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Youth Perspectives on Peace and Security: Afghanistan • 3 Growing Emphasis on Education
Report April 2018 Youth perspectives on peace AfghanistanLogo using and security: multiply on layers Logo drawn as seperate elements with overlaps coloured seperately Contents 1. Youth, peace and security in Afghanistan 3 1.1 Political and security context 3 1.2 Youth and politics in Afghanistan 3 1.3 Youth and the peace process in Afghanistan today 4 2. The focus group discussions 4 2.1 Context and challenges 4 2.2 Regional differences between respondents 5 3. Findings from the focus group discussions 5 3.1 Views on the current political context 5 Insecurity and local Instability 5 3.2 A lack of rule of law 6 3.3 Corruption 6 3.4 The international community and other actors 6 3.5 Challenges for youth in Afghanistan 7 A lack of political voice 7 3.6 Manipulation by local leaders 8 3.7 Challenges for female youth 8 3.8 Reflections on the peace process 9 Challenges defining peace 9 3.9 Views on peace process 9 3.10 Role of religious leaders in the peace process 9 3.11 Potential role of youth in peace process 10 4. Conclusions 10 References cited 11 This report was authored by Noah Coburn, with research support from Mohammad Munir Salamzai. Cover image: Women seeking a brighter future. © Dan Love 2 • Conciliation Resources resources and international development 1. Youth, peace and funds and contracts from the US military to security in Afghanistan enrich themselves.3 In the meantime, with fewer international troops, Afghan troops have 1.1 Political and security context struggled to hold territory against the Taliban, leading to a state of low-level but continued The past forty years of Afghan history have been violence, with no prospect on the horizon for an marked by near constant upheaval and war. -
Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy
Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy July 18, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45818 SUMMARY R45818 Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy July 18, 2019 Afghanistan has been a significant U.S. foreign policy concern since 2001, when the United States, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led a military Clayton Thomas campaign against Al Qaeda and the Taliban government that harbored and supported it. Analyst in Middle Eastern In the intervening 18 years, the United States has suffered approximately 2,400 military Affairs fatalities in Afghanistan, with the cost of military operations reaching nearly $750 billion. Congress has appropriated approximately $133 billion for reconstruction. In that time, an elected Afghan government has replaced the Taliban, and most measures of human development have improved, although Afghanistan’s future prospects remain mixed in light of the country’s ongoing violent conflict and political contention. Topics covered in this report include: Security dynamics. U.S. and Afghan forces, along with international partners, combat a Taliban insurgency that is, by many measures, in a stronger military position now than at any point since 2001. Many observers assess that a full-scale U.S. withdrawal would lead to the collapse of the Afghan government and perhaps even the reestablishment of Taliban control over most of the country. Taliban insurgents operate alongside, and in periodic competition with, an array of other armed groups, including regional affiliates of Al Qaeda (a longtime Taliban ally) and the Islamic State (a Taliban foe and increasing focus of U.S. policy). U.S. -
Hamid Karzai
AFGHANISTAN Head of state and government: Hamid Karzai Thousands of civilians continued to suffer from targeted and indiscriminate attacks by armed opposition groups, with international and national security forces also responsible for civilian deaths and injuries. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported more than 2,700 civilians killed and 4,805 injured, the vast majority – 81% – by armed groups. Torture and other ill-treatment were common in detention facilities across the country, despite some government efforts to reduce incidence. Violence and discrimination against women and girls remained rife both institutionally and within wider society. The government sought to introduce tougher controls on the media, prompting an outcry among media workers, who continued to be threatened and detained by the authorities and armed groups. Persistent armed conflict prompted more families to flee their homes, with 459,200 people still displaced within Afghanistan by the conflict. Many lived in informal settlements with inadequate shelter, access to water, health care, and education. Some 2.7 million refugees remained outside the country. Background In January the Taliban agreed to open a political office in Qatar allowing for direct peace negotiations; efforts faltered in March over requested exchanges of prisoners. In early November, negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s High Peace Council resulted in Pakistan releasing several detained Taliban leaders. On 17 November, the head of the High Peace Council, Salahuddin Rabbani, stated that Taliban officials who joined the peace process would receive immunity from prosecution despite the fact that some of the detained Taliban were suspected of war crimes. Women members of the High Peace Council remained sidelined from the main peace consultations. -
