Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration

Programme

(UNDP Support)

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

2015 FIRST QUARTERLY PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT

DONORS

PROJECT INFORMATION

Project ID: 00060777 (NIM) Duration: August 2010 – July 2015 ANDS Component: Security Contributing to NPP: Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration

Programme CPAP Outcome: Improved legitimate, transparent and inclusive

governance at all levels that enables progressive realization of human rights.

UNDP Strategic Plan Component: Countries are able to reduce the likelihood of conflict and lower the risk of natural disasters, including from climate change. Total Budget: USD 221,205,252 Annual Budget 2015: USD 31,958,000 Unfunded Amount: USD 20,523,000 Implementing Partner: APRP Joint Secretariat Key Responsible Parties: APRP Joint Secretariat Chief Technical Advisor: William Ozkaptan Responsible Assistant Country Director: Shoaib Timory

Denmark Germany Italy

Japan Netherlands Spain

Republic of Korea

Cover Photo: Peace slogans “We want Peace” taken in various parts of Kandahar province

ACRONYMS

AGEs Anti Government Elements ANSF Afghan National Security Forces APRP Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme AWP Annual Work Plan CSO Civil Society Organization FOCS Financial Oversight Committee Secretariat FOC Financial Oversight Committee FRIC Force Reintegration Cell GEP Gender Equality Project GIROA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan HPC High Peace Council IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IMA Independent Monitoring Agent ISAF International Security Assistance Force JS Joint Secretariat LMs Line Ministries MA Monitoring Agent MAIL Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MoF Ministry of Finance MoI Ministry of Interior MoLSAMD Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled MoPW Ministry of Public Works MRRD Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development PB Project Board PFM Public Financial Management PGs Provincial Governors PJSTs Provincial Joint Secretariat Teams PPCs Provincial Peace Committees PWC Public Works Corps RPC Regional Programme Coordinator SGPs Small Grant Projects SOPs Standard Operating Procedures TA Transitional Assistance UNDP United Nations Development Programme

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 1

II. RESULTS...................................................................................................................................................... 3

OUTPUT 1 (ID: 00079526): Three windows of the Peace and Reintegration Trust Fund is effectively

managed and monitored ............................................................................................................................... 3

OUTPUT 2 (ID: 00079480): APRP central structures effectively deliver planning, monitoring,

implementation coordination, outreach and reporting on key components of APRP .................................. 8

OUTPUT 3 (ID: 00079527): Subnational structures of APRP effectively deliver key components at the local

level .............................................................................................................................................................. 11

III. GENDER SPECIFIC RESULTS .................................................................................................................. 22

IV. PARTNERSHIPS ..................................................................................................................................... 23

V. ISSUES .................................................................................................................................................. 24

VI. RISKS ..................................................................................................................................................... 25

VII. LESSONS LEARNED ............................................................................................................................... 26

VIII. FUTURE PLANS ..................................................................................................................................... 26

IX. ANNEXES .............................................................................................................................................. 28

A. ANNEX-1: FINANCIAL TABLE ................................................................................................................ 28

B. ANNES-2: EXPENSES BY OUTPUTS ....................................................................................................... 29

C. ANNEX-3: EXPENSES BY DONOR .......................................................................................................... 30

D. ANNEX-4: RISK LOG for 2015 ............................................................................................................... 31

E. ANNEX-5: ISSUE LOG for 2015 ............................................................................................................. 34

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I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme (APRP) has worked since 2010 to promote peace, reconciliation and security in Afghan communities through outreach, reintegration, and community recovery. During the first quarter (Q1) 2015, APRP has continued supporting the Government of Afghanistan’s strategy for peace, reconciliation and reintegration. With the Afghan Government’s new focus on high level reconciliation and negotiations, the High Peace Council (HPC) is leading the effort by supporting negotiations and reconciliation. At the sub national level, the HPC and Joint Secretariat (JS) support the national level negotiation and reconciliation program with peacebuilding and reintegration activities within the communities. The APRP-UNDP Support Project provides support to the JS and overall APRP programme.

During Q1, the most significant APRP development was HE President Ghani’s decision on reforming the HPC’s structure and mandate. The President’s decision on the HPC’s leadership and membership is expected in Q2. The President’s decision demonstrated the commitment of the Afghan Government to use APRP as a vehicle for its peace efforts. The reforms, among other structural changes, reduced the HPC committees to three: Negotiation Committee, Provincial Affairs’ Committee, and Public Outreach and Strategic Communications Committee. An Advisory Board of Influential women is planned to be set as well. The board will assure the participation of women in reconciliation efforts. The HPC is expected to have the overall leading role in negotiating a ceasefire and peace agreement through formal peace talks and mobilizing wider support to peace process and participation of Afghans people. In this regard, the key focus areas of the HPC will include; a) Policy coordination for effective engagement with key stakeholders, b) Leading and facilitating initiatives for confidence building, countering the narrative of violence through engagement of Ulemas (both at national and international levels), advocacy, public communication, and developing a pro–peace narrative, c) reaching out and leading efforts for promoting reconciliation and wider participation of Afghans at national and subnational levels, d) overseeing and facilitating the negotiation and implementation of possible peace agreement and reintegration process of leaders and fighters and e) seeking out a mutually trusted country or a trusted mediator who can help access and verify the main structure of Taliban leadership and facilitate talks between the parties. The APRP-UNDP Support Project supported the APRP in its coordination and dialogue with donors and other stakeholders. This included the reshaping of the APRP 2015 Strategy for an extended three year period with the primary objective of securing peace in Afghanistan. The main focus in Q1 was to ensure that APRP activities continued progressing despite the uncertainties of the overall funding situation in 2015. This was made possible due to carry over funds from 2014 for “Windows” B and C. A Q1 emergency budget was approved by the Technical Committee and Q1 Annual Work Plan was then approved by the Project Board. This meant a slowdown of the programme implementation momentum in Q1 due to the approval of only one quarter’s budget as opposed to the full year budget. Despite this reality, the programme maintained the level of operation to ensure important components such as reintegration, reconciliation and negotiations

