PROMOTING AFGHAN OWNERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP...mission and goals of empowering Afghans to build rule of...
Transcript of PROMOTING AFGHAN OWNERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP...mission and goals of empowering Afghans to build rule of...
PROMOTING AFGHAN OWNERSHIP AND
LEADERSHIP
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Afghanistan
Justice Organization
(AJO) Annual Report - 2015
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Contents Acronyms ............................................... 3
Introduction ............................................. 4
Promoting Democratic Values ............................... 6
Good Governance and Anti-Corruption ....................... 8
Anti-Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism ................... 13
Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) ........................ 14
Strategic Studies and Evidenced Based Research .............. 15
Public Awareness and Advocacy ............................ 17
Our Achievements, Progress and Challenges ................. 23
Looking Ahead .......................................... 25
About AJO .............................................. 25
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Acronyms
AJO Afghanistan Justice Organization AGO Attorney General Office
AIBA Afghanistan Independent Bar Association MOJ Ministry of Justice
MOF Ministry of Finance MoCI Ministry of Commerce and Industry
INLTC Independent National Legal Training Center HOOAC High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption
SCD State Case Department ACU Anti-Corruption Unit
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
SoW Scope of Work AMMC Afghan Management and Marketing Consulting
AC Anti-Corruption AML Anti Money Laundering
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Introduction
Since the International Community’s intervention in 2002, year 2015
has been considered as the most turbulent year for Afghanistan which underwent political, security and economic transitions. It
continues to be volatile and in the grips of an ongoing crisis. Today, a deep sense of anxiety and uneasiness looms over Afghanistan’s
future stemming from a variety of reasons- poverty, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, communal and political violence, religious
extremism, mass exodus, repatriation, and power asymmetry.
The worsening security situation in Afghanistan is of serious
concern. What we witness in Afghanistan today is a clear signal of lack of peace and security. The rise of extremism in Afghanistan
and the region is an ultimate threat to human security.
Survey after survey shows that Afghanistan’s government failed to provide good governance and to solve social problems such as
unemployment, social injustice, and poverty. The political culture has been unable to meet the challenges faced by society. Growing
tendencies of ethnic solidarities, identification with rising religious fundamentalism and ethnocentric cultural aspirations are gaining
support, which destroys national unity.
This picture I just painted of Afghanistan undoubtedly is gloomy
illustrating Armageddon. And to an extent rightfully so, unless Afghanistan’s leaders realize that it is in our people’s best interests
to come together to resolve differences in the national interest and for posterity.
Millions of young Afghans are still heading to schools daily, working
in their small businesses, doing their best to provide services to the people, sacrificing in the fight against terrorism and the defense of
the country, working hard to promote justice and to enforce the law, and learning how to build a democratic society.
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The challenge is, however, how we sustain this momentum. We
really need with the continued engagement and support of the International Community to build democratic institutions, enhance
capacity of the public servant and promote integrity and transparency. We need to continue to advocate for freedom of
speech, access to information and equal rights for women. Most importantly we need to empower civil societies and every Afghan to
hold the government accountable.
The Afghanistan Justice Organization (AJO) takes pride to say it has been part of this momentum for the last 5 years and continued, in
2015, to support institutional reform, fighting terrorism, countering violent extremism, and countering and Anti-Corruption. AJO
trained law enforcement institutions and judiciary to fight corruption, money laundering, terrorism, and financing of terrorism.
For the first time, prosecutors were able to charge and obtain successful conviction using anti-money laundering law and recoup
nearly 2 million dollars. AJO worked with 220 insurgent inmates to learn about the drivers of violent extremism in Afghanistan and
conducted a de-radicalization program in the face of daily security and physical challenges.
In this annual report, you will learn about AJO’s brief history and of
our achievements and what lies ahead. AJO’s activities encompassed various sectors all of which contributes to AJO’s
mission and goals of empowering Afghans to build rule of law, good governance and promote democratic values.
