Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization

Transcription

1 Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization Gender Programming in Afghanistan: Critical Analysis of National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security Critical Review Report November

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3 Acknowledgements APPRO wishes to express its sincere gratitude to individuals and organizations that offered their views and information for this review report. We are particularly indebted to representatives of the Australian Embassy, Canadian Embassy, EUPOL, European Union Delegation, Finnish Embassy, Italian Embassy, Royal Netherlands Embassy, NATO and ISAF, Norwegian Embassy, Swedish Embassy, UNAMA, Embassy of the United States, USAID, and the Word Bank, all of whom were consulted for this review. About this Report This critical review was carried out as part of the NAP 1325 Monitor project, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). About the Authors The analytical framework for this review was developed by Lucile Martin and Saeed Parto. Lucile Martin authored this report. About APPRO Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization (APPRO) is an independent social research organization with a mandate to promote social and policy learning to benefit development and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and other less developed countries through conducting social scientific research, monitoring and evaluation, and training and mentoring. APPRO is registered with the Ministry of Economy in Afghanistan as a non-profit non-government organization and headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan with regional offices in Mazar-e Sharif (north), Herat (west), Kandahar (south), Jalalabad (east), and Bamyan (center). APPRO and its individual researchers have undertaken projects in Europe, Central Asia, Pakistan, India, Africa, China, and Turkey. For more information, see: APPRO is the founding member of APPRO-Europe, a network association for disseminating applied research findings from conflict environments, conducting training, and carrying out evaluations. For more information, see: APPRO also acts as the Secretariat for the National Advocacy Committee for Public Policy, comprising sub-committees on Education, Food Security, Access to Justice, Anti-corruption, NAP 1325 and Access to Health. For more information, see: Cover photograph: Oriane Zerah APPRO takes full responsibility for omissions and erros Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organization. Some rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted for non-commercial purposes only and with written credit to APPRO. Where this publication is reproduced, stored or transmitted electronically, a link to APPRO s website at should be provided. Any other use of this publication requires prior written permission, which may be obtained by writing to: mail@appro.org.af 3

4 List of Abbreviations ACCBP Anti-Crime Capacity-Building Programme AIHRC Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy ANP Afghan National Police ANSF Afghan National Security Forces APPRO Afghanistan Pubic Policy Research Organization AREDP Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Programme ARTF Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund CDC United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (United States) CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CIDU Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights (Italy) CoESPU Centre of Excellent for Stability Police Units (Italy) CSDP Common Security and Defence Policy CSO Civil Society Organization CSP Country Strategy Papers CTCBP Counter-Terrorism Capacity-Building Programme (Canada) C-TIP Combating Trafficking in Persons DDR Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom) DoD Department of Defence (United States) DoS Department of State DPKO United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations EAPC Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council EC European Commission EEAS European External Action Service EPD Equality for Peace and Democracy (Afghan NGO) ESDP European Security and Defence Policy EU European Union EVAW UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women EVAW Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Afghanistan) FCO Foreign and Common Wealth Office (United Kingdom) FGM/C Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting FOKUS Forum for Women and Development (Norway) GAD Gender and Development GAPS Gender Action on Peace and Security (United Kingdom). GBV Gender Based Violence GEWE Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment GPSF Global Peace and Security Fund HQ Head Quarters IDCO Italian Development Cooperation IDP Internally Displaced Person IGWG Interagency Gender Working Group IOM International Organization for Migration JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency LOTFA Law and Order Trust Fund 4

5 M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MASP Multi-Annual Strategic Plan for Afghanistan (The Netherlands) MDG Millennium Development Goal MOD Ministry of Defence MOFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs MoWA Ministry of Women s Affairs MP Member of Parliament MTCP Military and Cooperation Programme NAP National Action Plan NAPWA National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan NATO North Alliance Treaty Organization NGO Non-Governmental Organization Norad Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation NPA National Policy Agency (Japan) OAS Organization of American States ODA Official Development Assistance (Japan) OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OPLAN Operational Plan (Canada) OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PSVI Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative (United Kingdom) RAP Regional Action Plan SADD Sex and Age Disaggregated Data SCR Security Council Resolution SDF Self Defence Forces (Japan) SDG Sustainable Development Goal SGBV Sexual and Gender Based Violence SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SOP Standard Operation Procedure SRSG Special Representative of the Secretary General (United Nations) SSR Security Sector Reform START Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (Australia) TMAF Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children Fund UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNG United Nations General Assembly UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women US United States USG United States Government USAID United Sates Agency for International Development USTR United States Trade Representative (United States) USUN United States Mission to the United Nations WHO World Health Organization WID Women in Development WPS Women, Peace and Security 5