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continued to function. The carry over funds were: Window B – USD 11.5 million and Window C – USD 2.8. The APRP-UNDP Support Project is responsible for channelling funds through Window B. The carry over funds are expected to fund APRP through to 30 June 2015. The funding for the second half of 2015 now appears to be in hand. President Ghani’s visit to Washington, DC resulted in a Joint Statement with US President Obama recognizing APRP and the pledge of USD 10 million for 2015. In addition, the Netherlands Government has provided APRP with a USD 12 Million total commitment for three years beginning with USD 4 Million in 2015. The APRP-UNDP Support Project has continued its focus on increased coordination and common visioning with donors, the Joint Secretariat (JS) and other stakeholders in order to mobilize resources and political support for the peace process. At the national level, the APRP-UNDP Support Project supported the management of the APRP Trust Fund. The day-to-day management of the Trust Fund is handled by the Financial Oversight Committee (FOC) staff, with technical support provided by UNDP to ensure transparency and accountability of donor funds. As of 31 March 2015, eleven countries had contributed a total of over USD 212.18 million across the three windows of the Trust Fund. In the Q1 of 2015, USD 2.77 million was expended from Window B. At the sub-national level, the APRP-UNDP Support Project Regional Offices continue to support provincial-level structures that are the core of the APRP programme. According to the JS reports, 459 ex-combatants renounced arms and joined the peace programme in the first quarter, bringing the total number of reintegrees to 9,971. Of the total number of reintegrees, 50 are commanders or leaders. Transitional Assistance (TA) packages of cash assistance were distributed to 474 reintegrees in the first quarter, bringing the cumulative number of TA packages distributed to 9,794. By the end of the first quarter, the total number of weapons collected or registered by APRP from reintegrees was 7,783, with 451 weapons collected in 2015. The APRP-UNDP Support Project engaged an Independent Monitoring Agent (IMA) in mid-2014 and the IMA concluded its assignment in January 2015. The IMA conducted both monitoring and review of certain aspects of the programme in four provinces to assess the effectiveness of the programme. The findings and recommendations of the IMA have been shared with the APRP CEO and Deputy CEO by UNDP and will be discussed during the next Project Board Meeting planned during the month of May 2015. Moreover, the APRP-UNDP Support Project has already commenced preparations of Action Plan to address the recommendations of the IMA and will engage six newly recruited UNDP National Regional Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officers to regularly monitor the implementation of the programme and report on measures to improve programme operations. In 2015, UNDP is focusing on supporting the APRP in working towards the achievement of three main outputs: 1) All two windows of the Peace and Reintegration Trust Fund are effectively managed (UNDP only manages Window B); 2) APRP central structures effectively deliver planning, monitoring, coordination and reporting on key components of APRP; and 3)

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Subnational structures of APRP effectively deliver key components at the local level. Former Output 4 (Contributions made to sustainable peace and reintegration in provinces through financial and programmatic support to the line ministries' community recovery programmes) was phased out at the end of 2014. This followed the phasing out of the community recovery projects funded by APRP through the Line Ministries. Small Grants Projects (SGPs) for community recovery continue to be implemented directly by the PJSTs and it is expected that this component of the programme will increase in 2015. Progress was made in Q1 towards the achievement of outputs are in the following results section.

II. RESULTS

OUTPUT 1 (ID: 00079526): Three windows of the Peace and Reintegration Trust

Fund is effectively managed and monitored

In 2015, following the phasing out of Line Ministries (LMs), Financial Oversight Committee Secretariat (FOCS) continued its financial management responsibility through the Trust Fund Management mainly for Window B and C in facilitating the review and approval of the Annual Work plan (AWP). The FOCS ensured the Window B funding and allocations through Ministry of Finance allotment were processed on time as soon as Q1 2015 budget was approved by the Technical Committee (TC) and endorsed by the Project Board (PB). The approval of the 2015 budget followed a review process by TC members and due to structural review requirements and funding gap that exists, the budget was approved for only Q1 as emergency budget. APRP programme as planned total budget of USD 41.958 for 2015 with distribution as follows:

i. Window B – USD 31.958 million ii. Window C – USD 10. million

The above financial plan consists of balances from 2014 which are carried forward into 2015 as

follows:

i. Window B – USD 11.5 million

ii. Window C – USD 2.8 million

Given this reality, the TC decided to approve a Q1 budget in the amount of USD 9.9 million, whereby Window-B budget was USD 7.03 million and Window-C budget was USD 2.8 million. The APRP-UNDP Support Project, together with Afghan Government, continued their joint efforts to mobilize resources. The Netherlands Government provided a commitment of USD 12 million over a period of three years. The USA Government, for the first time, pledged USD 10 million for 2015

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through Window B. These commitments have enabled the APRP to plan for the remainder of the full year while efforts are being made to facilitate the contributions from both governments.

At the same time, the resource mobilization efforts continue to focus on both 2015 and beyond in preparation for the extension of the programme. Last year, the TC approved a five month extension from the planned end date of 31 July 2015 to 31 December 2015. The current plans, supported by the Afghan Government, UNDP and some donors, calls for the programme to be extended for a period of three years beginning on 1 August 2015. These plans are expected to be approved during the second quarter (Q2) by the Project Board through a formal extension of the Project Document.

Indicator 1.1: Percentage of monthly reports on APRP Trust Fund prepared and distributed to APRP stakeholders as per schedule established in FOC work plan.

The FOC Secretariat focused its support during the Q1 in supporting the TC and JS to establish the 2015 budget and AWP. The monthly reports for Q1 have been planned as per practice and FOCS will be distributing all Q1 reports during the month of April 2015. One important factor to recognize is 2015 AWP was approved during the month of March 2015 when the funds were disbursed from UNDP to the government for implementation of the 2015 activities.

Clearly, with the Q1 emergency AWP approved during the month of March, January and February months resulted in costs which were recurring to support the structure of the programme as well as supporting projects which were being implemented. However, payments to these projects commenced during the month of March when the funds were available and clearly the March execution would reflect such. Moreover, the government retained a small balance from 2014 in their bank accounts which were used to continue covering the operational costs of the programme and some minor project payments.

For the month of March 2015, there was a significant payments processed which would demonstrate the momentum built up in the operations of the program while keeping in mind that new projects are being formulated without final approvals due to lack of clarity on funding for full year. All efforts are being made to ensure the entire 2015 AWP is fully funded and we aim at achieving this during Q2 which would enable reporting to revert to normal sequence.