I am humbled by our achievements given our brief history and the
challenges of working in Afghanistan, but the credit for our
achievements belong to our donors, partners, and the Afghan people without whose support we would not have been here today.
And on behalf of myself and AJO, I want to thank everyone who provided that support and ask that you continue to support us.
Shafeek M. Seddiq
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Promoting
Democratic
Values
AJO promotes democratic values through capacity building and
institutional reform of the government and non-government institutions
including justice and law enforcements institutions. AJO believes that
such promotion is valuable for having a free and democratic society, a
united; strong and self-confident nation and a self-motivated and full of
opportunities economy for all.
AJO focuses on building and reforming institutions and individuals on
governance including training and adoption of anti and counter corruption
measures, anti-money laundering, financing of terrorism, and reforming
and advocating for the adoption of laws promoting democracy such as
access to information, freedom of the press, whistleblower laws, class
action, and public interest litigation. As a cross-cutting issue, AJO
includes in every project the promotion of gender balance and opportunity
to participate as outlined in the Afghanistan National Development
Strategy (ANDS) and the National Priority Programs (NPP).
In November 2011, AJO in Collaboration with the United Kingdom Foreign
and Commonwealth Office (FCO) launched a pilot project encompassing
institutional capacity building and collaboration, legal awareness, and
impact evaluation in accordance with the needs and requirements of the
respective institutions (stakeholders) and in alignment with the
Afghanistan National Priority Program (NPP5) and the National Justice
Program (NJP) within the Afghanistan National Justice Sector Strategy
(NJSS).
In June 2012, AJO started the first year of the project funded by the FCO
as a continuation of the Aim of the United Kingdom Foreign and
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Commonwealth Office to Strengthen the Afghan Formal Justice System in
Combating
Corruption and Improving Access to Justice and Good Governance for the
Afghan People. The project focused on the fight against corruption,
specifically training judges, prosecutors, police of the Major Crimes Task
Force, defense counsel, staff of Da Afghanistan Bank, professionals at the
customs and Ministry of Finance on Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-
Corruption laws; engaged in public awareness campaign, and building the
capacity of the AIBA.
In April 2013, AJO continued to work on monitoring and evaluating the
impact and success of the past year on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money
Laundering as well as continued capacity building and public campaign in
the fight against corruption, however, the specific focus shifted to Anti-
Terrorism cases and building a cadre of Anti-Terrorism Prosecution
Department (ATPD) staff to successfully try these cases. This shift was
due to the United Kingdom’s engagement in Afghanistan as part of a 48-
nation coalition to prevent international terrorism from using, again,
Afghanistan as a base from which to operate.
In March 2013, AJO carried out Anti-Corruption (AC) Tribunal Observation
over a six months period in four provinces: Kabul, Balkh, Hirat, and
Kunudz. The cases observed were held in both the trial and appeal
tribunals and on days when these AC tribunals were not in sessions, the
observers attended general criminal court hearings. The trials were
observed using EUPOL trial observation template to collect data and
assess the performance of the prosecutors and the application of fair trial
and other due process standards in accordance with the Afghan
Constitution, Interim Criminal Code for Courts (ICCC), and international
standards. During the six months observation period, 333 cases and trials
were observed and data collected of which 178 were corruption related cases
and 155 general criminal cases.
In October, 2014, USIP and AJO signed a Grant Agreement and started
the Counter Violence Extremism (CVE) project. The performance period
for the project was from October 15, 2014 to September 1, 2015. The
objectives set out to achieve the aims were data collection from
participants, design and develop curriculum and class material, conduct
training, and impact evaluation to measure the rate of recidivism after
release.
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Good Governance
and Anti-
Corruption
AJO supported the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Attorney General
Office both financially and technically. The AJO Training Department
conducted several intensive trainings on Anti-Money Laundering and
Extradition Law, and Criminal Extradition, for prosecutors of ACU in Kabul.