6 Table of contents Introduction... 8 Gender in Development and UNSCR Gender in Afghanistan Reconstruction Assessment Framework Policy Framework Review Adequacy of Content...17 Framework for Implementation...18 Review of Selected NAP 1325 Provisions Australia Background on Women, Peace and Security...21 Content Analysis...21 Conclusion...27 Canada Background on Women, Peace and Security...29 Content Analysis...30 Conclusion...36 European Union Background on Women, Peace and Security...38 Content Analysis...39 Conclusion...49 Finland Background on Women, Peace and Security...51 Content Analysis...51 Conclusion...58 Italy Background on Women, Peace and Security...59 Content Analysis...60 Conclusion...65 Japan Background on Women, Peace and Security...66 Content Analysis...66 Conclusion...75 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Background on Women, Peace and Security...77 Content Analysis...77 Conclusion...83 The Netherlands Background on Women, Peace and Security...85 Content Analysis...85 Conclusion...91 Norway Background on Women, Peace and Security...93 Content Analysis

7 Conclusion...99 Sweden Background on Women, Peace and Security Content Analysis Conclusion United Kingdom Background on Women, Peace and Security Content Analysis Conclusion The United States of America Background on Women, Peace and Security Content Analysis Conclusion Conclusion General Content and Structure of NAPs Operationalizing NAPs in Afghanistan Recommendations Planning and Programming M&E Plan Financial Planning Bibliography

8 Introduction Since 2001 Afghanistan has been the arena for the largest gender-focused aid intervention, with gender mainstreaming and the inclusion of a gender perspective in development programming as a key component of policy making by international donors and their Afghan counterparts. Afghanistan is currently undergoing political, security, and socio-demographic transition. Recognizing this significance of this transition, at the Brussels Conference in October 2016 international donors renewed their commitments to continue assistance to Afghanistan in the Transformation Decade. As before, a crosscutting theme in the renewed international commitment to Afghanistan will be genderfocused aid programming with efforts to support the rights of women in meaningful and sustainable ways. Achievements since 2001 are at the risk of being reversed if lessons from past performance on gender mainstreaming are not put into practice. In finding ways to implement these lessons the role of donors and the international community in supporting gender programming in Afghanistan will continue to be crucial. Concrete and effective measures will be needed to move toward the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda formulated in 2000 under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325). Unsustainable or ill-conceived programming and advocacy could have severe adverse consequences for the situation of women, men, boys and girls, and gender relations in general. There is now an urgent need for clear WPS policies,, driven by informed contextual knowledge and achievable goals, embedded in conscientious coordination mechanisms supported by robust monitoring, periodic evaluation and sustained financial support. Studies on the implementation of gender programming in Afghanistan show that strategies and programmes are often reduced to requirements issued by donors to include a gender component or perspective in all programming with undefined capacity requirements and without concrete guidance, earmarked funding, or systematic monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. 1 The purpose of this review is twofold. First, to assess the adequacy of and effectiveness of WPS programming by major international actors and their Afghan counterparts in Afghanistan and, second, to generate a series of practical recommendations on gender mainstreaming and women-centred programming in Afghanistan. To this end, WPS programming by international actors in Afghanistan is reviewed with a focus on two main aspects: 1. Existence of a gender policy framework for operationalizing WPS agendas and UNSCR 1325 in Afghanistan; 2. Existence of specific action and implementation plans and other programming components with clear references to a gender policy framework. 1 See for instance Abirafeh, L. (2005), Lessons From Gender-focused International Aid in Post-Conflict Afghanistan Learned?, (Firedrich Ebert Stiftung); and Kandiyoti, D. (2005), The Politics of Gender Reconstruction in Afghanistan, (Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development). 8

