AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL (JEM) PRACTITIONER S GUIDE March 2018 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc.
AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL (JEM) PRACTITIONER S GUIDE DISCLAIMER: The authors views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the views of the United States Government.
TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND... 1 OBJECTIVES... 1 STRATEGY... 1 APPROACH... 1 CRITICAL MASS... 1 DO NO HARM... 2 FORMAL-INFORMAL JUSTICE COLLABORATION... 2 AFGHAN OWNERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY... 2 GENDER EQUITY... 2 IMPLEMENTER ORIENTATION... 2 DISTRICT SELECTION... 3 LOCAL STAKEHOLDER AGREEMENT... 3 ASSESSMENTS... 3 DISTRICT WORK PLANS... 4 PARTICIPANT SELECTION... 4 ACTIVITIES... 5 NETWORK MEETINGS... 5 LEGAL EDUCATION WORKSHOPS... 6 TRAINERS... 6 WORKSHOPS... 7 TOT FOR COMMUNITY LEGAL AWARENESS MENTORS... 9 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS... 9 DISCUSSION SESSIONS... 9 COORDINATION MEETINGS... 10 MEDIATION HALLS... 11 LEGAL LIBRARIES... 11 SPINSARY GROUPS... 11 PUBLIC OUTREACH... 12 MONITORING AND EVALUATION... 12
BACKGROUND Traditional dispute resolution (TDR) is widely familiar and trusted in Afghanistan as it fulfills the primary cultural objective of reconciling disputants and maintaining community harmony. Even formal justice actors, recognizing these strengths and the limitations of their own institutions, continue to rely heavily on the traditional justice system, referring many cases to TDR. In the process of reconciling disputants, however, specific illegal practices, such as baad, and faulty property/land dispute decisions can violate individual rights, causing harm and exacerbating or re-instigating disputes. TDR actors are also vulnerable to manipulation by powerful individuals (as are formal justice actors) and lack the means to separate intransigent disputants and enforce justice outcomes. While both formal and informal justice have strengths and weaknesses, collaboration between the two is often unstructured and ad-hoc, missing an opportunity for value-added collaboration. In responding to these challenges, the USAID Rule of Law Stabilization Informal Component (RLS-I) project, implemented by Checchi and Company Consulting, Inc., conducted extensive informal justice research and three iterations of program implementation, evaluation, and refinement from 2010 to 2014. This experience produced a relevant and targeted program model from overall objectives, to strategy, to individual activity detail for mitigating the negative elements of TDR while fostering mutually beneficial collaboration between the formal and informal justice sectors. The model, consisting of complementary legal education and solutions-based components, has proven effective at improving TDR decision making and access to quality justice in Afghanistan. Instrumental to the success of the RLS- I model, now renamed as the Afghanistan Justice Engagement Model (JEM), are CSO partners, which add value to the intervention by suggesting ways to strengthen existing elements and incorporate new ideas to address the unique needs of districts in which they work. This collaboration continues as part of the USAID Assistance for the Development of Afghan Legal Access and Transparency (ADALAT) project. OBJECTIVES In light of this background, the JEM aims to: 1) improve access to fair, transparent, and legal local justice services, 2) improve value-added collaboration between formal and informal justice actors, and 3) reduce the frequency and seriousness of disputes. STRATEGY Recognizing the embedded nature of traditional justice within local culture, JEM aims to permanently transform that culture by transitioning both dispute resolvers and the public away from inaccurate or harmful concepts of justice and toward greater awareness of and respect for Afghan law, equitable treatment of disputants (including women), and human and other rights. APPROACH CRITICAL MASS To achieve permanent cultural transformation, JEM targets a critical mass of influential dispute resolution practitioners, women, and the general public from throughout each area of intervention (e.g., district) with adequate levels of direct education, solutions-based programming, and public messaging to influence knowledge, attitudes, and practice within entire groups of dispute resolution peers, justice users, and the public at large. 1 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV
DO NO HARM To improve the quality of local justice, JEM s targeted messaging mitigates TDR's negative components while doing no harm to its positive, culturally ingrained approach of reconciling disputants and maintaining community harmony. FORMAL-INFORMAL JUSTICE COLLABORATION JEM promotes better understandings of Afghan law and formal justice and the value and practicalities of mutually beneficial, value-added cooperation between traditional justice providers and state justice actors. This mutual support and accountability ranges from exchanges on the legal substance of disputes to TDR mediation of disputes to state intervention and enforcement where disputants are beyond elders ability to control. AFGHAN OWNERSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY Recognizing the need for grassroots self-initiative for both program effectiveness and sustainability, JEM is designed to maximize Afghan ownership, putting Afghan partners in charge of all of its low to no cost components. To inspire participant self-initiative for improved justice practice, JEM uses esteemed Afghan and Islamic law faculty, justice officials, and other respected experts ('Afghan means') explaining relevant areas of Afghan law and its Sharia components ('Afghan messages'). Collective solutions-based activities maximize Afghan ownership of justice practice choices. JEM avoids creation