AJO assisted the Attorney General Office (AGO) in
expanding the AC Units to Hirat and Nangarhar Provinces. The AJO IT Department designed and developed Access database and
trained the administrative staff for the ACU at the AGO in Kabul, Hirat and
Nangarhar. The IT department also set up and provided internet system
for the ACU in Kabul. The Training Department continued to provided
trainings and capacity building to the professional and administrative staff
of ACU in all three provinces.
Specialized Training Courses for Mullahs - Kabul, Hirat,
Balkh, Nangarhar, and Kunduz & Kandahar Provinces: Mullahs from six provinces of Afghanistan, including Balkh, Herat,
Kandahar, Kunduz and Nangarhar participated in training program.
Corruption And Islam, Types of Corruption, Corruption from Legal
perspective, Negative Impacts of Corruption, And Mechanisms to Fight
Corruption in Afghanistan were covered during the trainings.
Anti-Corruption & Anti Money Laundering Training Course
- (Hirat & Nangarhar ACU/AGO): AJO conducted 5 days training
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program on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering for four
Prosecutors from Nanagahar and Hirat provinces who are assigned to
prosecute the AC and AML cases referred to Appeal Prosecution Offices in
the mentioned provinces. Besides; two Police Officers from Nangarhar
were introduced to AJO to attend the training in Kabul.
(Kabul & Nangarhar AGO/AIBA/MoI): AJO started a 10 days in
depth training program on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering at
National Legal Training Center (NLTC). Professionals attended the training
program representing the Attorney General Office (AGO), Afghanistan
Independent Bar Association (AIBA) and Ministry of Interior (MOI).
Extradition Law & Anti Money Laundering: AJO conducted a 10
days in depth training on Extradition Law and Money Laundering at
Independent National Legal Training Center (INLTC), Kabul University.
The topics included, Elements, polyphonies, participation and settlement
in crimes, Definition, legal sources, phases and vital methods of money
laundering, Real crimes of money laundering and its elements, Correlated
crimes of money laundering, Administration of crime detection in money
laundering crimes, Administration of investigation in money laundering
crimes, Extradition of criminals, extradition of property and issuance of
property, Combating money laundering in national and international.
Exclusive Training Program on Judges Opinion Writing:
AJO believed that training the judges and equipping them with tools
necessary to write opinions of the cases will lead to transparency, thus
reducing corruption, as the public and the profession will hold the specific
judge accountable for an abusive and incompetent decision. These
decisions could also be used as training tools for educating new
generation of lawyers, judges, and prosecutors in universities throughout
Afghanistan and the in-service judges. They may also be used as a
precedent by other judges and will lead to uniformity in final dispositions
of like or similarly factual cases throughout Afghanistan. AJO therefore
designed an exclusive training program for five Judges from Kabul and
Maidan Wardak provinces through a two weeks training program in Kabul.
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Institutional
Reform and
Development
AJO in order to increase capacity of a functional and sustainable
Afghanistan Bar Association (AIBA) conducted an organizational
assessment of its current resources; and a member survey of its
members all over the country.
The aim of conducting an organizational capacity assessment was to assess the extent of management capacity, the needs of AIBA and
to develop an action plan to address those needs, conducted Wekalat
magazine reader’s survey, and outsourced the AIBA member
survey. AJO provided management capacity programs for AIBA
(Management, Budget, English and Computer) and designed and
developed several access databases for AIBA, and trained AIBA staff on
how to utilize these databases as a result of the organizational capacity
assessment.
The overall objective of the survey was to help AIBA to better plan to
address the needs of the members, to improve upon its services for the
benefits of the members and to fulfill its mandate and objectives as stated
in its By-laws. The survey is designed and conducted to measure
perceptions of the value, impression, and interactions with the Bar.
AJO partnered with AMMC to conduct a provincial level assessment of the
AIBA member’s views about the AIBA, its role, mandate and its progress
over the last three years besides others, with the objective of further
strengthening the AIBA. This provincial level survey of the AIBA members
took place across 16 provinces of Afghanistan .The address the needs of
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the members, to improve upon its services for the benefits of the
members and to fulfill its mandate and objectives as stated in its By-laws.