9 A separate report is planned to assess the extent to which gender mainstreaming is reflected in policies and strategies of Afghan institutions, and the operationalization of the Afghanistan s National Action Plan to implement UNSCR A starting point in this review is the observation that gender programming in Afghanistan has often been understood as programming for women, rarely taking into account the impact of women-centred programming on gender relations. With some exceptions, concrete measures for the protection and prevention of violence against women, girls and boys, and the inclusion of men and boys in gender processes have been largely absent from the discourse on gender mainstreaming in Afghanistan. 2 This review is based on a critical analysis of information available from two sources: WPS strategies and policies of major international donors with a programming focus on Afghanistan, and Research on gender mainstreaming in Afghanistan. This study was carried out in 2015 and While most National Action Plans are publicly available, a main difficulty was the dispersion of supporting or related documents referenced in the various NAPs. Documents in national languages other than English and French could also not be included in this review. To compensate for this, interviews were conducted with relevant diplomatic missions in Kabul to collect additional information. A related difficulty, however, was the high turnover of Kabul-based international diplomatic staff, often resulting in incomplete or interrupted institutional memory within the missions. This review should be read bearing in mind that the various NAPs reviewed continue to evolve and, as such, there are likely to be more recent editions of some of these NAPs that address some of the findings reported in this review. The remainder of this report is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a brief overview of the literature on women and gender in development, followed by a summary of the background to gender programming in Afghanistan. Section 3 describes the analytical framework used for this review. Section 4 provides critical reviews of gender policies by international donors in Afghanistan. Section 5 presents the key findings from this review and concludes with recommendations. 2 See, for example, BAAG (2013), Getting it Right: Examining Gender Programming in Afghanistan (London: BAAG), available from: 9

10 Gender in Development and UNSCR 1325 Gender-based and gender-sensitive policies began to emerge in development programming as an outcome of Women in Development Movement (WID) in the 1970s. 3 The movement was initiated by the western feminist movement and informed by the principles and ideas of the Danish feminist economist Ester Boserup, whose work pointed to a positive correlation between the role women in economic activity and their status in society vis-à-vis men. 4 From 1975 until 1985, development aid policy making was informed, at least at the formal level, by the equity approach. 5 This approach sought to increase the legal status of women by focusing on legal and institutional reform targeting legal provisions that tended to discriminate against, and subjugate, women. The focus on institutional reform was often accompanied by welfare based approaches aimed at improving women s material / economic conditions. Critics of the WID movement held that progress toward equality for women had been slow due largely to resistance to gender mainstreaming in development programming within donor countries and in aid receiving, less developed, countries. In addition, the critics held that development policy makers had failed to fully understand the complex household dynamics and how they undermine, or enable, efforts to empower women. By the end of the 1970s the champions of mainstreaming gender in development programming had come to the conclusion that a new approach was needed. This led to the emergence of Gender and Development (GAD). 6 The GAD approach goes beyond WID by focusing on women s spheres of rights, obligations, social norms, and values which govern the places of women in society. Since women s places in society are functions of many variables including economic status, particular attention must be paid to interventions that bring economic standing to women and thus give them voices in domestic and out of home decision making processes. The approach views increased economic independence as the necessary foundation on which to build equality strategies. The first official GAD-based approach came to light following the United Nations pronouncement of Decade for Women in GAD-based approaches began to advocate for the integration of women into influential socio-economic positions as a means to empower women and to increase arenas in which women s voices needed to be present. Today gender mainstreaming is almost always a specific component of development policy and a means to assess: the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns 3 Chant, S. and C. Gutman. (2000), Mainstreaming Into Gender and Development: Debates, reflections, and Experiences. Oxfam Working Papers (Oxfam). 4 See Razavi, S. and C. Miller (1995) From WID to GAD: Conceptual Shifts in the Women and Development Discourse. UN Social Research Centre (New York: UN) and Boserup, E. (1970) Women s Role in Economic Development (New York: St. Martin s Press). 5 See, for example, Moser et al. (1999), Mainstreaming and Development in the World Bank: Progress and Recommendations (Washington DC: World Bank), and Levy, C. (1999) The Relationships between Gender Policy Approaches to Development and to Women and Gender International Agency Policies, Training Handout, DPU Gender Policy and Planning Programme, Development. 6 Razavi and Miller (1995). 10