Indicator 1.2: Number of monitoring visits planned, conducted, and reports submitted to JS, LMs and UNDP.

The FOCS focused its efforts to provide support at the central level in terms of review of LMs final payments as well as processing of the minor spilled over expenditure from 2014. This includes follow ups with the Ministry of Interior (MOI) long outstanding advances and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) un-cleared 2014 expenditures which needed to be reviewed internally by Special Disbursement Unit of Ministry of Finance (MOF) for clearance. These efforts resulted in reducing significantly the outstanding advance with MOI by over 60% and finalization of MRRD clearing of expenditure and recording of expenditure into government

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financial management system. This also enabled UNDP to record the expenditure during the month of March 2015 for all 2014 pending expenditure which was under MOF review.

As part of Trust Fund monitoring and during the visits, FOCS shared its findings during this exercise with JS and UNDP to ensure the matter received management attention and solution realized. UNDP support team equally provided support to MOF as well as off- budget ministry, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) to finalize the 2014 pending payments. During the closure of year 2014, MAIL had a number of projects which were provided with final payments. After consultations with JS management, the MAIL finance team was retained for Q1 to ensure both final payments are processed within Q1 and support the audit exercise.

Consequently, the JS Monitoring Unit conducted visits in Laghman, Ningarhar and Kunar provinces during this period. The visits focused on overall monitoring of programme including office arrangement for the PJST and on-going Small Grants projects (SGPs) monitoring. The visit identified areas of support to the PJST office for all provinces and recommendations and support was provided at the provincial office. As for the SGP projects, the projects were found to be supporting local communities in employment and especially for the reintegrees. In one district, Batikoot in Nangarhar Province, 4 deep wells projects were found to have challenges and the team provided support to ensure implementation is proceeding accordingly.

Indicator 1.3: MoF facilitates quarterly FOC meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation, and preparation and distribution of minutes.

FOCS worked closely with JS management and participated in TCs during review of 2015 budget, TC deliberations and 2015 Q1 budget review and approval by TC. The FOCS also participated in the Virtual Project Board meeting held during the month of March to review and approve the Q1 emergency AWP. Due to lack of full year funding, the FOC quarterly meeting was not scheduled as per plan.

The current plan for FOC is during Q2 when the funding commitments for full 2015 will be established from APRP donors. Resource mobilization efforts are underway from all parties to ensure the entire year budget is funded. The efforts are also made to prepare the requirements for the formal extension of project covering both the initial extension of 2015 and three years based on government’s plan.

EXPENSES FOR THE QUARTER

During Q1 of 2015, a total of USD 53,813 (representing 80% of budget) was spent for this output.

For more details, please see Annex 2.

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Table 1: Three windows of the Peace and Reintegration Trust Fund is effectively managed and monitored

APRP Indicators 2015 Annual Target &

Baseline

Q-1 Planned Q-1 Actual Status Comments

1.1: Percentage of monthly reports

on APRP Trust Fund (TF) prepared

and distributed to APRP

stakeholders as per schedule

established in FOC work plan

Target: 100% of monthly

APRP TF reports distributed

within the target date

established in the FOC work

plan.

Baseline: No clear annual

scheduling or tracking system

for distribution of Trust Fund

Reports

3 reports covering

the months of

January, February

and March 2015

The January, February and March TF

reports will be finalized in April 2015

when the March period is closed.

The 2015 budget and

AWP were approved

during the month of

March 2015 which

affected the reporting

timelines. All reports for

q1 will be ready during

the month of April.

1.2: Number of monitoring visits

planned, conducted, and reports

submitted to JS, LMs and UNDP

Target: Four monitoring visits

planned, conducted and

reports submitted to JS, LM,

and UNDP.

Baseline: Visit made on ad hoc

basis

Four monitoring

visits planned for

Q1 by all parties.

Three visits

planned by JS for

Q1.

Five visits were made by FOCS (MoI,

MoD, IDLG and NDS) with focus to

support the planning and approval of

the 2015 budget. The visits were made

to JS and MAIL supporting the

finalization of 2014 pending payments

and clear outstanding advances.

JS monitoring team visited three

provinces as per plan – Langman,

Ningarhar and Kunar to monitor

progress of Small Grants projects and

support PJST office.

Fully achieved

1.3: Facilitates quarterly FOC

meetings, including scheduling,

Target: FOC Quarterly

meeting minutes are

One FOC meeting FOC meeting was not held due to lack

of full year funding. Instead, TC and PB

Lack of full year funding

impeded FOC meeting to

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APRP Indicators 2015 Annual Target &

Baseline

Q-1 Planned Q-1 Actual Status Comments

agenda preparation, and

preparation and distribution of

minutes

distributed to participants

within 2 weeks following the

meeting.

Baseline: Insufficient data

regarding FOC meeting

facilitation

planned for Q1 meetings were held to review and

approve both 2015 budget and AWP.

be held.

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OUTPUT 2 (ID: 00079480): APRP central structures effectively deliver planning, monitoring, implementation coordination, outreach and reporting on key components of APRP

Indicator 2.1: Number of consultation Meetings held between UNDP and HPC leadership to develop peace and reconciliation strategy

During the first quarter of 2015, eight consultative meetings were held jointly with various members of the JS and the HPC to exchange views, share lessons learned, and gather insights on finalizing the Afghan Government’s 2015 peace and reconciliation strategy. The APRP-UNDP Support Project provided technical support to the JS management during the review process of the current status of the programme and shaping up of the revision of the strategy. This process also includes planning process for 2015 Annual Work Plan which was concluded during the month of January 2015 and informed by the strategic vision of the programme for this year. As a result, the strategy was updated and final version was produced in January 2015 with the support of the UNDP support team. JS submitted the strategy to the donors and its government and non-government partners for support and implementation.

Indicator 2.2: Number of consultation meetings held between UNDP and JS Leadership on implementation strategy

The APRP-UNDP Support Project continued its support of the JS in formulating the focus for 2015 and engaging JS management on the reforms of the HPC. The reforms are part of the 2015 Strategy to ensure the HPC lays importance on the efforts to reach reconciliation and high level negotiations. To this end, ten meetings were held at senior and management levels with JS during the reporting quarter. The JS also organized a workshop with the UNDP Regional Programme Coordinators to provide significant input towards the reform of the Provincial Peace Councils (PPCs). The purpose of the various meetings was to continue dialogue and support the JS management with the necessary reviews and shaping of the reforms of the HPC. Given the delays in the announcement of decisions by the Afghan leadership on the structure and composition of the HPC as the lead government institution for peace and reconciliation, the pace of the implementation of the goals in the 2015 strategy was slow. The UNDP took a proactive approach in consistently engaging with the JS senior management to deliver the programs and services while continuing to make progress on the political level.