The survey was designed and conducted to measure perceptions of the
value, impression, and interactions with the Bar.
In an effort to raise the profile of the Association, to engage advocates,
judges, prosecutors, academics, and intellectuals in legal and social
discourse, and to generate revenue for the operation cost, the AIBA
embarked upon with the technical and financial assistance of AJO to re-
start the publication of its WEKALAT magazine. AJO supported
technically and financially, the publication of the WEKALAT
magazine and build the staff capacity to be able to sustain itself in a
short period of time.
In addition to this, AJO provided advocacy trainings to the new registered
lawyers to enable them to start their advocacy career.
Advocate Training Courses: AJO in coordination with the
Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) conducted two 10 days
in depth Advocate Trainings at Independent National Legal Training
Center (INLTC), Kabul University. New Defense Lawyers were introduced
by the Training Committee of AIBA to participate in the training. Based on
the training methodology of the AJO, needs assessment of the Defense
Lawyers was conducted before the training and the training materials
were accordingly prepared keeping in mind the needs of the defense
lawyers. The course included group work activities, discussions and
excises of real cases.
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Anti-Terrorism
and Financing of
Terrorism
Confiscation Training Courses: AJO in coordination with the
British Embassy/ Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) held training
programs at IIU/Counter Narcotics, Kabul. These intensive trainings were
designed to train staff from IIU and CJTF on specific topics related to
confiscation. The participants received training on: Elements of Crime
(specific problems), Confiscation (characteristics, types, and differences
between general and specific confiscations, confiscation of immovable
goods), and Money Laundering.
New Prosecutors Training Course/Anti-Terrorism
Prosecution Department (ATPD): AJO conducted a series of
training courses under the Legal Training Program for New Prosecutors of
ATPD in Kabul. Each training course was organized for 15 prosecutors,
after meeting and discussions with the Head of ATPD, in collaboration with
Attorney General Office, and cooperation of FCO/British Embassy Legal
Advisors. Each course was held for 5 days. AJO training methodology
included needs assessment of the potential participants before conducting
training but considering the project nature, the needs assessment of the
training took place in mutual understanding between FCO and AJO, the
needs of participants was determined in consultation with ATPD
Management.
Anti-Terrorism Prosecution Department Ethics Seminars:
AJO and British Embassy in Kabul (FCO-BEK) conducted a total of 20
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seminars on “Code Of Conduct And Professional Standards” with the aim
to develop a greater understanding of conducting independent, impartial
and standard investigation and prosecution of the terrorism cases by the
prosecutors and thus, enable them to implement the approach within the
sphere of their own work and practices in addition to promote it within
their institution. Participants of the seminars were provided with an
opportunity to discuss their daily activities and challenges they face. AJO
planned to organize 20 seminars, 2 every month for a total of 239
prosecutors. The Seminars focused on developing prosecutor’s
professionals understanding of the code of conducts issues in details and
enabled them to effectively apply these leanings within their future work.
Further, the seminars covered topics such as respecting the principle of
impartiality in the investigation and prosecution, administration of justice
and Principles of neutrality.
Countering
Violent Extremism
(CVE)
AJO developed policy brief on Deradicalization, Disengagement
and Reintegration of former Taliban. This policy brief outlines
daunting challenges for violent extremism for the international community
and for Afghanistan. The policy brief summarizes the findings of
implemented pilot project for a year training Taliban inmates in Pole-
Charkhi prison in Kabul.
AJO also developed policy brief on Drivers of Radicalization to
Violent Extremism. This brief summarizes the perception of Taliban
inmates in Pole-Charkhi on the drivers of radicalization to violent
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extremism. These perceptions were captured as part of a project funded
by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), aimed at better
understanding the drivers of radicalization while also conducting Islamic
training which drew on alternative interpretations to deradicalization,
disengagement and reintegration of inmates back in their communities.
