World leaders meet to decide the future of Afghanistan

The views expressed here are the authors own.

Today some 100 foreign ministers will be meeting in Bonn, Germany for a conference on the future of Afghanistan.  But what does this conference really mean for Afghans?

On December 2nd – 3rd, ahead of the main event,  a delegation of 34 representatives of Afghan Civil Society spoke about their worries, concerns, fears and priorities for today’s conference of foreign ministers.   They have been clear that there are lessons to be learnt from the last 10 years.

There are three main topics on the agenda for today. Afghan Civil Society have clear messages for each topic:

Transition Process – they are calling for more attention to be paid to the civil aspect of transition.  Currently the focus has been only on the military, but conversations need to include delivery of social services without discrimination, there needs to be an effective justice system, mechanisms to protect human rights, especially the rights of women and measures to curb corruption.

Long-Term Commitment – there have been millions spent in Afghanistan since 2001, however there is still no infrastructure.  More focus needs to be paid to combating drugs, and to generating employment.  Some 70% of Afghan’s are unemployed.  There  needs to be more civil capacity building, and a focus on building industries.  Many government posts have low wage, no social security and no pension – a perfect breading ground for corruption; something that must be addressed.

Political Solutions and Reintegration – you cannot have a just peace without Human Rights being upheld.  Past war crimes need to be addressed and a culture of impunity can no longer dominate.  Talks need to be transparent, not something that takes place hidden behind closed doors.  Women need to be included in high level conversations about peace.

How much will these concerns be addressed today?  It’s hard to say.

The Bonn conference can be live streamed here: http://bit.ly/v8XTQF

Afghan Women’s Network will be speaking about their concerns at 10:30 CET in a press conference that will be live streamed here: http://bit.ly/seeLBO

The Green Scarves photo wall will be the back drop of the AWN press conference, showing global solidarity with Afghan women as they share their hopes and fears for today’s conferences.

Follow @CH16org on twitter for regular updates.