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In the name of Almighty Allah

The input and recommendations of the Civil Society and Human Rights Organisation
to the Tokyo International Conference on Afghanistan  

Kabul – June 2012

Preamble  

During the past ten years Afghanistan has gained some important achievements in the fields of social, economic and political development. Despite these achievements Afghanistan has also experienced a lot of challenges such as; Lack of security, the interference of neighbouring countries into interior affairs of Afghanistan, corruption and production and trafficking of narcotics which are the main challenges in the past ten years. The role of the international community in Afghanistan is very important. The military intervention of the international community in Afghanistan created the new opportunities for the afghan people. However the operation against terrorism in Afghanistan has resulted high number of mortality. Regardless of this fact the people of Afghanistan are aware of the importance of the role of the international community in Afghanistan. As a result of the new environment in Afghanistan the people of the country have achieved their goal of creating a new constitution which opened the door of opportunities for a new Afghanistan. According to the new constitution the democratic institutions in Afghanistan have been established, the civil society has developed rapidly, the political parties have received the opportunities to be established, the human rights movements were established and the women rights activists created their organizations to protect the rights of women in Afghanistan. The afghan media has also had a major progressive development. In the field of technology and communication the country has had massive improvements. Mine production has also witnessed a lot of progressive steps towards development. In the field of agriculture Afghanistan has also developed. The banking system has been modernized. The Afghan people have exercised four elections. Both presidential and parliamentarian elections have been recognized as major development in the field of democratization in Afghanistan . The civil society institutions have organized themselves to work together for reforms and developments in Afghanistan.

The International Tokyo Conference is a very important event for the Afghan citizens especially after 2014. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization as a Network of 96 human rights based local organizations would like to share its inputs on the situation with the participants of this important conference.

Improvements of social conditions through strengthening of educational systems in Afghanistan  

After the Taliban period a huge possibility was creased for reform of the educational system in Afghanistan . According to the reform a considerable number of children and young people including young female’s interred to the educational system in Afghanistan. Today in the different remote areas of Afghanistan schools are built and activated. It is worth mentioning that lack of security is the main challenge for educational reforms in the afghan ministry of education. In some of the provinces due to insecure situation children cannot participate in school. There are some schools where the educational equipments are lacking. Some schools are badly suffering from absence of high qualified teachers. Based on these problems the Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to make the following recommendations:

Recommendations:

1. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon all participants of the Tokyo Conference to make the educational issue in Afghanistan as a main point of their agenda during the Tokyo Conference.

2. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to organize and keep on capacity building programs among educational system staff in Afghanistan . Additionally the ministry of education ought to develop a policy for efficient use of available capacities and resources in a fair and just manner for all equally in Afghanistan. Such a program will support the quality of education programs in primary and secondary schools in Afghanistan.

3. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon the national and international military and security divisions to make programs to ensure better security for schools and universities especially in the remote areas of Afghanistan.

In the field of the health care system  

During the last 30 years of war and conflicts in Afghanistan the health care services, hospitals, medical clinics and regional medical services have badly been damaged. Due to insecure situation in the remote areas of Afghanistan the medical equipments and professional delivery of medical supplies are very limited. As a result of these two components the amount of mortality has increased rapidly. The minister of Health Care Affairs has conducted some useful reforms. Based on these reforms new hospitals have been established and many private hospitals have been activated in the health care system in Afghanistan . Big cities like Kabul , Heart, Mazare Sharif, Kandahar , Lashkargah and Jalalabad have better conditions. However the remote areas of Afghanistan have the worst conditions. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to make the following recommendations:

Recommendations:

4. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to ask participants of the Tokyo conference to continue supporting the health care system of Afghanistan . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the minister of the health care system to use the international support and improvements of health care services in the remote areas of Afghanistan.

5. Addicts to narcotics are one of the main social conflicts in Afghanistan . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon members of the Tokyo conference to unify their efforts for supporting the Afghan Islamic Republic in eradication of this social problem. The ministry of the health care system jointly with the international community should organize rehabilitation centers and programs in Afghanistan .

The new Afghan constitution paved the way for improvement of national economy. The Afghan state with the support of the international community has organized some economic strategies in Afghanistan. However the economic situation is not improved satisfactory. The Afghan market is a market which uses and consumes the goods of neighbour countries. One of the important elements of the economic development is to improve the national products. The fabrics and manufactories should be rehabilitated in order to produce the national products. But unfortunately the economic situation in Afghanistan is very depended on the international support. The Afghan state should have the leadership of the Afghan national economy.  

Recommendations:

7-  One of the main resources for economic growth and stability in Afghanistan is the production of mines and extractive minerals. The Afghan state with the support of the international community has the strategy to strengthen the ability of mine production and extractive minerals revenues alternatively. Programs like Ainake logar and Hajigak in the Bamiyan provinces are good examples of this program. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the international community through the Tokyo Conference to support the Afghan state in the implementation of mine production strategies. The production of mines in Afghanistan benefits the development of Afghanistan and the well functioning investment of the foreign companies.

8. Another main resource in Afghanistan is water. Afghanistan has a rich source of water production but the country is still one of the poorest countries lacking energy. Due to bad policies and lack of equipments Afghanistan cannot use its water for agriculture and production of energy. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization ask the international Tokyo Conference to support Afghanistan in organizing its water for production of energy and improvement of agriculture.

