions: (i) what are the enabling factors for women’s voice, leadership and access to decision-making in Afghan political processes? And (ii) what do we know about whether and how women’s voice, leadership and presence in decision-making roles within these processes actually result in greater gender equality for Afghan women? Exploring in particular the political processes and relationships that have determined the course of the EVAW law to date, the study makes several observations regarding women’s greater influence over broader political processes; changes to their voice, leadership and access to decision-making; and donor involvement in political processes over the past decade.

    PDF icon ODI Women & power Afghanistan EVAW Feb16.pdf
  • AISS: Trends of radicalisation among the ranks of the Afghan National Police, November 2015

    AISS - the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies - has conducted this research as the first part of a series of papers on radicalisation in the Afghan National Defence & Security Forces. Radicalization is broadly defined as constraints on both the perspective of individuals and their tolerance to ideology and practices which diverge and differentiate from their own political, religious and social beliefs.The report presents interesting findings on, amongst others, motivations for joining the police force, police perceptions of the Taliban and religious extremism and acceptance of women's and human rights. 

    PDF icon AISS Trends of Radicalization among the Ranks of Afghan National Police.pdf
  • Senior Officials Meeting: Co-Chairs Statement, September 2015

    The Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) was held in Kabul on 5th September 2015.  Co-chaired by the Afghan Minister of Finance and the UN Special Representative, the meeting was attended by delegations from 41 countries and 11 international organisations.  The meeting followed the London Conference on Afghanistan in December 2014 and provided a forum for discussing key development needs and plans. A new framework to replace the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF) was drafted in advance and discussed in the meeting - called the Self-reliance through Mutual Accountability Framework (SMAF).  This statement reflects on the SOM discussions and commitments. 

    PDF icon 20150905 Senior Officials Meeting Co-Chairs' Statement.pdf

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