The findings of this policy brief are based on the four common themes
that emerged from the 205 inmates, representing 30 provinces,
interviewed for the purposes of this project.
Strategic Studies
and Evidenced
Based Research
Transitional Justice in Afghanistan: “We should not repeat old
issues”? This Policy Note is an attempt to understand the history and
status of transitional justice in Afghanistan as well as provide
recommendations for its implementation in order to heal wounds and
prevent impunity. The Policy Note is authored by Afghanistan Justice
Organization (AJO), a member of GPPAC’s South Asia network, in
collaboration with the GPPAC Global Secretariat in.
Empowerment and Protection, Stories of Human Security:
This publication is a product of many people, ideas and organizations
coming together through the Global Partnership for the Prevention of
Armed Conflict (GPPAC), a global network of peacebuilding organizations
and practitioners. AJO as member of GPPAC contributed to the Human
Security publication and wrote the chapter called People’s perspectives on
Human Security: Regional Chapter on Afghanistan.
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Public Awareness
and Advocacy
The fight against corruption to restore integrity to the public offices of the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) and
Afghanistan’s development through engagement with diverse local actors
and stakeholders has been a primary focus of AJO’s efforts. AJO’s
contribution to the fight against corruption is visible through its
awareness, legal education, and vocational training programs conducted
for the Anti-Terrorism Prosecution Department, Anti-Corruption
Department of the Attorney General’s Office, Serious Organized Crimes
Agency and Afghanistan Independent Bar Association. However, its efforts
are not limited to just capacity building, AJO is an active member of the
civil society community in Afghanistan and has carried out several
conferences and seminars on corruption examining it through new and
alternative perspectives.
AJO held a one day conference on the Anti-Money Laundering and
Financing of Terrorism Laws in Afghanistan at the NLTC. The
conference focused on the needs, difficulties and challenges in combating
money laundering in Afghanistan and served as a forum for creating
action plans to improve the status of and to encourage the relevant
government and non-government organizations’ active participation.
AJO held a follow up one day conference on Anti-Money Laundering
and the Financing of Terrorism Laws. More than 100 nationals
and internationals including professors and senior students from Law and
Economics Faculties of Kabul University and government officials from
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, AGO, MoJ, Ministry of Finance, Balkh
and Kandahar Customs Department, Kabul Airport Customs Department,
Herat Chief Prosecutor and Head of the MoJ, Kandahar Head of MoJ,
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HOOAC, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the
conference.
hold a one day conference on “The use of children as suicide
bombs from both Sharia and legal perspective” at the
National Legal Training Center. The overall objective of this conference
was to bring together university professors, leading experts and civil
society members representing diverse sectors including the Government
of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), parliament, civil society
organizations, academia, media, and the international community to
discuss the legitimacy of children’s involvement in armed conflicts both
legally and from Sharia point of view; deepen the understanding that
children suicide bombings are forbidden both in Sharia and CRC to which
Afghanistan is a party; educate public on the negative impact of children
used in armed conflict to the communities; encourage public to outright
condemn this practice and denounce child suicide bombing as a crime
against humanity, Sha’ria, and laws; come up with clear
recommendations to guide and mobilize all relevant public and private
sector to take actions.
“The Role of the Reporting Entities in Combating Money Laundering”: AJO
conducted seminar on “The Role of the Reporting Entities in
Combating Money Laundering” at the INLTC. As part of the legal
awareness component of the AJO-FCO project, the seminar focused on
the “Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Laws” requirements
for the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) to
report any suspicious activities to the Da Afghanistan Bank - the Financial
Transaction and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan (FinTRACA)
known also as the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). As a preliminary step
to combating Money Laundering, AJO invited representatives from Money
Exchange and Transfer Association (also known as HAWALA and Saraf
merchants), Property Dealers Association, Defense Lawyers, and
Goldsmiths (precious metal merchants) Association to exchange ideas,
and to learn from money laundering experts and the prosecutors about
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the reporting requirements and on how they can assist to fight money
laundering.
