No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) is organising a training workshop in Kabul on conflict mapping for the staff of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) From 16 to 21 July 2007. The scope of the workshop is to undertake an assessment/a review of the conflict mapping work carried out by the AIHRC since the previous training course organized by NPWJ in December 2005 and to provide a refresher course on how to analyse the material/data gathered so far.
The training takes place in the context of the Afghan Plan of Action for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation, which was adopted by the Afghan Government on Monday, 12 December 2005, and which calls for some form of documentation to be done, with a view to establishing an historical record and, eventually, informing the work of any accountability mechanisms that may be set up for Afghanistan.
During the five-day training, NPWJ experts will provide staff of the AIHRC with an overview of what is involved in the design and implementation of a conflict mapping program, to equip them with the basic methodological skills necessary to the effective management and factual analysis of the data once it has been gathered and to assist in the design of a program for Afghanistan. Conflict Mapping aims to reconstruct the chain of events during conflicts through collection and analysis of information from various sources, including victims and witnesses of violations of international law. By overlaying this information with order of battle and command structures of the various forces as they evolved over time and space, conflict mapping aims to analyse the decision-making processes and ascertain the role of those who bear the greatest responsibility for policies of systematic and massive violations of the laws of war during armed conflict.
“The commissioners and staff of the AIHRC are very dedicated to their work and particularly with providing some sort of accountability for the crimes committed in Afghanistan over the course of 25 years,” said Alison Smith, Coordinator of NPWJ’s International Criminal Justice Program. “It will be a difficult task both in terms of designing the details of a conflict mapping program and in its implementation. They are fully aware of the enormity of the task ahead of them, which was brought home by our descriptions and discussions on the conflict mapping programs in Kosova and Sierra Leone and the differences between the situation in those countries and the situation in Afghanistan. But we are confident that given their dedication and commitment to a brighter future for Afghanistan, they will overcome the many obstacles and fulfil the tasks assigned to them by the Action Plan for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation in Afghanistan.”
No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) is an international non-profit organisation working for the establishment of an effective international criminal justice system and in support of accountability mechanisms for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, with a view to strengthening democracy and the rule of law worldwide. Much of its work is conducted in the field, gathering evidence, providing technical support, seconding experts and conducting extensive outreach campaigns. Extensive fieldwork has been conducted in Kosovo, in East Timor and in Sierra Leone.
For further information, contact Alison Smith on asmith@npwj.org