11 and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. 7 In practice, however, much remains to be done to meet the spirit of gender mainstreaming in development policy making. There is an inherent contradiction between top-down models of development and state building and the ideals of gender mainstreaming based on equal or equitable economic standing of women, as the case of Afghanistan since 2001 has clearly shown. 8 Recognizing the shortcomings in gender-sensitive development policy making and building on its 1997 report, Report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997, on October 31, 2000 the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), officially acknowledging women s right to participate in all aspects of conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping, and peace building, and to be included in decision making bodies at all levels of governance. UNSCR 1325 formalized the conclusion of the May 31 st Windhoek Declaration on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations, and was followed by six subsequent resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), creating a normative policy framework for UN Member States to adopt a gender perspective in their peace operations and provide guidance for translating high level recommendations into concrete policies and action plans (Box 1). 9 Box 1. Subsequent Resolutions to UNSCR 1325 Resolution 2122 (2013) on women s leadership and empowerment as a central component for resolving conflicts and promoting peace through a number of specific calls for regular consultations, funding mechanisms to support women s civil society organization and changes in the Council s working methods in relation to WPS. Resolution 2106 (2013) on the need to better operationalize existing obligations, particularly those related to sexual violence. Resolution 1960 (2010) calls for refining institutional tools to combat impunity related to sexual violence, notably through the set up of a naming and shaming list in annual reports. Resolution 1889 (2009) focuses on women s participation in peace building and calls on United Nations Secretary General to develop a set of global indicator to measure impact of UNSCR 1325 at global and national levels. It further welcomes the efforts of member states in implementing Resolution 1325 at the national level, including the development of national action plans. Resolution 1888 (2009) calls for appointment of a Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and the establishment Women s Protection Advisors within Peacekeeping missions. UNSCR 1820 (2008) draws attention to sexual violence being used as a weapon of war and calls for the need for prosecution of gender-based war crimes. Source: UN WOMEN, Global Technical Review Meeting: Building Accountability for Implementation of Security Council Resolutions on Women, peace and Security, Final Report, November 2013 Each member state is expected to develop a National Action Plan as a national strategy to implement UNSCR 1325 and other resolutions of the Women Peace and Security agenda. UNSCR 1325 does not mention National or Regional Action Plans (N/RAPs) for implementation. The need for N/RAPs was United Nations (1997), "Report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997, A/52/3. See, for example, Chat, S. and C. Gutman (2002), Men-streaming gender? Questions for gender and development policy in the twenty-first century, Progress in Development Studies 2(4), pp , and Kandiyoti, D. (2009), Gender In Afghanistan: Pragmatic Activism (Open Democracy), available from: Windhoek Declaration:

12 further elaborated in the UN Security Council statement (2002), UN Secretary General s Report (2004), and UNSCR 1889 (2009), inviting member states to prepare National Action Plans as a step towards the implementation of UNSCR Through its Recommendation Number 30, issued in October 2013, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) further renewed the focus on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 through adequately funded National and Regional Action Plans, while calling on all member states to: cooperate with all UN networks, departments, agencies, funds and programmes in relation to the full spectrum of conflict processes, including conflict prevention, conflict, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and enhance collaboration with civil society and non-governmental organizations working on the implementation for the Security Council agenda on women, peace and security. 10 A later (2014) interpretation of National Action Plans for UNSCR 1325 states:. [National Action] Plans should contain concrete recommendations on how women should be included in all peace and conflict related decisions and processes, and how a gender perspective should be included in efforts to prevent conflict and sexual violence, protect women and girls, and in relief and recovery activities. [The Plans] provide an opportunity to assess priorities for the states work both nationally and internationally and to co-ordinate relevant actors, including co-operation with civil society. Plans should contain clear goals, actions and responsibilities and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. 11 Gender in Afghanistan Reconstruction Women s oppression and the appalling social and economic status of Afghan women were invoked as one of the key justifications for the military intervention by international forces in Afghanistan late As such, gender mainstreaming became one of the main areas of programming by the international development aid entities in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and commitment to gender equality has been a major feature of post-2001 reconstruction and development programming in the country. This commitment was first made in the Bonn Agreement (December 2001), followed by similar commitments in the Constitution of Afghanistan (2003), Afghanistan Compact (2006), National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA, ), Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS ) and Afghanistan s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions (2015). In addition, Afghanistan is signatory to the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 2003), has made specific commitments to meet Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) including Goal 3, Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, and endorsed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among which SDG 5 on gender equality. The Bonn Agreement (2001) laid the foundation for Afghanistan s Constitution and made provisions for the creation of the Ministry of Women s Affairs (MoWA) to act as a lead ministry for the advancement of Afghan women. Afghanistan is signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 1979), ratified by the Government of Afghanistan in 2003, the Platform of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (1984), and the Beijing Platform of Action from the Fourth World Conference on Women (1985). Article 3 of the Afghan 10 Adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, ratified by Afghanistan in See: OSCE / PRIO (2014), Study on National Action Plans on the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (Oslo: PRIO) 12