of dependent institutions, such as newly created councils, and limits material assistance. Volunteer community legal awareness mentors train other community members with minimal to no program assistance. Finally, JEM fosters ongoing voluntary cooperation between to TDR practitioners and Afghan institutions, including formal justice actors, university faculties, and legal assistance NGOs. GENDER EQUITY Gender equity in access to and outcomes of TDR is a JEM priority considered in all activities. As such, JEM includes a parallel women's program of education, networking, discussion, and support to women as justice providers, or spinsary group members. Additionally, women s rights and gender equity in justice processes is a central component of most male and female legal education and solutions-based activities. National and international gender advisors review legal education materials to ensure effective approaches. To maximize women s participation, JEM is careful to broach the often-sensitive issue of women's roles in TDR in a locally acceptable manner. This nearly always proves effective in winning support from elders and officials for engaging with women. Where cultural restrictions hinder women's ability to travel, JEM implements a village-based program to reach as many women as possible. Finally, female community legal awareness mentors prove highly motivated and capable in disseminating legal information, including material on women's rights, to other women in their communities. IMPLEMENTER ORIENTATION JEM s systematic approach to engaging an area of intervention requires that partners be well versed in its strategy, approach, and components and that their feedback and ideas are incorporated to maximize the model s relevance and effectiveness in the area of intervention. Therefore, partners are thoroughly oriented and consulted on all aspects of JEM, including assessment research, program activities, materials, facilitation skills, management systems, budgets, etc. USAID.GOV AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL 2
DISTRICT SELECTION While nearly any district in Afghanistan could benefit from a customized version of JEM, emphasis is given to current access to justice need, as indicated by, for example, high reported rates of rights violations in local communities and flawed/illegal TDR practice, untrusted formal justice actors, and limited collaboration or mutual accountability between formal and informal justice actors. Practical realities such as security accessibility are also considered. District selection criteria detail these points and the district selection table provides a format for presenting basic district data and prioritizing candidate districts. LOCAL STAKEHOLDER AGREEMENT To gain cooperation from local government officials and senior TDR actors and to avoid future misunderstandings or changing expectations/demands, JEM partners should consult these stakeholders before launching activities. Partners may consider seeking a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with these stakeholders on each party s roles and responsibilities in facilitating the program. Key issues to address could include: 1) access to venues, including the district center compound for program activities (see Mediation Halls below); and 2) participant selection, to be led by the CSO partner in accordance with the JEM participant selection criteria (below) in consultation with, but not directed by, influential elders, district officials, and community members familiar with local dispute resolution actors. MoUs may be customized based on the needs or particular circumstances of the district. ASSESSMENTS JEM ensures the relevance of program content and methodology by understanding the local justice context. To do this, JEM interventions begin with district assessments of the traditional justice system and its relationship to the formal justice sector. Extensive assessment research, implementation, and evaluation in the east, south, and north of Afghanistan during RLS-I have informed the JEM core program model. Therefore, future district assessments in these regions will inform only the customization of the JEM program to each district s unique needs relative to regional patterns. These streamlined assessments are limited to 10-15 individual interviews of stakeholders with knowledge of local disputes and their resolution. In addition, one male and one female focus group of 8-10 each are conducted to identify key strengths and weaknesses of local justice. Respondents, chosen in accordance with respondent selection criteria, are as representative a sample as possible of male and female elders, disputants, state justice sector actors, local council members, CSO representatives, professionals, etc. In regions where the JEM model has not been implemented, such western Afghanistan, more in-depth district assessments of 20-25 interviews and four focus groups will be needed to understand disputes and dispute resolution practice. When 15 to 20 assessments of districts generally representative of the region are complete, they will be synthesized to form one regional reference document. Subsequent district assessments will adhere to the streamlined guidelines above. To ensure that important dynamics are not missed, comprehensive data collection tools (individual interview and focus group guides) have been developed and refined based on past programming experience and internal and external research. The semi-structured individual interviews allow respondents to freely identify TDR and conflict factors most important to them while probing for data relevant to program design. Assessment report templates serve as frameworks for reporting assessment findings and district-specific program recommendations. 3 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV
The assessment process also helps the ADALAT field teams identify the most trusted, influential elders and begin to build relationships with TDR and formal justice sector actors, which is essential in gaining access to the district for male and female activities. DISTRICT WORK PLANS Based on the district assessments, JEM develops district work plans to address the unique needs of each intervention district. The work plans are customized versions of district work plan templates and identify specific activities to be implemented over six months of core programming and 12 months of maintenance. All new districts receive the same set of legal training topics (customized, if necessary) and discussion session topics are chosen or developed based on the district s needs. Unspecified are asneeded and make-up activities to be identified during the capstone district network meeting at the end of the core program and conducted during maintenance. Implementers also use monthly calendars to specify activity dates, locations, etc. Activity budget templates detail district-specific and provincial and regional activity costs. PARTICIPANT SELECTION Program participants are selected based on participant selection criteria, designed, per the JEM approach above, to ensure the program reaches a critical mass of representative and respected male and female participants from throughout the area of intervention. This helps ensure that program impacts are disbursed by sufficient numbers of participants to sustainably saturate an entire district. The participants' stature as honest and skilled dispute resolvers helps to ensure broader adaptation of program messaging. JEM s selection criteria takes care to identify traditional dispute resolvers who derive their authority by voluntary consent of the community, rather than powerbrokers, armed actors, and others often referred to as imposed. Selection protocol includes triangulating between local officials, senior elders, and other male and female community members to verify that invitees are influential and trusted dispute resolvers known for integrity and effectiveness. Key formal justice and government officials involved in dispute resolution are also invited into the program to bolster formalinformal justice linkages. Participants with their key demographic data are proposed on participant candidate lists to ensure geographic, ethnic, and tribal representation. Male and female participant district group sizes range from 120 to 240 depending overall district population. JEM enrolls sufficient numbers of dispute resolvers to place an average of at least three on any jirga formed, or approximately 1/3 of potential jirga members, as influence on jirga outcomes/decisions increases as the number JEM participants in the jirga increases (as confirmed by RLS- I s impact evaluation). After the introductory network meeting and first 2-3 workshops, 35-45 active and influential male participants are invited to join about five formal justice and government officials in a State-TDR Working Group. This body holds issue-based discussion sessions and formal-informal justice coordination meetings, as discussed below. The State-TDR Working Group shares the outcomes of these activities with the larger district group during district network meetings. Similarly, a representative sub-set of the most active and mobile female district group members form women's dispute resolution groups, or spinsary groups, also discussed below. USAID.GOV AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL 4
During the enrollment process, participants are asked to commit to personally participate (rather than send proxies) in JEM activities. If they are unable to commit, alternates are chosen. This and other data are recorded on member intake forms to be entered into a participant database. JEM also invites the most influential elders and officials from all districts (program and non-program) to issue-based provincial network meetings and regional network meetings on longstanding, intractable disputes. ACTIVITIES NETWORK MEETINGS Network meetings serve as the plenary forum for the full district group and select groups of provincial and regional elders and officials, as discussed below. The meetings build coalitions of influential elders, state actors, and women to promote dissemination of knowledge and adoption of justice best practice throughout JEM's areas of intervention. The meetings are key instruments in developing a critical mass of support for improved justice practice and social behavior generally. JEM programming begins with an introductory district network meeting of the male and female district groups. Structured agendas facilitate discussions to identify and assess challenges to fair, impartial, and law-based justice, gaps in formal-informal justice collaboration, and challenging disputes. Participants then discuss specific program assistance TDR practitioners and formal justice actors may need in addressing those challenges, thereby contributing to program design. Male and female capstone network meetings in each district culminate JEM s six-month core program. The agendas provide participants an opportunity to discuss what they learned, how they are applying those lessons, and future steps, including additional programming needs during the maintenance period. Male elders and officials from the State-TDR Working Group share the outcomes of their discussion sessions and coordination meetings, such as agreements on the use of alternatives to baad, commitments to forgo corruption, and agreements on formal-informal justice sector jurisdiction and dispute/case referral procedures. Female spinsary group members do the same for the women s capstone district network meeting. State-TDR working group and spinsary group members also facilitate breakout groups. All male and female participants have the opportunity to draft and sign pledges on commitments made during the