Indicator 2.3: Number of donor coordination meetings facilitated by UNDP to gather political and financial support for APRP

The APRP-UNDP Support Project focused its efforts in providing regular updates and engaged in consultations with APRP donors together with the JS management. The purpose of the consultations were to realize full funding of APRP 2015 programme at USD 41.958 million. In doing so, eight meetings were held with APRP partners and donors both at senior and technical levels to assess progress in APRP, update donors on the developments in reconciliation process as well as decisions of the Afghan government leadership regarding

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peace and reconciliation process. The most critical factor was the delay in the announcement of decisions on the part of the Afghan Government regarding the future structure of the HPC and its priorities which affected the funding commitments from the APRP donors for 2015 full year budget. As a result of consistent consultations with JS senior management and APRP donors and partners, a decision was reached to proceed with an emergency budget for the first quarter to support the on-going programs while continue to focus on securing financial support for the entire year. So far, two APRP (Netherlands and USA) donors have made their pledges and commitments for 2015 to 2018 funding of programme while the resource mobilization efforts continue for the programme for 2015 and beyond. There are also efforts and discussions with new donors including Norway on possibility of funding APRP in 2015 and beyond expected to be realized during the second quarter of 2015.

Indicator 2.4: Number of new M&E systems/tools introduced by UNDP that are adopted by JS or PJSTs.

By the end of the first quarter, notable development has been made in strengthening monitoring system both for JS and UNDP support team. A number of steps have been taken to review current monitoring plans, tools, and reporting system. In conjunction with JS M&E unit, UNDP support M&E unit has been engaged in planning and conducting joint monitoring mission, data collection for keeping track on results/ development trend and assessment of projects for regular monitoring and reporting. In 2015, UNDP support team introduced an M&E unit and has engaged an M&E specialist to facilitate this important work for the programme. The unit will also have six Regional M&E Officers required to support PJSTs, monitor provincial implementation, collect data for analysis and prepare reports from provinces. The six M&E Officers are expected to join the programme by June 2015.

EXPENSES FOR THE QUARTER

During Q1 of 2015, a total of USD 153,356 (representing 21% of budget) was spent for this

output. For more details, please see Annex 2.

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Table 2: Ouput-2 (APRP central structures effectively deliver planning, monitoring, implementation coordination, outreach and

reporting on key components of APRP)

APRP Indicators 2015 Annual Target & Baseline

Q-1 Planned Q-1 Actual Status Comments

2.1 Number of consultation Meetings held between UNDP and HPC leadership to develop peace and reconciliation strategy

Target: 24 consultations between UNDP and HPC leadership on peace and reconciliation strategy Baseline: 12 consultations

6 consultation

meetings held

between UNDP and

HPC leadership on

peace and

reconciliation strategy

8 consultation meetings held between

UNDP and HPC leadership on peace and

reconciliation strategy.

Fully Achieved

2.2: Number of consultation meetings held between UNDP and JS Leadership on implementation strategy

Target: 24 consultations between UNDP and JS Leadership on implementation strategy Baseline: 12 Annual target

6 consultation

meetings held

between UNDP and JS

Leadership on

implementation

strategy

10 meetings were held at senior and

management levels with JS

Fully achieved

2.3: Number of donor coordination meetings facilitated by UNDP to gather political and financial support for APRP

Target: 12 donor coordination meetings facilitated by UNDP Baseline: 6 Coordination meetings

3 donor coordination meetings facilitated by UNDP to gather political and financial support for APRP

8 meetings were held with APRP

partners and donors both at senior and

technical levels to assess progress in

APRP and to update donors on the

developments

Fully achieved

2.4: Number of new M&E systems/tools introduced by UNDP that are adopted by JS or PJST.

Target: Six new M&E systems/ tools introduced by UNDP and adopted by JS or PJST. Baseline: 2 Tools / systems

Annual target for the establishment of the system and tools

Joint effort by JS and UNDP for

strengthening current monitoring

system has been initiated. Development

of monitoring plan, and tools for field

mission and reporting is under progress.

UNDP support team

established an M&E

unit to support this

plan

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APRP funded Small Grant Project inaugurated in the Takhar Province

Inauguration ceremony of a community recovery project (Cable Bridge) was held in the Jangal area of Yangi Qala District of the Takhar province.

Takhar peace committee Head, Deputy of the Rural Rehabilitation department, district officials of the Yangi Qala District, Head of the district development council, APPR provincial team, reconciled commanders, Islamic scholars, community elders and people participated in this gathering.

The tier two small grant project was proposed by the Yangi Qala district for 56 reintegrated commanders and 30 villagers (community people) including their key commander, Samillah Selab, commander Mohammad Hashim and commander Abdul Zahir who joined the Afghanistan peace and reintegration program.

Government officials, reintegrees and community people appreciated the APRP program for fulfilling its commitment to the reintegrees and community by building this much needed bridge for the communities. Reintegrated commander Mr. Selab mentioned during the opening that, “we are very much thankful to the Afghan Government and APRP program for building this nice bridge and a lot of other facilities which are provided to us during the last couple of years.” The bridge would serve the villagers with easy commute to the district capital and give access to the other villages in the district.

OUTPUT 3 (ID: 00079527): Subnational structures of APRP effectively deliver key components at the local level

Indicator 3.1: No. of reconciled AGEs biometrically enrolled and TA distributed

During the first quarter of 2015, a total of 494 AGEs were biometrically enrolled into the programme and their biometric data collected; 29 in January, 296 in February, 169 in March, respectively. As part of programme support, transitional assistance was provided to 474 of the reintegrees which brought the total number of reintegrees to 9,971 and the transitional assistance recipients to 9,794 former AGEs. The picture below captures the moment of biometric enrolment at Ministry of Interior at Sari Pul Province.