13 Constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women in Afghanistan while maintaining that no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions Islam. Article 22 commits to a policy of non-discrimination and equality in rights and duties between women and men. Afghanistan s Constitution further makes general provisions regarding the advancement of women s economic rights by creating and protecting spaces for women in the workforce, monitoring their progress, and developing institutions that foster female employment. 12 The Afghanistan Compact (2006) made the commitment to address the many issues faced by Afghan women through the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA) as a means for Afghanistan to meet its commitments to MDGs. The Afghanistan Compact also made the commitment to increase female participation formal structures of government. Afghanistan National Development Strategy (2008) presents gender as a crosscutting theme within the national development agenda and offers a three-pronged approach for promoting gender equity in Afghanistan. These are: a) eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, b) developing women s human capital, and c) ensuring women s full participation and leadership in all aspects of life in Afghanistan. ANDS (2008) also calls for institutionalizing gender-responsive development aimed at economic growth, poverty reduction, and reconstruction. ANDS considers the implementation of the strategy for gender equity as a shared responsibility among the different entities of the government at the national and sub-national levels. Gender Equity Cross Cutting Strategy in ANDS is intended to provide guidance for various sectors engaged in development on how to improve women s situation and progress toward meeting MDGs. 13 The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development s Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Programme (AREDP) was designed to enhance the participation of rural men and women in economic activities that have proven beneficial for women. The Government of Afghanistan identifies nine major goals under the MDG framework including a commitment to promote gender equality and empowerment of women and setting specific womencentered targets in education, economic activity, health and wellbeing, and political participation. Afghanistan s MDG commitments and targets are further elaborated in NAPWA. 14 NAPWA (2008) makes gender mainstreaming and women s rights the responsibility of all governmental agencies, sectors, institutions, and individuals. NAPWA s third pillar, Economic and Social Development, focuses on the Government s responsibility in creating an enabling social and economic environment conducive to the advancement of women in Afghanistan. Each of these commitments emphasizes gender mainstreaming as a crosscutting theme to be incorporated into all government policies and all manner of donor aid programming. All key development and reconstruction objectives in Afghanistan, including ministerial policies and strategic plans, are to include gender as a crosscutting theme. Most ministries are to have a gender unit, a gender focal point, and a gender policy. The Government of Afghanistan, with support from the international community, maintains gender equality as one of its principal concerns. The development 12 Government of Afghanistan (2004), The Constitution of Afghanistan, available at: 13 Government of Afghanistan (2008), ANDS, Executive Summary, available at: 14 This summary of the regulatory environment is based, in part, on a more detailed summary provided in the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development s Gender Policy (2011), pages

14 of ANDS and NAPWA, the promotion of female leadership opportunities, the many vocational training programs funded by the international donors for women in urban and rural areas, the signing of CEDAW, are direct products of the formalization of gender mainstreaming in Afghanistan. At a formal level, the existence of MoWA, solely devoted to women's affairs, is a significant achievement. Through its name and existence alone MoWA raises awareness about women and society, despite its weak position in the still predominantly patriarchal societal and political system. In December 2011, the Bonn Conference renewed the commitment of the international community to support Afghanistan in the post-2014, during Afghanistan s Transformation Decade, underlining gender equality and the rights of women as key areas of focus. 15 These were renewed in 2014 during the London Conference. In December 2014, new commitments were made under the Self-Reliance Mutual Accountability Framework (SMAF) with a specific focus on the development of policy framework for empowering women, increased participation of women in the government, and the implementation of the WPS agenda. Afghanistan s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 was approved in June Addressing commitments made under UNSCR 1325, it recognized women s status as a social and economic minority and the importance of a robust framework for the implementation of measures supporting women s active participation in society. The Brussels Conference in October 2016 reaffirmed the commitment by the Afghan government and its international donors to continue support for gains made for Afghan women. Each of these commitments emphasizes gender mainstreaming as a crosscutting theme to be incorporated into all government policies and all manner of donor aid programming. In 2016, UN Women conducted a mapping of projects and initiatives linked to Afghanistan s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, highlighting the importance of efforts conducted to meet commitments under the WPS agenda. 16 The effective operationalization of Afghanistan s NAP 1325 since its adoption two years ago further remains to be assessed. Since 2006, the general security situation has steadily deteriorated and some of the earlier gains in gender mainstreaming have come increasingly under threat. The calls for negotiated peace with Armed Opposition Groups (AOGs) are a source of major worry for the many women, women s rights organizations, and civil society organizations as the negotiations are viewed by many as carrying the risk of women s rights becoming a bargaining chip. At the same time, the implementation of gender mainstreaming strategies and policies by the international donors has consistently fallen short of meeting their objectives. 17 Several reports have pointed to the lack of understanding of the concept of gender and of the process of gender mainstreaming in the Afghan context within the donor community and among implementing organizations. 18 Poorly informed policy design, inadequate implementation plans, and a general lack of capacity among the many international gender specialists and their Afghan counterparts combined with 15 See, for example: 16 UN Women (2016) UNSCR 1325 Programming in Afghanistan. 17 For a critical self-assessment confirming this, see, for example, Norad (2012), Evaluation of Norwegian Development Cooperation with Afghanistan ( ). 18 See, for example, AREU (2013), Women s Rights, Gender Equality, and Transition : Security Gains, Moving Forward, (Kabul: AREU); Wordsworth, A. (2008), Moving to the Mainstream: Integrating Gender in Afghanistan s National Policy, (Kabul: AREU); Abirafeh, L. (2005), Lessons From Gender-focused International Aid in Post- Conflict Afghanistan Learned?, (Firedrich Ebert Stiftung); and Kandiyoti, D. (2005), The Politics of Gender Reconstruction in Afghanistan, (Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development). 14

