Hamish Nixon

Governance and Development Researcher

Dr. Hamish Nixon coordinates research on the parameters of a durable peace process in for the Peace Research Institute of Oslo and the United States Institute for Peace. He spent five years in as the World Bank’s Subnational Governance Specialist. Prior to that he spent three years as the governance researcher at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU). He has researched and advised on post-conflict governance in Cambodia, El Salvador and Afghanistan, and supervised or monitored post-conflict and transitional elections in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Russia, the Middle East, Central America, and Southeast Asia. He completed his Ph.D. on peace processes and post-conflict political development at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, and has held appointments at the Queen’s College, Oxford, and Kingston University.

Hamish Nixon will speak at the seminar sub national and local governance about the international aid channelled through central or provincial levels, and how this link up with the future of the NSP.

Mr. Mohammad Tariq Ismati

Executive Director, National Solidarity Programme, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation, Afghanistan

Mohammad Tariq Ismati was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan on December 4th 1979. He comes from an educated family and his father was a former military colonel from King Zaher Shah regime in Afghanistan. His family moved to capital (Kabul) where he went to his primary and secondary schooling and eventually completed his high school in Taliban region of Kandahar since his family moved back to Kandahar after the internal fighting started between Mujaheedin groups in Kabul in 1992.

He started his career with international NGOs and UN agencies in Kandahar, Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. In 2004 he was appointed as the National Program Officer for the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program by UNDP looking after its Demobilization and Reintegration management for southern Afghanistan. Since that time he has become involved in reintegration and community development activities in southern Afghanistan and after the completion of DDR program he joined Rural Development programs with the ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) in Kandahar.

In 2006 after the first NATO led military operation under the name of Medusa in Zhare and Panjwaie districts of Kandahar, the rural communities in target districts were left with tremendous collateral damage, ruined infrastructure and most importantly a larger gap of trust due to inappropriate military strategy that had no pre-consideration for rehabilitation and development. MRRD as the only active Afghan ministry with national development programs for rural communities took the initiative to decentralize its technical functions in order to achieve rapid development objectives in order to (a) build trust between local communities and the government of Afghanistan by immediate responses to the prioritized development needs of villagers (b) strengthen the local capacities by community lead development approaches. Mr. Ismati was chosen as the lead person for this strategic task and soon after the materialization of this approach a considerable movement of communities toward joining development was noticed that made MRRD so popular among local villagers and the practice eventually turned to be named Kandahar Modal, which is famous as a successful modal for rapid development. In October 2008 Mohammad Tariq Ismati was offered the position of Chief of Operations for National Area Based Development Program (NABDP) within MRRD in Kabul and soon after he joined National Solidarity Program in the capacity of Executive Director that is his current position with MRRD.

Apart from his professional career, his first degree is an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) specialized in General Management from Preston University in completed on distance learning basis. And currently he is following his second degree for Master of Science and Administration (MSA) – International Development Program (IDP) at Andrews University of USA through off campus arrangements in Florence, Italy.

Last but not least, he has participated in NATO summits in Riga, Latvia in 2006 and 2008 as a young leader from Afghanistan and also participated as an Afghan leader from Afghanistan in YATA and ATA 54th general assembly in Berlin, Germany in 2008.

Muhammad Tariq Ismati will speak about the National Solidarity Programme and its impact on sub- national and local governance.

Ahmad Nader Nadery

Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)

Ahmad Nader Nadery is a Commissioner at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. He represented Afghan Peace Activists at the UN peace talks for Afghanistan in the Bonn Conference in 2001. He serves as Chairperson of Fair and Free Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) and is chairperson of the advisory board of Open Society Institute Afghan programs. He has written extensively on politics and human rights in Afghanistan and is a member of Board of Editors of the International Journal on Transitional Justice. He served as Spokesperson for the political national assembly (Loya Jerga) in 2002 and organized the election for this assembly. Prior to his appointment as the commissioner at the AIHRC he established the office and worked as the country director for the international human rights law group. Mr. Nadery won several international awards and was recognized as an "Asian Hero" by Time Magazine. He was also a 21 Young Asia Leader's fellow with the Asia Society and was named as Young Global Leaders by the world Economic Forum in 2008. Mr. Nadery studied law and political sciences at the Kabul University and earned his masters degree on International Affairs policy and Practice from George Washington University.

Nader Nadery will speak about a culture of impunity and corruption and its effect on rule of law and human rights at the seminar Constitutional State, Rule of law.

Sari Kouvo, Thomas Ruttig and Martine van Bijlert are the co-directors of Afghan Analyst Network (AAN). AAN is a non-profit, independent policy research organisation. It aims to bring together the knowledge, experience and drive of a large number of experts to better inform policy and to increase the understanding of Afghan realities.