core program as well as volunteer to receive training-of-trainers (TOT) to become community legal awareness mentors, as discussed below. Maintenance network meetings are held at the midpoint of the 12-month maintenance period for male and female JEM participants. This provides an update on commitments made at the end of the core program, including, as examples, progress on intractable disputes, community legal awareness mentor trainings, etc. Participants may request additional training and identify new challenges members may commit to tackle. A fourth and final handover district network meeting to conclude maintenance programming marks the conclusion of JEM activities in the district. The discussion allows for reflection on successes and challenges during implementation of reforms committed to in prior meetings. The meeting also provides a structured opportunity for elders, officials, religious leaders, and women (separately) to chart their own path forward. 5 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV
JEM sponsors issue-based provincial network meetings for influential elders and officials from districts throughout select provinces. The meeting for male participants focuses on challenges such as corruption in both the formal and informal justice sectors. The women s meeting focuses on challenges such as women s access to justice at the provincial and district levels. Like issue-based discussion sessions on the district level, participants first assess the challenge, develop mutually agreed solutions, and form provincial volunteer groups to pursue those solutions. Implementer staff maintain regular contact with volunteer leaders and schedule follow-up meetings of the full group approximately every three months or as needed. JEM implementers invite the most respected and influential elders and officials from each district of adjacent provinces to regional network meetings to assess the causes of problematic longstanding disputes, strategize their resolution, and volunteer to take action. Follow-up meetings allow regional volunteers to reflect on progress made toward resolving prioritized disputes, identify best practices that contributed to successes, assess obstacles to progress, and develop plans for further action. Participants also identify information or lessons learned during program activities that may help resolve specific disputes. For example, in some cases new legal information from legal education workshops (discussed below) convinces the disputants that the suggested resolution is legal and fair. In others, elder commitments not to abuse disputant deposits, or machalgha, help win disputant trust in the integrity of the process and its outcome. Like provincial meetings, implementer staff maintain regular contract with the regional volunteers and follow-up meetings are scheduled approximately every 3-4 months or as needed. JEM implementers introduce representatives from the regional volunteers at district and provincial network meetings so that local elders overwhelmed by major disputes are aware of their services. Given the disparities in dispute resolution methodology between, for example, the east and south, national network meetings on comparative dispute resolution practice may be considered to enable a peer-to-peer exchange of ideas and identification of best practice. LEGAL EDUCATION WORKSHOPS TRAINERS Trainer selection for legal education workshops is critical to the clarity and impact of the events. Trainers must have authoritative knowledge of the materials and the requisite stature to influence elders, less educated community religious leaders, less educated local officials, and others. Therefore, trainers are often university Afghan Law and Sharia faculty or well-educated and respected justice officials. Trainers should also be able to convey JEM s targeted materials in a manner understandable to our less educated audience. Therefore, implementers hold TOT or orientation for trainers on JEM materials and adult education teaching methodology to ensure quality workshop delivery. Particular attention is given to the female trainer TOTs, a need identified during past implementation. The training can be two tier: 1) an orientation for experienced trainer/professionals on JEM materials and adult training methodology or, 2) a more intensive TOT on the materials and adult training methodology for less experienced trainers. In the few geographical areas where trainer expertise alone is sufficient to garner participants respect (i.e., trainer stature is not as critical), JEM implementers may consider using non-elder legal experts such USAID.GOV AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL 6
as lawyers and faculty-trained and qualified MOJ Huquq Department staff. Like elder trainer/scholars, implementers should vet these candidates for mastery of JEM legal training materials and understanding of effective adult training methodologies. WORKSHOPS To mitigate rights-violating, conflict-exacerbating, and, ultimately, unsustainable violations of Afghan and Sharia law in TDR outcomes, JEM includes a curriculum of targeted legal awareness workshops (criminal law, family law, property law, deeds, inheritance law, and Constitutional law) for male and female elders, religious leaders, and state justice actors. To ensure messages resonate with local justice providers and the public, JEM uses the esteemed trainers discussed above to frame subject matter from an Afghan law and Sharia perspective, in many cases drawing parallels between the two. The step also dispels misconceptions about local custom's compliance with Sharia, while illustrating that Afghan statutory law is consistent with, and, in many areas, drawn directly from, moderate Sharia. Applying lessons from multiple phases of design, implementation, evaluation, and revision during RLS-I and ADALAT, JEM s workshop materials, training