15 inadequate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms have rendered many of the myriad of gender policies of the international donors and their Afghan institutional counterparts superficial and on-paperonly statements. In many instances the inclusion of a gender perspective in programming, a consistent requirement by the donors, has not gone beyond being an item to tick on the checklist used for releasing development funds. Similarly, and while the preparation and adoption of the Afghan Government s NAP on WPS stirred significant mobilization from both national NGOs and the donor community, there has been little reflection on new means of engagement on WPS and gender mainstreaming. UNSCR 1325 has become for many an additional on-paper requirement to justify women-centred programs which have changed little in their content and implementation. Approaches to women s integration in decision-making processes thus remain wanting both at the institutional and grass-root levels. The presence of women in political participation is often presented from the perspective of participation through the number of seats reserved for women at the Parliament, Provincial Councils, or Community Development Councils without much thought given to the conditions in which these women must function. At the grass-root level women s participation in decision-making remains limited while there are numerous barriers for women in terms of access to work and public life, health, education, and justice. 19 A major concern highlighted in several reports is the lingering misunderstanding of what gender mainstreaming entails. 20 Gender mainstreaming in Afghanistan has been consistently equated with promoting women s rights, which, while an essential component of gender mainstreaming in patriarchal societies such as Afghanistan, is only one of key components. 21 This approach has been described as women highlighting. 22 Similarly, advocacy for gender rights and gender mainstreaming has become, in practice, women s rights activism. While rights activism is and should be an integrated component of advocacy, advocacy should also have elements of engagement and awareness changing through dialogue, incentives, and education. 23 Though acknowledged in theory, the inclusion of men and boys in gender programming remains minimal, or poorly formulated. Despite the disconnect between women-centred policy objectives at the formal level and programming outcomes at the practical level, by all accounts the situation of women in Afghanistan has improved significantly since As the presence of international security forces came to a close in 2014 and less funding was allocated to the reconstruction projects in the post-2014 period, there remained numerous opportunities for women to assume a more visible and empowered presence in Afghan society including in business, politics, and society at large. In 2017, the government of Afghanistan, supported and reassured during the October 2016 Brussels Conference by a host of international donors, remains committed to effecting measurable improvements in women s conditions, opportunities, and access to and control over productive assets and income See, for example, APPRO (2014), Monitoring Women s Security in Transition Cycle 4, available from: 20 See, for example, Wordsworth, A. (2008). 21 Other components notably include an understanding of people s values and beliefs about gender, gender partnerships and men s involvement in promoting equality for women. 22 Abirafeh, L. (2005). 23 See, for example, APPRO (2013), Gender Screaming versus Gender Mainstreaming in Afghanistan, available from: and BAAG (2014). 24 cf. the reports and communiqué of the London Conference of December 2014 :