Sari Kouvo

Co-director and senior analyst, Afghan Analysts Network

Dr. Sari Kouvo is a Finnish citizen residing in Belgium, spending half her time in Afghanistan. She is a Human Rights Lawyer with extensive knowledge of the Afghan justice system and human rights situation. Her areas of expertise include Afghanistan, international law, post-conflict rule-of-law reform, gender and human rights. Prior to joining International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), she was Human Rights and Rule of Law Advisor to the European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan in Kabul (2004-2006). She also served as Researcher on Afghanistan at Amnesty International and a researcher and lecturer within the Department of Law at Gothenburg University. She is a member of the European Union’s Civilian Response Teams for Multifunctional Crisis Management and is a founding member of both the Center for Global Gender Studies and the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Gothenburg University. She has been a visiting fellow at the NATO Defense College (Italy), the Center for Law, Gender, and Sexuality at Keele University (UK), the Institute for Human Rights at Abo Academy University (Finland), and the Center for International and Public Law at Australian National University.

Sari Kouvo will speak about constitutional law versus informal law system and access to justice at the seminar Constitutional State, Rule of law.

Thomas Ruttig

Co-director and senior analyst, Afghan Analysts Network

Thomas Ruttig studied Afghanistics at Humboldt University, Berlin (Germany). He has spent almost 10 years working in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Thomas worked for the GDR Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 1980s; for the UN as respectively UNSMA head of office in Kabul, adviser to the Afghan Independent Emergency Loya Jirga Commission, and UNAMA head of office in and Gardez (2000-2003); as the Deputy to the EU Special Representative for Afghanistan (2003-2004); and Political Adviser to the German Embassy in Kabul (2004-2006).

In 2006-2008 he was a Visiting Fellow at the German think-tank Stiftung Wissenschaft and Politik (SWP). From 2008 he has been working as an author and independent political analyst.

Thomas speaks and .

Thomas Rutting will speak about the security sector: police, Afghan National Army and the issue of militias at the seminar Constitutional State, Rule of law.

Martine van Bijlert

Co-director and senior analyst, Afghan Analysts Network

Martine van Bijlert studied Sociology of Non-Western Societies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and has spent over 11 years working and living in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Martine's interest in the region started when, as a student, she visited Quetta twice to study the situation of Afghan refugees (1990 and 1992/3). After that she worked as Community Development Officer in Kabul for an international NGO (1997-1998); Political Secretary for the Netherlands Embassy in Tehran (2001-2004); Political Adviser to the EU Special Representative for Afghanistan in Kabul (2004-2008); and most recently as an independent analyst for, among others, the Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) and the Netherlands Embassy in Kabul. She has travelled extensively, most frequently to Uruzgan. Martine speaks Dari.

Martine van Bijlert will be participating in the seminar Role of Parliament and elections in Afghanistan.

Gran Hewad

Political Researcher for the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN)

Since 2008, Gran Hewad is working as Political Researcher for the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) following political, governance/rule of law and security deveopments in Afghanistan. Before joining AAN, he has worked as research assistant for Afghanistan Expert and former EU diplomat Martine van Bijlert and Secretary to the 1st Deputy Speaker of the Lower House. Mr Hewad holds a BA in Economics from Kabul University.

Gran Hewad will be participating in the seminar Role of Parliament and elections in Afghanistan.

Mrs. Shinkai Karokhail

Member of Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Kabul Province

Mrs. Shinkai Karokhail was born in Kabul, in Afghanistan, where she serves today as a Parliamentarian in the National Assembly. She has a Diploma in English from the National Institute of Modern Languages of Islamabad, Pakistan. She also studied to become a Medical Doctor from the Medical College of the Kabul University between 1979 and 1984, and is currently studying political science.

Mrs. Karokhail was one of the founding members of the Afghan Women Educational Center (www.awec.info) in 1991, where she acted as a teacher in the first years, holding various positions as program coordinator or communication officer throughout the development of the NGO. She was also involved in other social work activities with other NGOs in Afghanistan. Since 2002 she has been an acting director of the AWEC, where she is responsible for programs development and management.

In 2005, she was elected as a Parliamentarian in the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, where she works towards conflict prevention and promotes women’s rights.

Shinakai Karokhail will speak about Perspectives from within - Experiences from the parliament and election campaign 2010 in the seminar Role of Parliament and elections in Afghanistan.

Muhammad Suleman Kakar

Managing Director, Center for Peace and Unity (CPAU)

Suleman Kakar is a development worker and researcher and a pioneer of peacebuilding in Afghanistan with more than two decades of experience in development and civil society. He was a founding member of Cooperation for Peace and Unity CPAU, an NGO and research institute in Afghanistan and before it he worked in key positions with several national, international and government offices. Suleman has done his Master of Arts (MA) in Development Studies at Development Studies Centre, Holy Ghost College, Kimmage Manor, Dublin, Ireland. Suleman has conducted evaluation of several national and international NGOs and UN agencies and a number of researches including (Political Economy and Livelihood Strategies) 2001, Interagency Evaluation of UN Humanitarian Response 2001, Research (Strategies and Structures in Conflict Prevention) 2003, Advocacy Practices: Afghanistan 2001 Onwards (September - November 2005). He was also Senior Advisor at the President’s office for reorganization and presently serves as Senior Advisor to the Minister of Education and Chairman of the BoD of CPAU.