Embassy of the United States of America Research Unit Difusión
Embassy of the United States of America Research Unit Difusión selectiva de documentos electrónicos sobre seguridad y defensa en Estados Unidos 11 de abril de 2016 U.S. Statement at the Geneva Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism: The Way Forward Remarks by Sarah Sewall, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights April 8, 2016 “Ten years ago, when UN Member States endorsed the first-ever Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy, they envisioned the need to both combat existing terrorist threats around the world and prevent those threats from emerging in the first place. Elements of both combating and preventing terrorism marble the Strategy throughout, but there is no question that until now, the UN has yet to fully balance and integrate both of these essential components.” Efforts To Combat Daesh Remarks by Secretary of State Kerry and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Jones U.S. Department of State April 8, 2016 “So I – if we cannot defeat Daesh in all of the places we need to defeat it, if we don’t defeat it in each place individually, and that means we have to destroy it in Iraq in order to be successful in Syria, and we have to destroy it in Syria in order to be successful in Libya and in Yemen and in the various places where it has converted people to its cause. The principal reason for that conversion, folks, is success.” Joint Statement on the Third Meeting of the U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Commission Kabul - April 2016 U.S. Department of State April 9, 2016 On April 9 in Kabul, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and U.S. -
Afghanistan-Pakistan Media Affairs Challenges and Opportunities
Afghanistan-Pakistan Media Affairs Challenges and Opportunities Rahimullah Yusufzai December 2018 The media in Afghanistan and Pakistan has never been so large, vibrant and independent. It has attained unimaginable power and become a key player in politics and other walks of life. Media is the fourth pillar of the state and democracy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan in the true sense of the word. Earlier, it was the mainstream print and electronic media that was dominant and had assumed unprecedented importance. Now the social media is making an impact in these two neighbouring countries and often taking the lead in breaking news even if it has lesser credi- bility than the mainstream media. The media has tended to be overly patriotic and at times even aggres- sive in context of the perceived national interests of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The poor relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan affect the work of journalists. There is generally lack of awareness about each other due to the virtual absence of Afghan media in Pakistan and Pakistani media in Afghanistan. Table of Contents List of Acronyms i Foreword iii Rise in Media Power 1 Fallout on Media of Poor Afghanistan-Pakistan Relations 3 Status of Afghan Media in Pakistan 4 Status of Pakistani Media in Afghanistan 7 Reasons of Information Vacuum Between Neighbours 8 Creating Culture of Engagement – Establishing Institutional Relations 9 Between Media Stakeholders Impact of Regional Dynamics on Afghanistan-Pakistan Media 11 Relations – What Went Wrong Recommendations for States, Media -
Special Report No
SPECIAL REPORT NO. 444 | MARCH 2019 UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org How Peace Was Made: An Inside Account of Talks between the Afghan Government and Hezb-e Islami By Qaseem Ludin Contents Background ...................................3 Talks Begin ................................... 5 Internal Consensus and Divisions .................................7 Components of the Peace Deal ....................................8 Sealing the Deal ......................... 12 Implementation of the Agreement ............................ 13 Lessons for Negotiations with the Taliban ........................... 14 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar addresses supporters in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in March 2018. (Photo by Ghulamullah Habibi/EPA-EFE/ Shutterstock) Summary • For more than four decades, Afghan- • Peacemaking is a difficult process, the challenges and divisions that istan has been in a state of war and but often the most difficult part is had to be overcome in order to violent conflict that has destroyed how to start peace talks. Thus, the make the September 2016 peace much of the country’s physical and experience of negotiating peace agreement possible. social infrastructure and prevent- between the Afghan government • After the peace accord with ed the formation of a state stable and the Hezb-e Islami insurgent Hezb-e Islami, Afghans have an- enough to establish law and order. group offers unique insights on other historic chance to bring an • Although several internal and exter- peacemaking in the modern era. end to years of conflict with the nal factors contributed to the conflict • This report, based on the author’s Taliban. The Afghan government’s and its current political and security experience working as a negoti- negotiations with Hezb-e Islami environment, a key factor has been ator during talks between the Af- provide important lessons that can weak Afghan leadership, exacerbat- ghan government and Hezb-e Isla- be applied to future peace negoti- ed by political frictions among elites. -