16 The purpose of the critical assessment of gender policies and approaches in the remainder of this review is to identify pathways forward for informed development programming with gender as a key integrated component. The tool used for this assessment is drawn from the Organization on Cooperation and Security in Europe s (OSCE) most recent framework on evaluating peace building operations and UN Women s criteria for the Global Technical Review Meeting on WPS and related documents. 25 In addition, a number of interviews were held with key individuals from international aid organizations with a programming focus on Afghanistan to fill in, as much as possible, the gaps identified in documented information. The interviews were also used to collect empirical data on the challenges faced, and lessons learned, in implementing gender policies and strategies from the practitioners perspectives. 26 Assessment Framework The assessment of the programming of gender and WPS strategies of each identified actor in Afghanistan will focus on two levels as described below. Level 1. General policy framework, including National Action Plans for donor countries 2. Specific strategies and action plans for Afghanistan Research questions Does a policy framework for gender and WPS exist? How well does it reflect the provisions of UNSCR 1325? How comprehensive is its framework for implementation? Does it include an action plan? How are gender and WPS policy frameworks reflected in the specific strategies for Afghanistan? How well do they take into account the challenges of the Afghan context for implementation? Do they include robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including data collection, follow-up on implementation and gender sensitive indicators? To what extent are they result/impact-based? How well do they provide for cooperation and collaboration with other international actors? With local actors? How well does it provide for sustainability of activities and local ownership? How efficient and reliable are funding mechanisms? conference; London-Conference-on-Afghanistan-Communique.pdf 25 See OSCE (2014), Study on National Action Plans on the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, (Oslo: PRIO); UN Women (2013), Global Technical Review Meeting: Building Accountability for Implementation of Security Council Resolutions on Women, peace and Security, Final Report; Goetz, A.M. and A.K. Treiber (2012), Policy Briefing Paper Gender and Conflict Analysis (Geneva: UN Women) (October 2006); Lackenbauer, H. and R. Langlais (eds.) (2013), Review of the Practical Implications of UNSCR 1325 for the Conduct of NATO-led Operations and Missions (Stockholm: Swedish Defence Research Agency), Olsson, L. and J. Tejpar (eds.) (2009), Operational Effectiveness and UN Resolution 1325 Practices and Lessons From Afghanistan. 26 See Section 3 for the list of sources consulted and interviews 16

17 Policy Framework Review The evaluation of the policy framework of each actor will be done through two angles of approach: the adequacy of its content with the provisions of UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions on the one hand, and how comprehensive the framework for implementation reflected in the policy/ NAP is. Criteria used for the assessment of both are described in boxes 2 and 3 below. Adequacy of Content Provisions of SCR 1325 are framed to mainstream gender into conflict prevention and resolution, peace building and reconstruction efforts. The four thematic areas (or pillars) outlined in UNSCR 1325 to support the goals of the resolution are Participation, Protection, Prevention, and Relief and Recovery, also used as indicators to track the implementation of UNSCR 1325 (Box1 1). 27 Box 1: UNSCR 1325 Pillars Prevention: Reduction in conflict and all forms of structural and physical violence against women, particularly sexual and gender-based violence Participation: Inclusion of women and women s interests in decision-making processes related to the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts Protection: Women s safety, physical and mental health and economic security are assured and their human rights respected Relief and Recovery: Women s specific needs are met in conflict and post-conflict situations Source: Implementation of SCR 1325: Indicators on women, Peace and Security, Peace Women ( 28 For each policy framework on WPS, specific attention is paid to how comprehensively these pillars are addressed in the policy framework of each actor based on a set of criteria (Box 2). Box 2: Assessment Criteria Criteria UN indicators 29 Thematic area 1: Prevention Specific measures for the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence including recommendations on type of measures, reporting on type of violations, type of perpetrator and specific groups affected. Specific measures for safeguarding of women and girls rights, including reporting and 3a, 3b investigation on violations, inclusion of a gender perspective and gender mainstreaming in human rights activities. Measures for the inclusion of gender perspectives in conflict prevention, security and 5a, 5b, 7 peacekeeping missions. 27 Following Resolution 1889 (2009), which called on the Secretary-General to develop a set of indicators to track the implementation of UNSCR 1325, the four pillars are used for programming within the United Nations and have been adopted by member states and NGOs. Cf A list of 26 global indicators organized into 4 Pillars: Prevention, Participation, Protection, and Relief and Recovery are listed on page of the Secretary General s Report (S/2010/498). These Pillars reflect the UN System-wide Action Plan. 29 UN Strategic Results Framework on WPS:

18 Thematic area 2: Participation Clear understanding or working definition of gender mainstreaming Demonstrated organizational capacity to advance the WPS agenda, notably through the appointment of Senior level gender experts, advisers and/or focal points in field missions; Gender sensitive training incorporated at all levels of decision-making. Specific measures to support the inclusion of women s interests and priorities in peace agreements and decision-making processes related to the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts (including through specific measures on women s participation and representation among mediators, negotiators, observers and technical experts in peace negotiations). Specific measures on women s participation and representation at all decision-making levels. Thematic area 3: Protection Measures ensuring the protection and respect of human rights of women, men, girls, and boys particularly as they relate to the Constitution, the electoral system, the police and judiciary. Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) and security Sector Reform (SSR) activities including a gender perspective Thematic area 4: Relief and Recovery Gender-perspective incorporated throughout planning and implementation of development and relief and recovery programmes and projects. Measures that support local CSOs and local women s peace initiatives and processes for conflict resolution Measures to support collaboration and coordination with other actors involved in the area of intervention 9 11a, 11b 12a, 12b, 20 15, 16, Framework for Implementation The relevance of general policies and national action plans is further assessed by looking at the different components of an effective implementation plan. This includes considering planning components, monitoring and evaluation plans for performance assessments, and financing plans. Though these are considered separately, one must keep in mind that all are interconnected: among others, the UN Women Global technical Review Meeting of 2013 emphasizes that clearly articulated goals assist in developing a robust M&E system, indicators for measuring progress improve planning and programming, and a sound finance plan ensure both the success of implementation and provides a basis for accountability. 30 Essential components that need to be in place for a successful implementation of the WPS agenda are: Concrete actions connected with the objectives and goals set forth in the NAPs, including clear link between goals, actions that are proposed to lead to these goals, indicators meant to assess them, entities responsible for their implementation and timelines set to reach these goals. Importance of monitoring and evaluation in ensuring the success of a plan cannot be overemphasized. 31 This includes the collection of comprehensive data focused on progress and 30 UN Women (2013), Global Technical Review Meeting: Building Accountability for Implementation of Security Council Resolutions on Women, peace and Security, Final Report 31 YOUNG Angelic, National Action Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit, The Institute of Inclusive Security, October 2013; OSCE Study on National Action Plans on the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, OSCE, PRIO,

19 impact. It notably allows policy makers to identify gaps and areas and improvement, and provides measurable results assisting stakeholders in holding the implementer accountable. In this respect, it is essential to have clear outcomes, outputs, activities, and responsibilities in collecting, managing, analysing and reporting data. Periodic review and clearly defined timeframes within which to evaluate the process need to be explicitly mentioned and reports made publicly available. Specific resources should be allotted to the implementation of the WPS agenda from the outset, including clear mechanisms for accountability on how these resources are spent (Box 3). Box 3: Relevance of the implementation framework Implementation Systematic, sustainable and results driven implementation plan: expected impact Plan clearly formulated, clear statement of objectives and description of the concrete means to reach these objectives Lines of responsibilities clearly set out Clear timeline with short and long-term achievable goals (including list of priorities) Clear description of coordination mechanisms Engagement of national authorities Involvement of CSOs Inclusion of boys and men in efforts to promote WPS and reflected in indicators. Inclusion of public outreach efforts and mechanisms M&E Plan Financial Planning Collection of comprehensive data (qualitative and quantitative) focused on results to demonstrate progress and impact Accountability mechanisms: collaboration and inclusion of CSOs in monitoring and evaluation progress Clear, comparable indicators that allow for easy reporting, indicate responsible actors and enable monitoring by both governments and civil society. Periodic review and clearly defined timeframes within which to evaluate the process Financing plan: dedicated resources from the onset, supporting transparency and accountability; Adequate financial support and other resources Funds allocated to CSOs and Multi-donor Trust Funds address gender equality issues (indicators S/2010/498) Adapted from: UN Women (2013), Global Technical Review Meeting: Building Accountability for Implementation of Security Council Resolutions on Women, peace and Security, Final Report. 19

20 Review of Selected NAP 1325 Provisions The implications of UNSCR 1325 for member states are clearly elaborated in communications from the United Nations, specifically stating the requirement for each member state to develop its own national action plan: Member states must integrate these resolutions into regional and national policies and programmes and ensure dedicated financing at the outset to guarantee the implementation is systematic, sustainable and results driven. The integration not only demands coherence in policy and political will, but adequate financial support and other resources. A major challenge in the effective implementation of action plans continues to be a sustained, collaborative approach among all stakeholders involved. 32 For each of the major actors policies on Women, Peace and Security, this review first examines the implementation strategy, including provisions for monitoring and evaluation and financing, before establishing whether and how these provisions enable the effective implementation of the policy in the Afghan context. As such, this review outlines the main strengths and weaknesses of different WPS policies in an attempt to establish how these provisions have shaped the actors programming and activities in Afghanistan. When relevant, examples of the implementation outcomes of these policies in Afghanistan and their consistency with the principles outlined in the policy frameworks is also highlighted. 32 UN Women Global Technical Review Meeting, Building Accountability for Implementation of Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, Final Report, November