Seminar on Anti-Money Laundering Law in Hirat: AJO
conducted joint seminar in Hirat in coordination with the Appeal
Prosecution Office/AGO/Hirat to create awareness about the AC Unit in
Hirat as well as Anti-Money Laundering Law. The seminar was broadly
broadcasted by the media in Hirat and Kabul and professionals from the
relevant institutions participated. The objectives of the joint seminar
included Public awareness about money laundering laws and its
importance in the fight against financial crimes; Strengthening Financial
Intelligence Unit reporting system by highlighting their role in the fight
against anti-money laundering; and Introduction of Special Attorney of
Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office in Hirat.
“The Role of Women Post-2014 Afghanistan: Challenges
and Opportunities”: AJO organized and held roundtable meetings on
“The Role of Women Post-2014 Afghanistan: Challenges and
Opportunities” at the Institute Francis Afghanistan located at Estiqlal High
School in Kabul. The purpose of these roundtables were to bring together
women leaders from diverse backgrounds to speak about Afghan women’s
achievements and challenges during the transitional years and what the
next Afghan government and its regional partners can do to consolidate
women’s gains and help empower women to mitigate new challenges in
the post-2014 period. This roundtable served as a platform for women
leaders representing the Afghan Parliament, media, academics and civil
society to discuss and propose resolutions to increasing and embedding
women’s involvement and influence in political, economic and security
arenas.
“The Role of Women in the Afghan Peace Process”: AJO in
collaboration with The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed
Conflict (GPPAC), jointly hold a one day seminar on “The Role of Women
in the Afghan Peace Process” in hopes to highlight problems as well as
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find consensus among stakeholders on how to address these issues as
well as form cooperative action.
To commemorate the International Anti-Corruption Day, AJO hold
seminars on “The fight against corruption in Afghanistan:
Combining Civil Society and Government Efforts”. The objective of these
seminars was to explore the role of civil society in fighting corruption in
the GIRoA in the last decade and how this role can be further
strengthened in the post-2014 period. The overall purpose of the event is
to bring together leading experts and Anti-Corruption advocates
representing diverse sectors including the GIRoA, Parliament, Civil Society
Organizations, Academia, media, and International Community.
Access to Information Law: AJO in collaboration with Integrity
Watch Afghanistan (IWA) and Nai Supporting Afghan Media Organization
organized a Seminar on Access to Information Law in Hotel
Intercontinental. The seminar was attended by representatives from the
Parliament, Ministry of Justice, Civil Society Organizations and media. The
seminar aimed to campaign and advocate on the Access to Information
Law in the Parliament, improve participant’s awareness on access to
Information Law, public outreach and support of it through their relevant
organizations, expedite the legislation process of Access to Information
Law, Establishment of good coordination amongst civil society, media and
Parliament in order to adopt a strong Access to Information Law.
Whistleblower Law: Whistleblowers Protection Draft Law introduced
to the Parliament of Afghanistan. AJO has been one of the working group
members as well as panel member of the press conference to appreciate
the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Caucus (PACC) for introducing the draft
of Whistle-blowers Protection Law at the general assembly of Wolsi Jirga
(Lower House) of the Afghan parliament. AJO welcomed this move and
acclaim PACC members for finalizing the legislation and tabling it to the
Parliament.
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Radio Program: The Radio Program has been part of the holistic
approach of AJO’s broader “strategic communication” in the fight against
corruption to restore integrity to the public office of the GIRoA and
Afghanistan’s development by engaging the citizenry. The Weekly Radio
Program broadcast on FM radio was designed for maximum outreach and
aimed to focus on educating and engaging public in the fight against
corruption in general, but specifically predatory corruption. The program
was called “Anti-Corruption Drive” and was about “restoring integrity to
public office”, “respect for rule of law”, and the public having “confidence
in the government” by discussing corruption that is endemic throughout
the government, public and is an obstacle to the development and
security of our country.