The Ukrainian Weekly, 2020
INSIDE: l State in a Smartphone app is launched – page 3 l ‘Peripheral Visions’ exhibit by the Yurchuks – page 11 l Community: Alberta, New York, New Jersey – pages 16-17 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association, Inc., celebrating W its 125th anniversaryEEKLY Vol. LXXXVIII No. 7 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020 $2.00 NEWS ANALYSIS Yermak replaces Bohdan Zelenskyy, with Yermak in new role, as the head of Presidential Office emphasizes continuity in foreign policy by Bohdan Nahaylo understood that it is necessary to change the Minsk accords of 2014-2015 because KYIV – When President Volodymyr they are not working, and he sensed that Zelenskyy fired the controversial head of even “Russia is preparing to think this his Presidential Office, Andriy Bohdan, and over.” This recognition of “Minsk flexibility” replaced him with Andriy Yermak, a non- was a step forward. In his view, the staff close adviser who has become increas- achieve ment of peace remains the goal, for ingly influential in recent months, the move in the end it will be not about winners and suggested a change in style and approach in losers but “a victory for everyone.” the domestic sphere. But the appointment Turning from the Donbas to Crimea, also reaffirmed Mr. Yermak’s position as the President Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukrainian president’s chief negotiator with this issue was “even more complicated.” He the Kremlin and his stewardship over added cryptically: “But we are also working Ukraine’s foreign policy in general. on it. I cannot say more so far.” On the same day as the personnel The following day, at his first press con- change in Kyiv, Moscow confirmed that ference as head of the Presidential Office, or Dmitry Kozak had replaced Vladyslav chief of staff, Mr. -
No. 02, January 12, 2020
INSIDE: l UCCA National Council welcomes UABA – page 4 l Koliadnyky from Kryvorivnia perform in New York – page 9 l Reflections: Ukrainians and the NYC Marathon – page 11 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association, Inc., celebrating W its 125th anniversaryEEKLY Vol. LXXXVIII No. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2020 $2.00 A difficult start to the New Year in Ukraine Ukrainian plane crashes in Iran, by Bohdan Nahaylo and to give a new look and feel to the tradi- killing all 176 people aboard tional speech from the country’s leader. It KYIV – For Ukraine, the New Year has contained few details and did not elaborate started with a roller-coaster effect, moving any precise plans for the year ahead. from seasonal festive joy to tragedy and The main message was the need for mourning. unity at a time of war, economic difficulties It began with an upbeat, unconventional and efforts to get reforms back on track. Mr. New Year’s Eve address to the nation by the Zelenskyy challenged his listeners to reflect country’s new president, Volodymyr Zelens- on what it is to be Ukrainian today, what kyy, which was warmly received by many, should unite Ukrainians and what threatens but antagonized those in opposition to him. to perpetuate mutual distrust, misunder- And, following Christmas celebrations standing and antagonism, what should be according to the old Julian calendar, it was the priorities today in this regard, and what followed by a very different presidential can be addressed later or more gradually. message to the Ukrainian people – a decla- Mr. -
Volodymyr Zelensky: What Has Been Done in the Past Year? What’S Next?...1
Nr 14 ROCZNIK INTEGRACJI EUROPEJSKIEJ 2020 ŁUKASZ DONAJ DOI : 10.14746/rie.2020.14.6 Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań ORCID: 0000-0002-7720-1260 Volodymyr Zelensky: What has Been Done in the Past Year? What’s Next?...1 Introduction Tadeusz Iwański, an analyst from the Center for Eastern Studies, has noted that the political situation in Ukraine after the Revolution of Dignity and the ensuing Russian aggression created a peculiar social context, in which the perception of traditional politicians has dramatically changed for the worse. After the revolution, the society has been eagerly expecting a thorough recovery of the state, combined with a new quality of governance and public empowerment. However, the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections changed little in terms of the political elite, as the most im- portant state functions remained in the hands of politicians who first emerged in the 1990s, when the oligarchic system in Ukraine was being formed. The reforms intro- duced in the first two to three years after the revolution, mainly under pressure from Western creditors and the civil society, did not meet the society’s needs. Not only did they fail to improve the quality of life, but eventually led to the emigration of some 2 million Ukrainians, which placed an additional burden on the shoulders of the old and new elites. Initiated but never completed, the painful reforms have increased po- litical volatility and sapped public trust in the political class even further. A survey by Kyiv’s Razumkov Center showed that just before the presidential elections only 23 percent of respondents trusted the president. -
