Civil society

  • Life and Death: NGO access to financial services in Afghanistan - NRC Report

    "Afghanistan faces a looming humanitarian catastrophe. Transferring funds into Afghanistan has become a major challenge for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) since the Taliban’s return to power on 15 August 2021." - NRC, 27th January 2022"The report finds:The ability of humanitarians to respond to the crisis is hampered by the fact that Western governments and financial institutions are making it impossible to transfer and withdraw sufficient funds into and across the country.Lack of clear guidance to international banks regarding what is permissible under sanctions means bank de-risking of NGO financial transactions is widespread.When NGOs are able to make transfers, the suspension of the Central Bank means domestic banks in Afghanistan don’t have enough bank notes in the country to allow NGOS to withdraw sufficient cash from our accounts.Public and private banks in country risk collapse, facing major challenges regarding access to physical bank notes, with withdrawal limits complication matters further for NGOs."Executive Summary: https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/life-and-death/life-and-death-executive-summary.pdfFull Report: https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/life-and-death/life-and-death.pdf

    Life and Death: NGO access to financial services in Afghanistan
  • Urgent Demand for Inclusion in the “Accelerated Afghan Peace Talks”

    Afghan society including civil society organisations, community leaders, religious scholars, youth, women activists and networks, victims, professional organisations, religious scholars, Tribal/Community leaders, scholars, experts, men and more, have in this historic National Peace Gathering, brought together over 1350 Afghan society representatives from every District and Province in Afghanistan and many more Afghan Diaspora have participated via a Facebook livestream.

    PDF icon Statement of National Peace Gathering-English Version.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
  • The Afghan Tragedy, January 1988

    In 1988, the British & Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (then the British Refugee Council) published one of the first reports on the situation in Afghanistan. The 'Afghan Tragedy' provides an unbiased description of the largest-scale human crisis in the world in those years. The 10 British voluntary agencies came together, under the auspices of BAAG, to raise the profiles of the millions of refugee and displaced Afghans. The agencies presented and adopted the recommendations at the end of the booklet at the 1987 International Council of Voluntary Agencies in Geneva.

    PDF icon The Afghan Tragedy, British Refugee Cuncil 1988-rotated.pdf
  • Civil Society input into the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan - Report 2019

    The British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) is pleased to present the summary report on 'Civil Society input into the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan' in English, Pashto and Dari. The purpose of this report is to share the key documents, statements and messages, delivered on behalf of the wider civil society community primarily by the ten Afghan civil society delegates to the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan (GCA) on the 27th and 28th November 2018. The report presents civil society activities that were led by the Civil Society Working Committee (CSWC) and facilitated by BAAG in the lead-up to, during and after the GCA. It includes the position papers prepared for the GCA, the consultation processes that informed the Afghan civil society position paper, the statements delivered during the GCA and the discussions which took place within and alongside the official GCA agenda. It also presents civil society’s initial reflections on the GCA and followup plans. 

    PDF icon BAAG Civil Society GCA Summary Report 2019.pdf, PDF icon Civil society input into the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan (Dari).pdf, PDF icon Civil society input into the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan (Pashto).pdf
  • EU Roadmap for engagement with Civil Society 2018 - 2020

    Following countrywide consultations with stakeholders in Kabul and five regions (North, South, East, West, Central Highlands) the EU have developed their Roadmap for how they will support Afghan civil society through to 2020.  The Roadmap identifies long term objectives for EU cooperation with CSOs and immediate actions that need to be taken in three key areas: enabling environment, structured participation and roles, and capacity.

    PDF icon afghanistan_2018-2020_final.pdf
  • Civil Society Position Paper ahead of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan 2018 (Pashto)

    BAAG and the Civil Society Working Committee is please to present a Pashto translation of the Civil Society position paper, published ahead of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan on the 27th November. 

    PDF icon Geneva Conference Civil Society Position Paper 2018 - Pashto.pdf
  • Civil Society Statement at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan 2018 (Pashto)

    BAAG and the Civil Society Working Committee is please to present Pashto translations of the civil society delegations statments delivered during and after the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan on the 27th and 28th November. 

    PDF icon Geneva Conference Civil Society Statement - Pashto.pdf, PDF icon CS Statement for 28.11.18 - Pashto.pdf
  • Afghan and International Civil Society Synthesis paper - GCA 2018

    This paper summarises the key views and recommendations made by Afghan and international civil society organisations in position papers prepared for the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan (GCA), held on 27th and 28th November 2018. See the Annex for the list of papers reviewed.

    PDF icon BAAG_GCA Synthesis Paper 2018.pdf
  • National Civil Society Conference - Kabul, Afghanistan 2018

    BAAG and the Civil Society Working Committee is pleased to present a Civil Society Resolution, in Dari and Pashto, compiled by participants of the Civil Society National Conference on the 12th November 2018. 

    File 01 National Conference Resolution (Dari).docx, File 01 National Conference Resolution (Pashto).docx
  • Civil Society Statement at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan 2018 (Dari)

    BAAG and the Civil Society Working Committee is please to present Dari translations of the civil society delegations statments delivered during and after the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan on the 27th and 28th November. 

    File CS Statement for 28.11.18 Final (DARI).docx, File Geneva Conference Civil Society Statement 18Dec18 final (DARI).docx
  • Civil Society Position Paper ahead of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan 2018 (Dari)

    BAAG and the Civil Society Working Committee is please to present a Dari translation of the Civil Society position paper, published ahead of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan on the 27th November. 

    File Geneva Conference Civil Society Position Paper 2018 - FINAL (DARI).docx
  • Civil Society Joint Working Group (CSJWG) - Position Paper

    Published on November 28th at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan the CSJWG outlines the position of civil society organisations in Afghanistan. 

    PDF icon Position Paper on CSJWG GCA.pdf
  • Civil Society Position Paper - Geneva Conference on Afghanistan 2018

    On the 28th November the 13th high-level international conference on Afghanistan took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Afghan Civil Society was proudly represented by a delegation of 10 civil society activist who advocated on issues ranging from gender rights, peace and security, and electoral reform.  With the support of civil society organisations across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan and members of civil society committees the delegation compiled a collaborative Civil Society Position Paper. Published on the 28th November prior to the official Civil Society address in the UN Council Chamber the Position Paper identifies several key areas for the Kabul government and its international partners to focus on.  To download a copy of the 2018 Civil Society Position Paper please click here. 

    PDF icon Geneva Conference Civil Society Position Paper 2018.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

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