Report Corruption Drive: AJO established an Anti-Corruption Drive
on the website (http://afghanjustice.org/reportcorruption/), for everyone
to tell their story on experiencing corruption not only in government but
also in private sector. To boost the report corruption drive, AJO also
created a Facebook page called Report Corruption so that the message
reaches as many people as possible.
Anti-Corruption Book: has been part of AJO’s effort in fight against
corruption. This book is in Dari language and has been widely used by
various institutions and students of Sharia and Law faculties in Kabul and
provinces. The books has been printed in 2000 copies twice and has been
used as reference in trainings of judges and prosecutors by IDLO and Max
Planck. The book has also been reviewed and being used as desk
reference by President Ghani and Attorney General Hamidi.
Anti-Corruption Illustrated Booklet: AJO with support from
Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the British Embassy in Kabul
developed and printed a simplified illustrated booklet in an attempt to
educate the public, but specifically the law enforcement institutions on the
most important elements of corruption that are often missed in the
indictment process or disguised as tradition and “doing business as
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usual”. This booklet is in three languages (Pashto, Dari, and English) and
offers information on legal aspects of crimes of corruption. The booklet is
available online on AJO website.
I Pencil Booklet: AJO chose to translate “i, Pencil” one of the most
important and influential essays on free market and limited government.
AJO has a strong faith in the Afghan men and women who through their
entrepreneurial spirit will bring peace and freedom to Afghanistan not
through more powerful and corrupt government, more military and more
peace negotiation. This booklet is in three languages (Pashto, Dari,
English) and available on AJO website in softcopy.
A collection of Anti-Corruption articles: AJO continues to play a
role in fighting corruption in Afghanistan in different ways. Such an
activity is to write articles on corruption and its various aspects and types
and print for further dissemination to public. This collection of articles
includes topics such as types of corruption, Economic development and
Corruption, Political Will and Corruption, Role of Citizens and Corruption,
Prosecution and Corruption, Taxation and Public Accountability,
International community and Corruption, Public Procurement and
Corruption, Land Grabbing and Corruption, Media’s role in the fight
against corruption, Civil Societies role in the fight against corruption,
Extractive industries and corruption, Taxation and Accountability,
President’s role in the fight against corruption and many more. This
booklet is in Pashto and Dari languages and is available online.
Booklet on De-radicalization to prevent Extremism in
Afghanistan: one of the focus areas of AJO is Counter Violent
Extremism (CVE). AJO is member of CVE working group and has been
active participant in various national and international conferences,
seminars and events on CVE. AJO felt the gap of publication on the topic
in Afghanistan where radicalization, extremism and terrorism has put the
country on an edge to threat not only for Afghanistan but also for the
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world. This booklet is in three languages (Pashto, Dari and English) and is
available in soft and hard copies.
Our
Achievements,
Progress and
Challenges
Since 2011, AJO has implemented projects including capacity building and
institutional reform of the government and non-government institutions
including justice institutions and law enforcements, the Afghanistan
Independent Bar Association. Conducted public awareness and advocacy
campaigns, organized and conducted exchange programs to Turkey,
Tunisia, Egypt and India, and trained more than 1000 judges,
prosecutors, defense lawyers, police, mullahs, real estate agents, money
exchange and hawla owners and the members of the FinTraca on various
substantive and procedural laws including Anti-Corruption, anti-money
laundering, anti-terrorism and financing of terrorism, and the criminal
procedure code.
AJO has held many conferences, seminars and workshops on a variety of
topics to raise public awareness and engagement including women’s
participation in the peace process, Access to Information Law, use of
children as suicide bombers, and fighting corruption of which some
conferences were organized in collaboration and cooperation with the
regional institutions in Kabul, Islamabad, Delhi and Sri Lanka.
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AJO also conducted surveys, research, and public opinion polls throughout
Afghanistan. Wrote and published policy briefs, analytical reports, book
chapter, and books on countering terrorism and countering violent
extremism, transitional justice, human security, and anti and counter
corruption.