Muhammad Suleman Kakar will be the conference keynote Speaker, and will speak about the current situation in Afghanistan and the challenges facing democratic state-building.

Ann Wilkens

President of the Board (SCA)

Ann Wilkens has a career background as both a reporter and as a diplomat. She has been working many years in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, mainly with politics and aid questions. She was the Swedish ambassador in Ethiopia (1993-95), Luxemburg (2000-03) and in Pakistan (2003-07). During the years in Pakistan Ann was in charge of the Afghanistan unit and made several trips to the country over the years. At the moment she has her own company which specializes in peace/-conflict and development questions. She was appointed by Swedish Committee for Afghanistan as the President of the Board in 2009.

Thorbjörn Pettersson

Sweden’s ambassador in Afghanistan

Thorbjörn Pettersson was the director general for Swedish Committee for Afghanistan in 2008-2009 until he became the Swedish ambassador in Afghanistan in May 2010. Before that he worked for the Swedish liberal party Folkpartiet as their party sectretary, 1995-2001, and later on as Sidas country director at the Swedish embassy in Tanzania. Thorbjörn Pettersson will speak about donor perspective on sub-national and local governance at the conference.

Lasse Bengtssson

Lasse Bengtsson became the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan’s new information coordinator based in Afghanistan, in the beginning of September, 2010. He had earlier on been working as a reporter and newscaster for the Swedish television channel TV4 for over 19 years, where he hosted Nyhetsmorgon, a Swedish morning news and talk show, apart from leading the TV4 news. Lasse Bengtsson will be the moderator for the panel debate Role of Parliament and elections in Afghanistan at the conference.

Lotta Hedström

Board member of Swedish Commtittee for Afghanistan

Lotta Hedström is a politician for the Swedish party Miljöpartiet, and is also a board member of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. She has been the party’s spokes person as well as a member of the Swedish parliament. Lotta Hedström has also been a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the parliament of Sweden in which poor development countries as well as unjustified wars became the main focus for Lotta. Lotta Hedström will be the moderator for the panel debate Constitutional State/Rule of Law at the conference.

Gunilla Carlsson

Minister for International Development Cooperation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Gunilla Carlsson is the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation. She had been a Member of the European Parliament for the Moderate Party before she was elected to the Swedish Parliament. She was Vice Chair of the European People's Party, Deputy Chair of the Swedish Parliament's Committee for Foreign Affairs, and a member of the Committee on European Union Affairs.

Gunilla will speak about the Swedish contribution to Afghanistan.

Mohammad Ilyas Dayee (Civilian Causalties) Dayee works as a freelance journalist in Helmand province. He has been recommended by SCA and the NGO International Media Support (IMS). According to IMS Dayee is a source of reflective reporting from Helmand with good reputation among Afghan journalists. His primary motivation for participation is to discuss civilian casualties specifically monitoring strategies and the implication of casualties in local communities. He will share examples from his daily journalistic work in Helmand and argue for improved access for freelance journalists to remote conflict points.

Dr Abdul Basir Qureshi (Health Workers in zones of conflict) Dr Qureshi is the Deputy Project Manager for SCA's BPHS provision in Laghman province. He previously worked as a field medical coordinator and has experience from work in two insecure Laghman districts. He would like to discuss tensions around BPHS delivery both with regards to armed opposition groups and international forces. According to Dr Qureshi BPHS delivery suffers in the current conflict through difficulties regarding access to patients and recruitment of staff. He is concerned by the fact that clinics are perceived as colluding with armed opposition groups when they provide health services to specific local communities. Dr Qureshi will also discuss difficulties with providing adequate services for women in the current conflict.

Hashim Shukor (Freedom of Speech) Mr Shukor has worked 10 years as a journalist in Afghanistan. His work is published in European and U.S. media. He currently works for international news agency, McClatchy, and is in Kabul. Mr Shukor frequently travels all over Afghanistan. During the interview he describes a recent trip to Nangahar investigating Taleban suppression of music and cultural expression. Mr Shukor will relate to how freedom of speech currently is curtailed by Afghan Government and opposition groups. He will also describe the general progress in journalistic freedom Afghanistan has witnessed during the last 10 years and advocate its protection in the country’s next phase of development.

Dr. Thor Khan Shirzad (Health Workers in zones of conflict: Corruption) Dr. Thor Khan Shirzad is NACs Health Manager. He has worked in the field of health for 12 years. He has been a health worker in the Jaji District of Paktya province which was a very unstable area. He also has experience as a journalist from the Afghanistan National Television and for different radio stations in Kabul and Nangarhar. Dr. Shirzad will talk about the challenges related corruption within the health sector which represents a pressure towards health management. Dr.Shirzad has had the overall responsibility for BPHS in two clusters in Ghazni until November 2009. He will talk about the pressure towards health workers in the clinics from both the International Military Forces and Armed opposition groups.