Ukraine's Sectoral Integration Into the Eu
UKRAINE’S SECTORAL INTEGRATION INTO THE EU: PRECONDITIONS, PROSPECTS, CHALLENGES The Project “Ukraine’s Sectoral Integration into the EU: Preconditions, Prospects, Challenges” was realized with the support of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Ukraine KYIV 2020 CONTENT UKRAINE’S SECTORAL INTEGRATION INTO THE EU: PRECONDITIONS, PROSPECTS, CHALLENGES .............................................................................................. 3 1. Integration Into the European Union: Current State, Peculiarities and Challenges ...................................... 4 1.1. European Integration Policy of the Current Government: Nature and Specifics .............................. 4 1.2. External Factors ............................................................................................................................... 8 1.3. Updating the Association Agreement and Prospects of the EU-Ukraine Relations ....................... 10 2. General Preconditions for Intensification of Sectoral Integration in the Economy ......................................15 2.1. New Priorities in EU-Ukraine Economic Cooperation in the Context of Fighting COVID-19, and Prospects of Structural Change of Economy ......................................................................... 15 2.2. Developing Mechanisms that Regulate Mutual Market Access under the Free Trade Area .......... 18 2.3. Mechanisms for Facilitating Sectoral Development and Sectoral Integration (Facilitation Institutions and Financial Instruments) ...................................................................... -
SPS 60Th ANNIVERSARY
Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme Emerging Security Challenges Division SPS 60th ANNIVERSARY SPS Partnership Prize Award Ceremony Book presentation by Dr. Simone Turchetti ‘Greening the Alliance: The Diplomacy of NATO’s Science and Environmental Initiatives’ Exhibition of Posters and Prototypes resulting from SPS projects 29 November 2018, 14h00 NATO HQ, Public Square (Press Briefing Room) www.nato.int/science @NATO_SPS Foreword by Dr. Antonio Missiroli 60 years ago, on 29 March 1958, the North Atlantic Council met in Paris where the then 15 NATO Ambassadors formally announced the establishment of a NATO Science Committee and the position of a Science Advisor to the Secretary General. Professor Norman F. Ramsey, a renowned US physicist from Harvard University who had once worked on the Manhattan Project, was appointed Science Advisor and chaired the first meeting of the NATO Science Committee, marking the foundation of the NATO Science Programme. Against the background of the launch of Sputnik1 by the Soviet Union, one of the major goals of the programme was to promote the training of scientists within NATO countries to facilitate exchanges, build networks, and increase returns on research investments. Since then, the Programme has come a long way while constantly adapting to changing demands. Known since 2006 as the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme, it offers unique ways to engage NATO nations and partners in meaningful, practical cooperation with tangible results and deliverables. Today, approximately 150 ongoing SPS projects, workshops and training courses help to build capacity in partner countries, support NATO efforts in the fight against terrorism, facilitate the development of security-related advanced technologies and foster expert networks to address questions related to cyber defence or the role of women in peace and security. -
Diplomatic Corps of Ukraine Надзвичайні І Повноважні Посли України В Іноземних Державах Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Foreign Countries
Дипломатичний корпус України Diplomatic Corps of Ukraine Надзвичайні і Повноважні Посли України в іноземних державах Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to foreign countries Відомості станом на 8 жовтня 2019 року. Можливі зміни у складі керівників дипломатичних місій будуть у наступному випуску щорічника При підготовці щорічника використано матеріали Міністерства закордонних справ України Data current as of October 8, 2019. Possible changes in composition of the heads of diplomatic missions will be provided in the next issues of the edition Data of the Ministry of Foreign Aairs of Ukraine were used for preparation of this year-book materials АВСТРАЛІЙСЬКИЙ СОЮЗ e Commonwealth of Australia Надзвичайний і Повноважний Посол Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 24.09.2015 МИКОЛА КУЛІНІЧ Mykola Kulinіch Надзвичайний Ambassador Extraordinary і Повноважний Посол and Plenipotentiary Олександр Міщенко (2004–2005); Oleksandr Mishchenko (2004–2005); Посол України в Австралії Ambassador of Ukraine та Новій Зеландії to Australia and New Zealand Валентин Адомайтіс (2007–2011); Valentyn Adomaitis (2007–2011); Тимчасові повірені у справах: Chargé d’Aaires: Сергій Білогуб (2005–2007); Serhii Bilohub (2005–2007); Станіслав Сташевський (2011–2014); Stanislav Stashevskyi (2011–2014); Микола Джиджора (2014–2015) Mykola Dzhydzhora (2014–2015) АВСТРІЙСЬКА РЕСПУБЛІКА e Republic of Austria Надзвичайний і Повноважний Посол Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 17.11.2014 ОЛЕКСАНДР ЩЕРБА Oleksandr Shcherba Надзвичайні Ambassadors