9. The level of unemployment in Afghanistan is increasing. Thousands of well educated Afghans are suffering from unemployment. Some of these young people join the Taliban for the reason of earning money. Some of them become the militants of the international terrorist organizations. One of the main strategies to reduce terrorism is to pay attention on the creation of jobs for young people. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to ask the international community in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to focus on a strategy to create job opportunities.

10. The private sector is one of the active sectors in the economic development in Afghanistan . The international mafia and organized criminals are the main obstacles for the development of and active private sector in the country. Meanwhile the interference of the Afghan government into the private sectors programs is another obstacle for the activation of the private sector in Afghanistan . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its international supporters to support the private sector and create a useful environment for the activities in Afghanistan.

11. Afghanistan is an agricultural country. The improvement of agriculture can play a crucial role in the development of the national economy. Unfortunately Afghanistan imports a lot of grain products from neighbouring countries. According to the economic experts, if Afghanistan organizes active and useful agriculture programs and if Afghanistan modernizes its agricultural system then the country can become an important source for the production of grain products in the region. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the Afghan Islamic state and its international alliances through the Tokyo Conference to support the agricultural programs in Afghanistan.

12. Afghanistan has an important geopolitical situation. The geopolitical situation should provide geo-economic importance for the Afghan state. The Afghan state should improve its commercial relationship in the region along with its international partners in Europe as well as the United States . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to recommend the ministry of commercial and the ministry of economy to work closely with the Afghan international partners to develop commercial and economic partnership with the international community.

13. It is very important that the transport programs and communication of Afghanistan by roads are well organized. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization believe that well transportation policies and well equipped roads amongst big cities are the main preconditions for the economic development in Afghanistan . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the Afghan state and its international partners to make useful programs installation and development of railways between major cities of Afghanistan with the neighbouring countries. This program will support Afghanistan and commercial and economic development.

In the field of good governance

During the past ten years there were many national and international programs which were implemented in the field of good governance in Afghanistan . One of the main requirements of the international community is the creation of transparency and accountability in the framework of the Afghan state. But unfortunately the lack of good governance is one of the main challenges for the post-Taliban period in Afghanistan.

Recommendations:

14. Weakness of rule of law is one of the main reasons that law and regulations are not implemented. Some elements in the governmental structures violate the rule of law principles. They prioritize their private interest rather than the social and national interests. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon the international community and their representatives in the Tokyo Conference to emphasize the rule of law principles as important preconditions for partnership with the Afghan state.

15. The afghan constitution is one of the main sources for legal reforms in Afghanistan . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization underlines that legal reforms are an important step towards the development of a democratic Afghanistan.

16. Corruption is one of the main social problems in Afghanistan . The Afghan people are witness of unprofessional and corrupted behaviours in the Afghan public administration. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the Afghan state to take serious measures for combating corruption in Afghanistan.

17. The upcoming election in 2014 is an important event for the future of the country. This election will be organized in a condition when the international military forces withdraw from Afghanistan . The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon the international society to support the democratic principles and institutions in Afghanistan. The elections should be monitored by the international observers.

In the field of Human Rights

During the past ten years human rights are one of the major elements in the Afghan society. However human rights violation is still one of the main challenges for the Afghan people. Illegal military groups in the urban areas of Afghanistan violate fundamental principals of human rights. Domestic violence, lack of respect for the rights of women, lack of attention to the rights of children and lack of proper program for development of economic, social and cultural rights of Afghan citizens are the main challenges for the Afghan human rights situation. The Afghanistan state in term of supporting human rights and mainstreaming human rights within governmental structures has established the Human Rights Support Unite HRSU in the framework of Ministry of Justice. However establishment of HRSU is extremely appreciated by civil society and human rights organizations but it has been explored that other ministries do not well come respond honestly to the plans of HRSU.

Recommendations:

18. The Afghan civil society would like to call upon the international community to underline human rights as a main precondition for any partnership with the Afghan state. The human rights activist and human rights organizations continuously need the international society’s political and economic support. The civil society would like to ask its international partners to support human rights defenders and activists in Afghanistan.

19. The Afghan women are indispensable part of the society. But regrettably the role of women in the field of political development has been undermined. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon the participants of the Tokyo Conference to do their best in supporting the Afghan women. The Afghan state should also, based on the international support strength gender balance in the Afghan political system.

20. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization calls upon the Afghan state to organize practical useful program for activation of the Afghan women in the field of economic, social and cultural life’s of Afghan women.

21. Civil Society and Human Rights Organization CSHRO calls upon HRSU international supporters and Afghan State that HRSU should be shifted from the ministry level to the upper authorized structure such as Presidential Office or Directory of Administration Affaires to function efficiently and correspondingly. This will help HRSU to call upon all ministries competently to streamline the human rights values within their ministries and be well response to the international responsibilities of Afghanistan state.

In the field of civil society

During the last ten years the Afghan civil society organizations have had a considerable development. Based on the Afghan constitution a lot of non governmental associations organize themselves for the promotion of human rights democracy and rule of law in Afghanistan . However the civil society has also faced difficulties and challenges. One of the main challenges is the lack of sustainability of civil society programs. This challenge has direct link to dependency of civil society organization to the support of international community.

Recommendation:

22. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon participants of the Tokyo Conference to support the Afghan civil society in the field of capacity building and strengthening of the civil society sustainability.

23. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to collaborate with the civil society institutions in the field of policy making procedures. It also recommends removing any kind of legal obstacles for activation of the role of civil society in Afghanistan.

24. The Civil Society and Human Rights Organization would like to call upon all civil society institution to cooperate with each other with the Afghan state in the international community for the implementations for the recommendations of this document.