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Ministry of interior personnel biometrically register

reintegrees in Sari Pul province

JS Operations momentum continued to accelerate through various engagements with insurgent groups in key provinces in Afghanistan. The JS Operations department conducted the reintegration of former insurgents in 16 provinces and held numerous meetings with provincial government authorities and PPC members during which field operations including potential reintegration opportunities, clarification of procedures, and emphasis on importance of coordination between ANSF, NDS, PG, and PJSTs were discussed. On a regular basis, the security coordination meetings chaired by the Provincial Governors were held at different provinces in which ANSF, NDS, PG, PJST and PPC members participated. JS Operations department also strived to help and assist the provincial authorities in the sub-national planning and implementation of the programme, playing an especially important role in coordination of the programme delivery and processes with the central level. The following table reflects on current status of biometrically enrolled reintegrees and the TA provided.

Indicator TOTAL

31 December 2014

Q1 2015 Cumulative TOTAL

Q1 2015

Reintegrees biometrically enrolled 9,512 494 10,006

Transitional assistance packages delivered 9,320 474 9,794

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Indicator 3.2: No of weapons collected/managed by the MoD

During the first quarter of 2015, a total of 451 light and heavy weapons were collected and handed over to MoD for cantonment. This number includes the weapons that were collected from police HQs, ANA units, and NDS provincial offices that were ceased during operations or confiscated from unlicensed carriers. Biometrics and weapons management activities undertaken by partners including Ministry of Defense (MoD), Ministry of Interior (MoI), National Directorate of Security (NDS) were facilitated. The pictures above captured at the time of weapons collection from Herat and Jawzjan provinces in January 2015. The table below

Kapisa0% Laghman

1%Balkh

1%Faryab

2%

Wardak2%

Parwan4%

Baghlan5%

Logar5%

Herat5%

Jawzjan6%

Kunar6%

Sari Pul7%Nuristan

8%Nangarhar

8%

Kandahar9%

Badakhshan15%

Badghis17%

Reintegrees per province (%) - Q1

Reintegrees surrender their arms in Herat

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states the progress of weapons collected in quarter-01 of 2015 and the cumulative figure as of March 2015.

Indicator TOTAL

31 December 2014

Q1 2015 Cumulative TOTAL

Q1 2015

Weapons collected and registered 7,332 451 7,783

Indicator 3.3: Outreach activities conducted by PPCs, Peace Advocates and reintegrated former AGE commanders in support of peace and reintegration that is recorded

PPCs and PJSTs continued to carry out outreach activities in their respective provinces. It has been reported that up to 55 outreach activities were conducted by PPC and PJST members, Peace Advocates and reintegrated former AGE commanders in all provinces. The full result of the outreach activities is not known yet, but is expected that the outreach will certainly leave effects on the AGEs’ mind-set and will likely bear positive results in the longer term.

Throughout the country, PPCs and PJSTs coordinated with CSOs and organized various outreach activities such as broadcasting peace programs through local radio and local TV shows, distributing peace magazines and journal newsletters of HPC, making speeches during Friday prayer to disseminate peace messages and conducting peace campaigns with tribal elders and religious scholars.

Indicator 3.4: No. of activities organized by APRP provincial teams aimed at promoting

women’s participation in peace process

HPC Gender Department organized a high-level meeting with H.E. the President where women’s participation in the peace process was discussed. Through the female members of PPCs, HPC/JS encourages women participation in the peace process. In addition, the gender unit of JS and the female members of the HPC continuously organize meetings and hold sessions to increase women’s participation in all levels of the peace process.

In East Region, PPCs conducted meetings with Directorate of women’s affairs on supporting peace process by women and strengthening the role of women in peace process. Thirty six women participated in the meeting in Kunar province. Also, Laghman PJST organized meeting with Head and members of Afghan Women Network on women’s role in peace process.

In Central Region, one of the PPC members arranged meetings regularly with CDC women and discussing women role in peace and stability. Several meetings were arranged with women groups in different districts during the reporting period. Throughout the Central and Southeast Regions, PJSTs Public Information Officer organized meetings with women leaders such as Chief of Women Affairs Department, Chief of Women Network, and Chief of Women

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Organizations. The main discussion points were on women role in peace process or women role in peacebuilding in the families and society. In Bamyan Province, PPC participated on Ulemma Conference on women Islamic right and peace and stability. The PPC provided brief speech regarding women role in peace.

On March 8th, the International Women’s Day event was conducted with the assistance of Arman Foundation, the Afghan Women Network and Herat PJST Coordination in Western region. In Northern region, the provincial APRP team also participated in the event in their region to disseminate peace messages.

Last year, 31 women leaders across the country were trained on mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution. They are now playing active roles in their respective communities to resolve local conflicts or neighbor/family disputes. In Samangan Province in Northern region, it was reported that two family disputes were resolved by the facilitation of the women leaders and assistance of DoWA.

A lady striving to build peace in the country

Torpakai Zia one of the Kabul PPC members says that peace is vital need of the human; she believes that youths are the county driving force; even very small groups of the youth can bring very big changes in the country. Youth are the main key for peace, hence she is always organizing workshops in the schools and women networks regarding peace process and benefits of the peaceful life. She organized especial sessions in Sorya girl’s school regarding peace for one month when 35 students were trained on peace activities and delivering peace messages. She also confidently works closely with male groups for the same.

Ms. Torpakai Zia taking interactive sessions with local elderly

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Indicator 3.5: Number of tools developed to ensure SGPs support local peace initiatives and change strategic direction of APRP

One mechanism to facilitate a process to include women in developing SGPs has been developed. As part of social inclusion of vulnerable groups, JS development unit and UNDP support team held preliminary discussions on women empowerment/peacebuilding projects to be delivered through SGP which is regarded as an important strategic approach in APRP peace process. This aims at empowering women with necessary knowledge, skills and practical experiences to become active agents for peace. The instructions/guidelines to include women in this project formation process were developed with the JS and UNDP support team and were disseminated to the regions for taking actions. Logical framework with gender related indicators also needs to be developed in the second quarter reporting period to compliment the first tool.

The second mechanism was also introduced to facilitate formulation of the SGPs for the five eligible sectors. The JS and UNDP support team compiled the information of project types for each eligible sector by collecting the information based on the needs in each region. The list of project types which are conflict sensitive and can be very effective to tackle the causes of the local conflicts were compiled. This list will be shared to the actors in the regions to take further actions.