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Looking Ahead
AJO is looking forward to move from an NGO status to Think Tank. While
AJO has come a long way since its establishment in 2011, a rapidly
changing environment provides many opportunities for us to evolve in
new directions. Looking ahead, there are a number of areas where AJO
can achieve change by adapting itself and working with others on
common goals. AJO will also focus on its strategic plan 2016-2020 to
achieve goals set for each thematic area of focus and become an
organization of change. The focus areas are Political Violence & Terrorism,
Countering Violent Extremism, Governance & Rights and Economic Policy
Issues. AJO will focus more on policy research and policy advocacy and
will maintain a strong commitment to further increasing the quality of
work standards.
About AJO
Afghanistan Justice Organization (AJO) is an Afghan-led, non-profit, and
non-partisan organization promotes democracy, governance and rule of
law through project design and management, project performance and
evaluation, training and capacity development, policy research and
analysis, and public awareness campaigns and advocacy.
AJO is governed by the board of directors and managed by its executive
team. The current team consists of a President, Vice President for
Program Management and Operation, and departments include Project
Design & Management, Communications, Strategic Studies, Capacity
Building and Training, Performance Evaluation, Evidence Based Research,
Public Awareness and Advocacy, Information Technology, Finance and
Procurement, and Human Resources.
The management has combined experience of 20 years in Afghanistan
alone. AJO’s leadership consists of Afghan-American lawyer, former
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judges and prosecutors, professors, radio and television personalities,
journalists, and monitoring and evaluation specialists.
AJO is member of Afghanistan Civil Society Forum (ACSF), Global
Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Regional
Center for Strategic Studies (RCSS) and Consortium of South Asian Think
Tanks (COSATT).
Millennium Development LLC (MD)
Millennium Development (MD) is a Virginia Limited Liability Company
established in July 2012 with the sole purpose of providing
groundbreaking solutions to institutional and political challenges in conflict
and post-conflict countries. MD is an expert in governance programming
with a focus on addressing rule of law and justice and peace-building.
Those experiences equipped MD to find unique solutions to complex
issues and collaborate with wide range of stakeholders, beneficiaries and
donors often under difficult circumstances. MD’s delivery model features
flexibility, cost management and controls, utilization of local expertise,
safety and security, and a robust monitoring and evaluation program
reporting on results.
Afghan Zariza (AZ)
The Afghan Zariza (Millennium) is designed to inform, educate, and
engage young generation inside and outside Afghanistan. The Zariza’s
goal is to empower Afghans to create better future through knowledge
and actionable, positive and uplifting reporting and news. The Afghan
Zariza is served by more than 15 journalists, reporters and editors
throughout Afghanistan, and receives contents from academics,
professionals and analysts around the world. Zariza has already
established Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube accounts
which it intends to heavily use to promote its website and magazine.
Afghanistan Law Library (ALL)
ALL is an electronic tool allowing you to find Afghan Laws. It is designed
to meet the specific needs of the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers,
law and Shari’a professors and students, the larger business community
both domestic and internationals who are investing or are already in
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Afghanistan, international lawyers, and academics. Afghan Laws provides
online legal research, continuing legal education by introducing new laws,
laws amended, legislative tracking and litigation forms and shares
knowledge through a discussion portal for its users.
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Contact
For media inquiries, contact: [email protected]
Tel. +93 (0) 20 231 1904
For more info, visit:
www.afghanjustice.org www.afghanzariza.com
www.afghanlaws.com www.mdllcc.com
Wazir Akbar Khan St#15, Lane#6 (right),
House#263 Kabul, Afghanistan
www.afghanjustice.org
About AJO
The Afghanistan Justice
Organization (AJO) is an
Afghan-led, non-profit, and
non-partisan organization
promotes democracy,
governance and rule of law
through project design and
management, project
performance and evaluation,
training and capacity
development, policy research
and analysis, and public
awareness campaigns and
advocacy.