methodologies, and timelines have been adapted to its adult audience, many of whom are illiterate, semi-literate, or minimally educated. This material, targeted and refined by legal scholars, implementers, and beneficiaries, is compiled along with workshop agendas, discussion scenarios, and frequently asked questions as Introduction to Basic Rights. The book serves as the JEM training text as well as a permanent reference for participants, community legal awareness mentors, and other community members. JEM s legal education materials focus on key themes to maximize relevance in addressing the most common disputes. Introduction to Basic Rights - JEM legal education curriculum Workshop topic Constitutional law Criminal law Key themes Definition and importance of the relationship between the Constitution, Sharia, Afghan statutory law, and human rights Citizens rights Citizens responsibilities Role, powers, and structure of government Definition and types of crimes Jurisdictional boundaries between formal and informal justice sectors Role of elders in reconciling disputants involved in crimes Rights of those suspected, accused, and convicted of a crime Rights of men, women, and children in detention centers Role of defense lawyers 7 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV
Introduction to Basic Rights - JEM legal education curriculum Workshop topic Family law Property law Deeds Inheritance law Key themes Definition, structure, and importance of family Marriage proposal roles Marriage conditions (consent) Prohibited marriages Negative effects of exchange marriage and baad Maher Rights of the husband and wife in marriage Divorce Custody Children's rights in the family Addressing disputes between husbands and wives Definition and types of property Property ownership - sources for obtaining property Property rights Preemption/right of first refusal Access rights Frontage Usurpation Definition and importance of deeds Official documents Unofficial documents Validity of deeds Definition and importance of inheritance Inheritance rules under Afghan statutory law and Sharia Division and shares of property Women s and men's rights to inheritance Common inheritance disputes Knowledge questions on critical material serve as a pre- and post-workshop evaluation tool as well as teaching mechanism during workshops. New and experimental workshop options: During RLS-I, some participants requested that legal trainings, particularly family law and inheritance, be extended to a third day to allow for shorter days and additional reviews of workshop content. Therefore, JEM implementers may consider piloting three-day family and inheritance workshops and two days of property law and commercial law. These workshop extensions will also allow for inclusion of participatory learning exercises such as scenario discussion to reinforce training content. Pre- and post- knowledge tests will indicate whether or not learning is impacted. USAID.GOV AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL 8
TOT FOR COMMUNITY LEGAL AWARENESS MENTORS To promote the sustainability of JEM s impact on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of local justice actors and the wider community, JEM implementers recruit elders, religious leaders, and spinsary group members who excel during core program legal training workshops to volunteer as community legal awareness mentors. JEM implementers then provide training of trainers (ToT), including a more intensive version of the legal education workshops and adult teaching methodology. During the ToT, the master trainer and each mentor can develop customized training agendas for use by the mentors based on each mentor s available time, knowledge, and local need for specific information. With religious leaders, for example, this could involve dissemination of specific JEM material during Friday mosque. The Liaison Office (TLO) initiated this component during RLS-I as the Promoting legal awareness and justice through religious community leaders activity. Mentors are evaluated with pre- and post-tot knowledge questions. Upon completion of their ToTs, the mentors begin voluntarily offering workshops for community members participating at their own expense. JEM implementers may provide Introduction to Basic Rights and monitor the events, offering advice and support where needed and noting any areas for further training. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS Based on need identified in district assessments, JEM implementers may consider adding a conflict management skills workshop to the core training curriculum. Given the significant dispute resolution skill many TDR practitioners already possess, the workshop could involve a group exploration of best practice in dispute resolution rather than a top-down conflict skills training. This workshop could, for example, include discussions of: Sharia precepts for managing conflicts and resolving disputes; conflict analysis; a comparison of conflict management tools such as mediation (more prevalent in TDR in the south) and binding arbitration (more prevalent in the east) and their basis in Afghan statutory law and Sharia; negotiation skills for conflict management; non-coercive methods for promoting disputant compliance with TDR outcomes; preserving disputant rights, etc. The workshop could be beneficial for Huquq staff as they become familiar with mediation and regional volunteers as they work on large longstanding disputes that challenge their dispute resolution skills. Other forums for a comparative exploration of TDR practice are the national network meeting and the best practice in TDR discussion session discussed below. DISCUSSION SESSIONS To address weaknesses in TDR as well as challenges faced by both TDR and state justice actors in resolving disputes, JEM includes solutions-based discussion sessions. The sessions provide members of the state-tdr working group and Spinsary groups an opportunity to develop strategies for reducing and developing alternatives to harmful, illegal, and unsustainable TDR practices. Other discussion sessions allow participants to address challenges faced by both the TDR and formal justice sectors. Each district core program work plan includes a minimum of four discussion sessions of the following topics based on need as determined in district assessments and by participant request. Alternatives to baad for men and women Addressing corruption men and women 9 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV
Women's participation and access to justice men and women Addressing the influence of powerbrokers men Longstanding disputes men Ethics and best practice in TDR men Alternatives to machalgha (disputant deposits) men Family matters men and women Discussion session agendas provide a structured format for participants to collectively identify and assess the root causes of challenges and jointly develop and agree to practical solutions. To promote commitment and accountability, follow-up questions at the beginning of subsequent sessions are asked to determine whether ideas from prior meetings are being applied. Discussion sessions also serve to reinforce legal education workshop content as working group members discuss the practical implications of the legal information they have received. This can be enhanced with participation of, for example, well trained, expert officials, including faculty-graduate Huquq staff, AIBA members, and legal scholars. These sessions will also be used to identify remaining knowledge gaps, which can be filled with further training. COORDINATION MEETINGS A second series of meetings for the state-tdr working group promote greater mutual understanding of, and agreement on, the respective roles and responsibilities of the formal and informal justice sectors. TDR and state justice actors draw on JEM legal education workshop materials particularly constitutional and criminal law in discussing and agreeing on their respective roles under Afghan law in civil and criminal disputes. Working group members also identify and agree on practical referral and registration protocols and forms, including authority letters and decision forms, to better structure their collaboration. The forms, developed by state and TDR actors, may be adapted based on passage of draft formal-informal justice linkage law, regulation or policy changes, or finalization of a case tracking system for the Huquq. As detailed in coordination meeting agendas, the four activities build on each other to help solidify mutual understandings and commitments. The final core program coordination meeting (the capstone coordinating meeting), like the capstone network meeting above, provides state-tdr working group members an opportunity to commit to agreements made during discussion sessions and coordination meetings. Members sign pledges on these mutual commitments, such as respect for jurisdiction and mutual accountability in preventing corruption. Working group members include these pledges in their presentation to the full participant group at district capstone network meetings. Like discussion sessions, participation or facilitation by substantive legal experts, such as educated and trained Huquq staff, other formal justice actors, or academics can ensure accurate mutual understandings and buy-in. The Huquq mandate is well suited to playing a central role in state-tdr cooperation. JEM therefore encourages, as capable, Huquq professional staff to play an active role in coordination meetings and discussion sessions by providing legal expertise and hosting state-tdr working group meetings. Over time, these mutually agreed frameworks enhance value-added collaboration between the formal and informal justice sectors in improving the quality and consistency of justice services in the district. USAID.GOV AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL 10
Formal justice benefits from collaboration on civil cases, the civil components of criminal cases, and reconciliation of disputant parties, thereby reducing caseload and fulfilling a cultural mandate. TDR benefits from the enhanced formality, legality, and permanence that comes with review, registration, and possible enforcement of their decisions by formal justice actors. MEDIATION HALLS In addition to State-TDR discussion sessions on reducing influences that may bias or corrupt TDR outcomes, JEM assists communities by furnishing mediation halls as neutral venues for TDR, Huquq, or Spinsary dispute resolution sessions, State-TDR liaison activities, and training activities, etc. JEM furnishes the halls within district center government compounds to ensure geographic accessibility, sustainability, and to promote State-TDR communication. JEM utilizes the halls in most districts for program activities, including discussion sessions and coordination meetings of the State-TDR Working Group. For its investment, JEM requires a memorandum of understanding (MoU) from elders and officials that ensures the right of men and women (e.g., Spinsary group members), regardless of tribal or ethnic affiliation, to use the halls. The MOU requires the elders and officials to maintain and safeguard JEM-provided furnishings. The halls also house JEM-provided legal libraries (below) and best practice pledges (discussed above) signed by JEM participants. To promote transparency while purchasing items for the mediation halls, JEM implementers should include someone from the district government, such as a Huquq and/or district governor s representative, and at least three influential elders in a procurement committee. The mediation hall in each district should be furnished at the beginning of the program during the assessment phase to ensure its availability for JEM activities. LEGAL LIBRARIES