Afghan Women’s Network ‘Position Paper’

“International Commitment beyond 2014

Afghanistan is not where it was in December 2001 during the first Bonn Conference. Despite of setback at the time, the country and its people have moved forward with the support of international community. However, the focus of international aid has shifted drastically from socio-economic and development projects to those that support transition and peace process. Therefore indirectly, the international aid is being used for the political agendas of the Afghan government and not for the basic needs of Afghans.

To sustain and protect the achievements of past ten years, the Strategic Partnership needs to be a binding document of Afghan government and United States. All bilateral and multilateral accords should clearly spell out objective of protection and promotion of Afghan women’s rights.

The regional cooperation should be focus on elimination of overwhelming poverty, low health and education indicators that is challenging South Asian region, human development progress record. It is important to turn that agreement put in place make changing the status of women and children in this region, where four of the Worst places for women in Asia are attributed to South Asian region. Taking up such challenges can be through strengthening exiting network of women in the region to successfully build models of fighting poverty working across borders.

Considering the Euromines Conference in Brussels, women recommend that a CSO, NGO, Parliament and Government permanent working group is set up with the support of the EU, to develop oversight on rights compliance for all mining and extractive industry tenders/companies/work. It would address ways to mitigate potential rights abuses of women, communities, the environment, workers etc.

1. Therefore, women recommend that the international aid beyond 2014 has a clear gender-allocation so that it can specify a percentage of the aid that will go to the women-focused projects and initiatives, either through the Afghan government or the local non government organizations.

2. To prevent aid from being used for supporting extremists’ elements, women organizations recommend that the United Nations Assistance Mission gets a strong role in monitoring the transition and peace process and work towards bringing both processes to a coherent platform with a special focus on empowering Afghan women in these processes as part of the United Nations mandate and resolutions.

3. The region cannot be peaceful with international diplomatic pressures only. Involving women groups across the border is under utilized. Women organizations as bridge between the communities of the two sides of the border between Af-Pak region and their access and independence should be utilized to work towards a people-to-people dialogue that should be promoted by the international community members.

LOOKING FORWARD

During the Bonn process, the Afghan women ask their government and the international community leaders to envisage a prosperous Afghanistan only through upholding the rights and obligations to the half of its population. If Afghan women continue to be ignored within the major political decisions of their country, a vision for a better Afghanistan can not be achieved, whether the international community wants to leave a legacy of stability and success in Afghanistan, that stability and success is not possible without a just rule of law that respects the human rights of Afghan woman.

Though [the] Bonn Conference might be yet another international event on Afghanistan, women want to use the opportunity as a process for seeking accountability from Afghan government and its international supporters as half of the constituencies that are risking their lives for securing the vision of Afghanistan and values of democracy and rule of law that is shared by all our neighbors and international community members. We as the women of Afghanistan will be watching over the process from now up to Bonn and beyond during the transition process to see whether the Afghan government and its international supporters meet the challenge of doing things right for the last time in Afghanistan.”