Small Grants Projects Inception to December 31, 2014 January to March 31, 2015

Total number of SGP projects being implemented

156 26

Number of projects completed 130 19 Number of provinces where SGPs are being implemented

25 10

Number of Districts where SGPs are being implemented

85 20

Number of Reintegrees directly participating in SGP project implementation

2,608 211

Number of community members benefitting from SGPs

181,939 20,786

SGP Summary (Source: JS)

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Indicator 3.6: No of different kinds of groups participating in peace dialogue or advocacy initiatives, by regions

APRP attempts to reach-out to the AGEs in all parts of Afghanistan. In addition to its own resources of PPCs, Peace Advocates, and reintegrated AGE commanders, and APRP regional teams also work closely with various actors such as Ulemma Shura (council of clergies), civil society members, media and tribal/religious leaders to attain its objective. There are specific gender activities planned and achievements highlighted in the latter section of this report. In addition, under “Partnerships” in a latter section of this report, specific activities are highlighted on Ulemmas, HPC and stakeholders meetings and specific achievements detailed.

Central and Southeast Regions:

Women network organization (established in the province level), and civil society (youth, Ulemma and local provincial media) are closely working with PPC and PJST staff. They frequently hold meetings and plan activities. During the reporting quarter, 30 gatherings, meetings and workshops were organized by PPC, civil society, women networks and elders regarding peace activities and individual roles in peace activities. Based on that, dialogues with 3 groups of AGEs in Parwan (10 fighters), Kapisa (12 fighters) and Wardak (30 fighters) provinces are in progress by tribal elders.

Below are examples of the activities and outcome of the different kinds of groups participating in peace dialogue and advocacy.

Kabul – Total of 3 workshops organized by civil society member, Mrs. Torpikai Zia, and women network for women and students of secondary schools named Lisai Soria and Zar Ghona, where PPC head also participated and main topic of the discussion was on peace benefits.

Parwan – 4 gatherings were arranged by civil society (women network (Shabake Zanan Soleh Khoh)), local provincial media (Kabul national Radio TV), elders and youth (Mujtame jawanan) by PJST Public Information Officer, in the gathering of peace activities, “women role in peace and peace messages delivery” were discussed.

Kapisa- Saifora Kohsitani is Chief of Directorate of Women affairs, she organized 3 workshops for Tagab, Mohammad Raqi, Hesai Awal Kohsitan districts regarding

Two elders put aside their grievances aft their tribal disputes addressed by Sari Pul Peace Committee

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women role in peace process and how they can encourage their family members to peace process. PPC female members participated as facilitators for the workshop.

International Women’s Day was celebrated by Directorate of Women affairs in Ghazni province on 8th Mach 2015 where they discussed the role of women in peace and social development with PPC providing peace messages.

South Region: During the reporting period, active participation and involvement of different community groups such as women, men, youth, school children, Ulemma, government officials and civil societies continued throughout the region and had positive impact on the peace and reconciliation program. They successfully engaged several civil society organizations, for instance, Peoples’ Afghan Unity (APU), tribal elders, and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). They organized interactive sessions and sharing meetings to resolve local conflicts related to land dispute and tribal issues. Through outreach activities and advocacy, they brought opportunity for all those groups to come closer and have more discussion for solving problems and support each other to improve social cohesion. Northern Region: PPCs and PJSTs are collaborating with all the actors including civil society, youth, Ulemma, women, religious scholars, tribal leaders, provincial governor, head of NDS, chief of police, district governors, school teachers, students, and DoWA to promote peace and stability in the region. With participation Youth Council for Peace, PPC, local elite and CSOs they engaged in resolving local conflict for land dispute, and tribal issues. For instance, in Faryab province, the CSOs which actively involved were Youths Association of Jamiat and Junbish parties, Afghan Women Education Center (AWEC), women network, Afghan Women Silk Development Center (AWSDC), Women for Women, National Solidarity Program (NSP), and Save the Children. With an initiative of PPC in coordination with local government and CSOs, the total of 130 peace volunteer councils were created at village, district and provincial level. Across the region, Governors took initiatives to organize all the provincial actors to celebrate the International Women’s Day (IWD) in March 2015. During the discussion on IWD, emphasis was laid on the role of women in building peace and social cohesion in the community. Northeastern Region: APRP team has been closely working with youth, media, women as well as Ulemma and holds meetings to discuss overall security situation, as well as peace efforts in the provinces. They have also discussed the women and civil society participation in the peace programme. They organized CSOs, for instance, Empowerment Center for Women (ECW), Lincoln Learning Center for youth and made joint efforts to peace publicity. In this forum they also engaged Islamic scholars, women groups, and media, and reached out to community to discuss issues

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related to peace. However, this region is still fragile because communities have been engaged in fighting therefore the achievement in terms of peace building and social cohesion is not remarkable. East Region:

Religious scholars, civil society, youth, different media, elders, and women have been cooperating and supporting the peace process. Representatives from civil society such as Afghan Sister Society, youth, labour, Sayed Jamaluddin, and students and journalists were involved in the interactive meetings to discuss their challenges and issues related to peace.

Laghman province has good collaborations with Afghan Women’s Network while Kunar and Nuristan provinces have difficulties of involving women due to some limitations in the role of women in peace process. PPC and PJST in coordination with DoWA are actively involving women network by providing literacy courses and vocational trainings. They have been working hard to involve women in peace process through women empowerment.

APRP team supported Afghan Sister Civil Society to publish a monthly magazine called “Lopata” (meaning “scarf” which signifies “dignity to women”) and 5,000 copies were widely distributed in Kunar and Jalalabad. The magazine had important messages especially to youth to get involved and work for peace process.

Western Region: Stakeholders from different departments, line ministries, tribal clusters, and youth participated in Peace dialogues and meetings providing information about the achievements of PPC and their tome in peace issues and the solutions to bringing peace. Media, Ulemma Shura, tribal elders, civil society activists and human rights representatives also took part in these activities. In addition, students of Farah University supported peace program by planting trees around the Farah University compound and spreading peace messages in the Farah City. It is remarkable that the PPC/PJST worked closely with CSOs and built up healthy working relationship that resulted in launching of self-motivated initiatives on peace and promoting peace in Farah Province. Furthermore, the impact is that the CSOs are now holding peace initiatives and inviting PPC/PJST in their gatherings.