JEM legal libraries housed in mediation halls provide select legal and dispute resolution related materials for use by TDR actors and formal justice officials as described in the JEM library book list. Implementers may also consider furnishing electronic media, including, for example, computers with recordings of JEM legal education lectures for viewing by anyone who is interested. SPINSARY GROUPS To promote women's access to and participation in TDR, JEM supports women's network participants in forming village-level women's dispute resolution groups, or spinsary groups, to tackle family, women's, and children's conflicts. Defusing these so-called minor disputes is often central to de-escalating potentially violent conflicts, resulting in more stable communities. Like male participants, JEM takes care to invite a representative group of women respected as honest members of the community. Upon formation, JEM facilitators coach the groups in the basics of dispute resolution, assisting them in identifying practical approaches to, for example, disputes between children and neighbors. Spinsary group topics include: Establishing spinsary groups Spinsary dispute resolution skills Dispute prevention children and neighbors 11 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV
Spinsary group members gain confidence in collaborating with other women to proactively resolve and deescalate disputes, but also contributing to men's efforts in resolving larger 'women-related' disputes. Spinsary group members, armed with JEM legal information, become more active in advocating for greater respect for the rights of women and girls in dispute resolution processes, preventing, for example, cases of baad. In addition, the women regularly reflect on how JEM legal information and discussion on dispute-related issues has enabled them to identify and reform their own contributions to conflict. According to some women, this improved respect for the rights of others has reduced the number of disputes requiring resolution. Some of these women volunteer to become community legal awareness mentors, as discussed above. Spinsary group members and their accomplishments are tracked with the spinsary tracker. PUBLIC OUTREACH To help create public demand for improved TDR practice and shift local justice culture away from harmful justice practice, JEM sponsors outreach to the general population in its geographical areas of intervention. For example, if implementers operate in several districts within a province, they should consider producing and airing radio spots, interviews, or talk shows on negative justice practices and best practice alternatives. Another example could be an announcement of new state-tdr linkage legislation that could impact the formal-informal justice relationship. Program activities such as provincial network meetings to address corruption can be broadcast (with participant approval), radio material could be spun off from JEM activities, prominent participants can voice radio spots and participate in interviews or talk shows, etc. Topics should be targeted to the province or region to supplement the customized core programming being conducted in the districts. MONITORING AND EVALUATION Implementer M&E plans should adhere to specified donor M&E requirements. At the very least this will include output data, including participation data, to identify where makeup activities may be required to ensure achievement of critical mass. Trackers could include: Participant database: participant details, including village, tribe, etc.; activities attended, state- TDR working group membership, membership in volunteer groups, pre- and post-workshop test scores, community legal awareness mentor status, etc. Spinsary tracker: groups and numbers of disputes resolved Longstanding dispute tracker, including basic data, regional volunteers committed to assisting, status, next steps, etc. Decision book tracker: TDR decisions recorded and registered with justice officials, including the Huquq Given the program strategy of culture shift throughout our areas of intervention, use of outcome and impact level indicators would be ideal. Periodic household surveys to determine and track communitywide understanding of and attitudes toward key justice issues such as the rate of negative justice practices like baad, could be conducted. Should surveys prove cost-prohibitive, other tools, such as indices on disputant satisfaction with their local justice/ dispute resolution experience, could be useful and cost effective in measuring program impacts. USAID.GOV AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL 12
Donors and implementers may choose to establish indicators and targets to meet before a district is considered graduated and activities cease. Ultimately, JEM aims to determine when the program has reached, either directly or indirectly, a critical mass of justice practitioners and other community members to result in sustained increases in access to quality justice, including improvements in TDR practice, State-TDR collaboration, the prevention and resolution of longstanding disputes, etc. Sample indicators and targets may include: 80% of participants complete all legal education workshops Participants show 20% knowledge gain 80% of participants sign pledges to adhere to best practice in TDR X% of participants demonstrate use of program knowledge in decision making X% of participants register disputes with the Huquq X% increase in disputant satisfaction with justice services Rate of harmful informal justice practice in community decreases by X% Public satisfaction with justice services increases by X% Serious longstanding disputes reduced by X% M&E data integrity: Specific data collection methodology such as geo-stamped photos of events, attendance sheet/database audits, etc., may be required. 13 AFGHANISTAN JUSTICE ENGAGEMENT MODEL USAID.GOV