Declaration by Participants of ‘Peace, Media and Civil Society’ Conference

DECLARATION

RELEASED BY THE PARTICIPANTS OF

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PEACE, MEDIA AND CIVIL SOCIETY

EVENT ORGANIZED BY: DEVELOPMENT AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICES FOR AFGHANISTAN/THE KILLID GROUP

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The “National Conference  of Peace, Media and Civil Society” funded by EU/SIDA was an initiative, co-organized by  The Killid Group, which is the media wing of the Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan (DHSA), in close collaboration with The Liaison Office (TLO) as the leading and coordinating entity in the consortium, on December 08 2020.

We express our profound thanks and gratitude to all—the government officials, media representatives, clerics, professors, civil society activists, peace activists, elders, women and men—who attended the conference and supported us with their valuable inputs on the peace process.

Media and civil society organizations in Afghanistan, more than anyone else, have had an in-depth understanding of their country’s tragedy and the implications of war and conflict, and therefore, they have been looking for the most effective and logical course of action to end violence and establish peace and national reconciliation. One of the feasible mechanisms they usually practice on the ground is to embolden people’s ideas regarding the benefits and positive outcomes of peace.

Your strong presence in today’s conference shows that our voices are growing louder and louder and we are becoming more effective towards promotion of peace. It is hoped this time the efforts for peace will not be in vain.

The conference was held amid intra-Afghan peace negotiations, already began in the Qatari capital of Doha, with both sides having agreed on the procedural principles and setting the agenda of the peace talks to move forward and support the process of ending violence and establishing sustainable and dignified peace in Afghanistan.

Negotiation is not easy, but to achieve a desired outcome, negotiating teams should avoid persisting on their personal and/or their groups/political faction’s interests which create hurdles on the way to the dialogue.

Important views were shared by participants of the conference which can help negotiators reach a political settlement. By mentioning it again in this declaration, we urge the negotiating team to pay due attention to it.

Afghanistan has been bearing the brunt of four decades of tragedy and war. Considering this harsh reality, participants of the conference who all represent the long-suffering Afghan nation deliver the following messages to the Afghan government, leaders across the political spectrum, religious clerics, anti-government elements, leaders of the region and around the globe, the international community and the countries which are key players in Afghanistan’s peace process.

DECLARATION

We, the participants of the “National Conference of Peace, Media and Civil Society” declare that,

1. We support the peace process and we demand for a just, sustainable and dignified peace in our country;
2. To help build trust [among conflicting sides], to mitigate and/or to put a stop to civilian casualties, and to ensure the intra-Afghan dialogue would have an outcome, negotiating teams of the Afghan government and the Taliban should declare and observe an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire;
3. Access to information is a fundamental human right for everybody; this right, therefore, shall be guaranteed by the Afghan government and the Taliban during peace negotiations and after reaching a peace agreement;
4. Achievements of the last two decades i.e., human rights, freedom of expression and the democracy, rights of women and the victims of the long and devastating war as well as rights of minorities should be considered as the main items in the peace dialogue and guaranteed in the post-peace-accord era;
5. We urge all parties who are involved in helping peace come true, not to sacrifice peace to personal/group interests, but to support the ongoing peace talks and put efforts for achieving the desired outcomes;
6. We urge all the international organizations which endorse peace in Afghanistan to carry on putting efforts to support actions by civil society organizations and media with respect to peace building and conflict resolution in the country and help strengthen capacities of civil society organizations;
7. Considering human values and international commitments, we call on the global community to support Afghanistan’s peace process and hamper any intentional interference;
8. Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan shall remain intact; however, after the peace agreement, any amendment to its provisions shall be made on the basis of the mechanism provided by the constitution.
9. Regime change should be by no means the price for peace negotiations;
10. The role of stakeholders in the peace of Afghanistan, especially neighboring countries and the United States, must be fully transparent, and in this respect, there must be clear and practical guarantees;
11. The role of international and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the European Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and other organizations should be constructive and facilitating in the Afghan peace process.
12. The peace process is not detrimental to any group; we ask the negotiating teams to put straight out efforts for a successful outcome of the talks.