EXPENSES FOR THE QUARTER

During Q1 of 2015, a total of USD 1,687,907 (representing 33% of budget) was spent for this

output. For more details, please see Annex 2.

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Table 3: Output-3 (Subnational structures of APRP effectively deliver key components at the local level)

APRP Indicators 2015 Annual Targets & Baseline

Q-1 Planned Q-1 Actual Status Comments

3.1: No of reconciled AGEs biometrically enrolled and TA distributed

Target: 2,000 new AGEs biometrically enrolled and 2,000 TA packages distributed Baseline: 1716 former AGES reintegrated into APRP; 1694 TA packages distributed in 2014

600 AGEs were

planned to be

reintegrated and 600

TA were planned to be

distributed

494 AGEs were biometrically

enrolled and 474 TA was distributed

to them

Security constraints

Lack of coordination in

some provinces

3.2: No of outreach activities conducted by PPCs in support of peace and reintegration that is recorded

Target: 100 outreach activities conducted by PPCs in support of peace and reintegration that is recorded Baseline: 100 outreach activities

It was planned that a

total of around 25

outreach activities will

be conducted.

Initially it was planned that 25

outreach activities will be conducted

by PPCs, however, with additional

resources of Peace Advocates and

reintegrated AGE commanders, the

number of outreach activities

reached to 55 during the first quarter

of 2015. The peace advocates and

the commanders engaged in the

reintegration projects are the most

effective resources for outreach

activities. These two projects should

be further expanded

Fully achieved

3.3: No. of activities organized by APRP provincial teams aimed at promoting

Target: 20 activities organized by APRP provincial teams aimed at promoting women's

It was planned that a total of 5 activities will be organized by the gender unit of HPC/JS

The gender unit was able to convene

five high level meetings with PPC

female members, women’s rights

organizations and other civil society

Fully achieved

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APRP Indicators 2015 Annual Targets & Baseline

Q-1 Planned Q-1 Actual Status Comments

women's participation in peace process

participation in peace process Baseline: 10 activities organized by APRP provincial teams aimed at promoting women's participation in peace process

during the first quarter groups. In addition, the gender

department also organized a high-

level meeting with H.E the President

where women’s participation in the

peace process was discussed.

3.4: No. of tools developed to ensure SGPs support local peace initiatives and changing strategic direction of APRP

Target: Four tools developed and disseminated to encourage linking SGPs to local peace initiatives Baseline: Current SGP tools focus on community infrastructure projects

Two tools to be developed and disseminated to encourage linking SGPs to local peace initiatives

The concept for the two processes

(tools) has been developed and has

been finalized. It is planned now that

the concepts will be reviewed and

approved, and put into practice

during the second quarter of 2015

3.5: No. of different kinds of groups participating in peace dialogue or advocacy initiatives, by region.

Target: At least 6 different groups (Youth, women, peace, disabled, media, Ulemma groups, etc.) participate in peace dialogue or advocacy initiative per region Baseline: 6 Countrywide groups participation

It was planned that at least one activity will be organized in the first quarter of 2015

The HPC/JS held two meetings (one

with Ulemma and one with civil

society members) for seeking their

support for on-going peace efforts.

Each region involved different kinds

of groups for the peace program and

advocacy.

Fully achieved

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III. GENDER SPECIFIC RESULTS

As a result of the advocacy and networking efforts of the women’s committee of the HPC and the JS Gender Unit, the visibility and inclusion of women in peacebuilding initiatives increased during the first quarter. HPC female members and Capacity Building representatives presented the recommendations to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani regarding the Peace talk’s initiatives. HPC Gender Representatives also had meetings with US embassy and Canadian embassy to discuss on women empowerment and how to boost and accelerate the Gender activities for the year 2015.

HPC/JS Gender Unit designed and printed the Gender Brochure entitled “The Role of Women in the Peace Process” in three languages, Pashto, Dari and English. One thousand copies were printed and distributed to donors, embassies, provinces and other relevant actors. As a follow up, women leaders from PPCs, PJSTs, DoWAs and women networks coordinated and initiated a country wide campaign to discuss on “The Role of Women in the Peace Process”. They actively took part in planning and implementing APRP outreach and advocacy activities in coordination with other relevant actors in their regions and provinces.

In the 2nd half of the last year, the GEP and UNDP Gender Unit of the UNDP country office in coordination with UNDP APRP support team provided training and mentoring to female leaders through “The Women’s Leadership Training for Afghan Women” activity. Thirty one women leaders were trained in advocacy and conflict resolution skills and additional 64 were identified to form a network of 95 women in 16 provinces. In order to fully benefit from this initiative, UNDP APRP support team, JS Gender Unit and JS Development team in coordination with the GEP and UNDP Gender Unit are working on assessing the further needs of the women leaders and planning the capacity building trainings for project formulation on small grants projects.

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IV. PARTNERSHIPS

In order to accelerate the approval and support of various donors for the Afghan Government’s future plan for APRP, the APRP-UNDP Support Project and JS leadership engaged with embassy and donor representatives, to build a common understanding of the future of APRP. Formal and informal consultations were organized to brief donor representative on the status of various outstanding issues, and to ensure common understanding and political support for the topics relevant to the programme.

HPC/JS leadership proactively engaged with following key national partners to improve program implementation and gain support at all levels. HPC/JS had a meeting with the security ministries on how to improve local reintegration and delivery of the program. They also discussed with national media representative to build up a partnership program on how to improve APRP outreach. Several meetings and follow ups were organized with civil society groups and representatives to partner on matters related to peace outreach and local confidence building. At the higher level, JS held a joint event with the spokespersons of the President’s office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior on how to unify messages. HPC leadership also participated in a Parliamentary session and provided insights to the MPs on the peace process and to garner their support and build a national consensus.

APRP-UNDP Support continues to strengthen partnerships with civil society organizations. In the provincial and regional levels, partnership activities between PPCs/PJSTs, government departments and CSOs (Afghan Peoples Unity, Empowerment Center for Women, and Lincoln Learning Center for Youth etc.) took place in all regions during the reporting period. These activities varied in their focus from planning, coordinating activities to implementing events. They implemented various activities such as peace forums, interactive meetings, peace events, speeches at mosques and broadcast of peace programs through radios and TV shows.

