The A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan 2015 Thirteenth Edition 13 2015 Thirteenth Edition Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit IMPORTANT NOTE: The information presented in this guide relies on the voluntary contributions of ministries and agencies of the Afghan government, embassies, development agencies, and other organisations representing donor countries, national and international NGOs, and other institutions. While AREU makes a sincere effort to provide the most accurate and current information possible with each edition produced, details evolve and change continuously. Users of this guide are encouraged to submit updates, additions, corrections and suggestions to [email protected]. © 2015 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Permission can be obtained by emailing [email protected] or by calling +93 (0) 799 608 548. Funding for this publication is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Provincial Profiles (maps and data):World Bank; Central Statistics Organization Maps: Afghan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Photos: AREU Cover photograph: Afghan soldiers march beneath the newly erected large Afghan flag on Wazir Akbar Khan hilltop in Kabul. Tab photographs - A to Z: An elderly Afghan man sits in his shop selling watermelons in central Kabul. Government: People’s representatives gather during the 2013 Loya Jirga in Kabul to discuss long term relationships between Afghanistan and the United States, including the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). Provincial Profiles: A market in Jalalabad. Contacts: Afghan artists stage a scene from a street show condemning Taliban attacks during a demonstration by civil society activists in Kabul. Documents: A shopkeeper sits in his carpet shop in a market in Kabul. Index: A farmer in northern Afghanistan sifts wheat. Contact Information: 3rd street on the left from Charahi Haji Yacoub toward Charahi Shaheed House No. 144, first gate (on the right) Shahr-i-Naw, Kabul, Afghanistan Phone: +93 (0) 799 608 548 Email: [email protected] Website: www.areu.org.af The AREU library is located at the AREU office in Kabul and is open: Sunday to Thursday from 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. (8 a.m. - 2 p.m. during Ramazan). ii AREU The A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan Table of Contents: About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit ................................................................. iv About the A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan ....................................................................iv AREU Publications 2014 ...................................................................................................................v A to Z Contents: ..................................................................................................................................1 Government Initiatives and Programmes .......................................................................................4 Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society ....................................................................29 Afghan-International Initiatives and Programmes .......................................................................55 Libraries ..........................................................................................................................................65 The Government of Afghanistan .....................................................................................................74 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 74 The Executive ..................................................................................................................................75 The Legislative ................................................................................................................................76 The Judiciary ...................................................................................................................................78 The Public Sector............................................................................................................................81 Pay and Grading .............................................................................................................................83 Elections ..........................................................................................................................................84 Provincial Profiles ........................................................................................................................... 86 Central Afghanistan .............................................................................................................................. 88 Northeast Afghanistan ...................................................................................................................92 East Afghanistan ............................................................................................................................94 North Afghanistan ..........................................................................................................................96 South Afghanistan ..........................................................................................................................99 Southwest Afghanistan ............................................................................................................... 102 Southeast Afghanistan ............................................................................................................... 104 Contacts ........................................................................................................................................ 108 Documents and Maps....................................................................................................................193 Laws in Afghanistan .................................................................................................................... 195 The Constitution .......................................................................................................................... 196 Access to Information Law .......................................................................................................... 228 NGO Legislation and Code of Conduct .......................................................................................237 Code of Conduct for NGOs engaged in Humanitarian Action, Reconstruction, and Development in Afghanistan (2005) ........................................................................................ 238 Maps ............................................................................................................................................. 246 Index................................................................................................................................................250 The A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan iii Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research institute based in Kabul. AREU’s mission is to inform and influence policy and practice through conducting high- quality, policy-relevant research and actively disseminating the results, and to promote a culture of research and learning. To achieve this, AREU engages with policymakers, civil society, researchers, and students to promote their use of AREU’s research and its library, to strengthen their research capacity, and to create opportunities for analysis, reflection, and debate. AREU conducts research on a wide variety of topics and produces dozens of research publications each year, ranging from policy-focused briefing papers to comprehensive issues and synthesis reports. Many are translated into Dari and Pashto. AREU was established in 2002 by the assistance community working in Afghanistan and has a board of directors with representation from donors, the United Nations and other multilateral agencies, and non-governmental organisations. About the A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan Updated each year, the A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan aims to enhance general understanding of the array of actors, structures, and government processes related to aid and reconstruction efforts in the country. The Guide provides: a wide-ranging glossary of assistance terms and actors, an overview of Afghanistan’s system of government, political provincial briefs, key primary documents, and an extensive contacts directory that includes government agencies, NGOs, donors, and international actors. Where not otherwise specified, all dollar amounts are US$. The Guide is also published in Dari and Pashto. When the first edition of the A to Z Guide was published in 2002, the goal then—as it is now— was “to provide a guide to the terms, structures, mechanisms and coordinating bodies critical to the Afghanistan relief and reconstruction effort to help ensure a shared vocabulary and common understanding.” Over