AFGANA.ORG, THE FINAL DOCUMENT 6/10/07 A path to peace and justice in Afghanistan. A plan for action to the Italian government. The result of collective research and elaboration built upon civil society’s experience and analysis If you wan to to sign click here

Sabato 6 Ottobre 2007

The process

Six years have passed since war began in Afghanistan. The promises of peace and wealth for the Afghan people, after years of suffering under the Warlords and Taliban, have been disattended.

Hunger, poverty, social exclusion and violence are widespread, while programs for reconstruction, justice and development have brought limited results on the ground. Rather than progressing towards peace and reconciliation, Afghanistan is torn by increasing violence.

We believe that it is everyone’s duty to do everything possibile to prevent Afghanistan and the international community from sinking deep into a quagmire, similar to that currently experienced in Irak, with no exit strategy at hand. There has to be a turnaround, now, before time runs out.


This is why we have convened a group of concerned activists, journalists, CSOs, NGOs, researchers, academicians, experts in communication and conflict resolution to share ideas and experiences. We started our collective process by launching an “Appeal for Afghanistan” (available on the www.afgana.org website) and then holding a first seminar on March 26 2007, followed by another on July 20, together with other public events in Italian cities.

Our commitment is based on the perspectives of Afghan civilians, the first and foremost victims of war.

Their needs and wishes gave us inspiration and input in the quest for solutions that would then inform our campaigns for public awareness,solidarity, mobilization, political and institutional dialogue.

Our unique interest is that our country play a significant role in peacebuilding through the promotion of human rights and justice, based on the proposals of Afghan democratic civil society.


The following points of action that we submit to our Government and Parliament are the results of our work, aimed at providing a contribution in the development of the Italian government’s position at the UN Security Council.

They will also be discussed and shared at the UN Peoples’ Assembly and the Perugia-Assisi Peace March in the coming days.







CONSIDERING THAT


After six years from its inception in 2001 the military and civil mission have substantially failed their targets;

According to research by UNAMA (United Nations Mission in Afghanistan) , suicide attacks have increased (103 by the end of August 2007 as to 123 in 2006) with civilians accounting for 80% of the casualties;

The increase in civilian casualties (June 2007 record was the same of 2006 as a whole) as denounced by the NGO network Acbar, UNAMA and human rights organizations is partly caused by airstrikes by NATO and the US-led coalition;

Local popular support in conflict areas is dropping substantially, while confusion looms over the distinct roles of Enduring Freedom and ISAF-NATO mission;

Reconstruction is lagging behind, due to slackness in fund disbursement and an evident imbalance between the financial commitment for cooperation and that spent for military operations (the average monthly cost of a NATO military is USD 5,000)

Afghan government’s recent openings for dialogue and negotiation with warring parties, recently underlined by UNAMA, are apparently not supported by the international community

Italy’s proposal for an International Conference has seemingly lost momentum in the Italian government’s action, while condemnation of the most recent airstrikes has not been as vocal as it had been before, if not absent

According to UN estimates, opium production in the country has increased by 34%, with 193,000 hectares of cultivated land and a production volume of 8,200 tons,


WE PROPOSE

The strengthening of UN role and involvement in cooperation, reconstruction and national reconciliation in Afghanistan

In the specific, the Italian government should


- a. revise UNAMA’s mandate, call for the end of Enduring Freedom (OEF), and propose the substitution of ISAF troops with a UN force, with a strong mandate for civilians’ protection, charging the UN Peacebuilding Commission with the task of defining times and details of its deployment. Strengthen Italian presence in the EUPOL (EU police mission);
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- b. improve participation of Afghan population and civil society in a national reconciliation process that would include a diplomatic option for dialogue and negotiation with all parties in the conflict, as a part of a broader process that would lead to an International Peace Conference to be held by year 2008 with the participation of all neighbouring countries and India.

- c. implement a far-reaching change in the justice sector reform program, giving priority to the protection and upholding of fundamental human rights, to justice administration and unification of training programs for judges. A national Truth and Justice Process needs to be launched to identify the responsibles for human rights violations before, during and after the fall of the Taliban regime, and to support Afghan women and their rights.

- D. substantially increase funds for international cooperation and reconstruction (the current ratio between reconstruction and military expenditure is 1:9. We believe a 50:50 balance should be attained in 2008) The Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) formula needs to be revised and substituted with support to UN Agencies trust funds and microcredit programs. Opium cultivation shound be targeted along the lines proposed in the European Parliament’s recommendation of pilot project for “Opium in Medicine”. The overarching goal is that of meeting basic human rights of local populations, namely the right to food, water, education and health.

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