Centrally, the APRP-UNDP Support Project continues to work with the GEP and UNDP Gender Unit of the country office in a joint effort on women empowerment and peace building initiatives. At the provincial and regional levels, APRP Regional Program Coordinators (RPCs) and GEP RPCs collaborate each other as well as with the DoWAs, PPCs, PJSTs, and other relevant actors. They are currently coordinating the activity for nationwide N-Peace nominations in their respective regions to reach out to peace activists.

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V. PROJECT CURRENT CHALLENGES

Strategic change in programming With the transfer of APRP LM community recovery projects to the LMs, the assistance package for reintegrees and communities will vary in 2015 from the preceding years. In dealing with this challenge, the involvement of HPC/JS and PPCs/PJSTs while APRP-UNDP Regional Offices will be enhanced to provide more support in tracking progress of TA and other interventions. It will also require extra effort to collect data with adequate evidences at the community levels which would be a key challenge because of current security situation and remoteness of the communities in facilitating the Small Grant Project formulation and implementation.

Challenges facing the peace process The Afghan Government has made peace and reconciliation its top priority and has undertaken steps towards reaching a political settlement. This new momentum for the peace process has raised the expectations of the Afghan people, which has made it critical to have more effective engagement with the communities and different interest groups. APRP and UNDP Support team currently working hand in hand with the donor communities and partners to chart out the course for the peace process. The aim is to have the peace process formalized soon to solidify the gains made by APRP interventions and realize peace for Afghanistan.

Weak coordination among ANSF at the provincial and central level and lack of synergy in program implementation Weak coordination among ANSF is an important issue for the APRP. The Afghan Government’s line ministries are often unaware of each other’s efforts. Inter-ministerial communication does not always take place on regular basis. This can lead to the delay in demobilization process and can cause dismay among the reintegrees. Furthermore, the weapons management needs close supervision and coordination between the GIRoA ministries to minimize possibility of mismanagement. APRP has continued to engage and involve security ministries and agencies (MOI, MoD and NSD) at all levels. The reformed HPC structure also recognizes National Security Council (NSC) providing direct support towards the reconciliation and negotiation efforts.

Weak safety and security measures for reintegrees and the PPCs/PJSTs, Peace Advocates in the provinces Since the inception of APRP, the security of reintegrees and the PPCs and PJSTs members, peace advocates and Ulemma has been reported as a challenge to the peace process. Thus far, the number of reintegrees, the members of PPCs and the PJSTs assassinated by the enemies have risen to over 200 since inception. Such incidents create fear among the PPCs/PJSTs members and reintegrees. This further exhibits the inability of GIRoA in providing protection to the reintegrees or to those who work for

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the peace process. APRP continues to engage with ANSF at all levels to improve situation for the APRP beneficiaries and citizens as a whole.

Absence of a regular oversight and monitoring system to monitor the weapons management process and prevent misuse and mismanagement. Despite directives issued by relevant security ministries, weapons brought by the reconciled AGEs and / or confiscated during the security operations are still exchanged with old/non-functional ones by some provincial authorities which could contribute to the mismanagement of weapons and the collected weapons could in some cases fall back in the hands of criminals. Efforts are underway to ensure MoD takes on the responsibility for cantonment of the weapons collected by police HQs, ANA units, and NDS provincial offices.

VI. RISKS

The inaccessibility of APRP-UNDP personnel to some areas due to road security, climate conditions and or lack of transportation means affect the overall credibility of peace process. Reconciled AGEs will view this challenge as disrespect to them and may revert to their former activities. Additionally, it will also encourage the other active groups to refrain from joining the peace process.

If the inter-ministerial coordination does not improve, the vetting of the process, the TA distribution and weapons management will all be affected. The delay in vetting process and TA distribution may dismay the reconciled AGEs.

Donors have expressed interest and support for APRP resource mobilization, however some donors are still waiting for some clarity on the future membership/leadership of the HPC and clearer vision of the Afghan Government for reaching peace. While there is the expectation that full year funding will ultimately be provided, the delay in receiving commitments have caused delay in delivering some activities (for example, the Small Grants Projects) in the first quarter of the year.

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VII. LESSONS LEARNED

Extensive and intensive engagement by the APRP-UNDP Support Project with the JS, donors and other partners resulted in addressing emerging concerns about the political environment in relation to APRP implementation and the overall peace process. The complex nature of the peace negotiations in Afghanistan partly due to the multiple actors involved, has also affected APRP as the main supporting mechanism of the process. While it was natural to expect delays and lack of clarity regarding the principles of peace talks and implementing timelines, both APRP donors and stakeholders were expecting concrete and consistent results including timely announcement of the formalization of the peace process, launching peace talks, and reaching peace settlement. This however proved to be a rather lengthy process for understandable reasons, which created an anxiety among all stakeholders. To change this situation and promote confidence among APRP donors and stakeholders, the APRP-UNDP Support Project had to engage key actors in the process including donors, government and nongovernment partners, JS, HPC and the President’s office to increase understanding about the challenges ahead, the need for increased coordination, and the steps needed to overcome the bottlenecks and make progress. It resulted in increased coordination and the development of a mutual understanding and a common approach to the programme implementation, as well as greater consensus on the need to continue future funding to the programme. With the stronger level of coordination continuing to improve, it would have a positive impact on overall programme coordination and delivery.

VIII. FUTURE PLANS

APRP will continue its focus on reconciliation efforts and reaching a political settlement to put an end to violence and promote national unity in the country. The vision is to achieve a just and durable peace by reaching a political solution to the conflict, promoting dialogue and taking necessary measures to reintegrate armed opposition groups back into society. APRP is the Government’s vehicle to support and facilitate the negotiation process, which will hopefully soon lead formal peace talks in Afghanistan. The APRP, with recent donor and Government support, is in process of being extended for three years beyond the current end date of 31 July 15. The APRP is expected to continue supporting the Afghan peace process and implementation of potential peace agreements to 2018.

The Afghan Government is expected to continue its informal peace negotiations through the HPC with the assistance of the JS in addition to the building of regional and other international support for the peace process. The negotiation process is expected to take a step forward after the President’s decision on the HPC leadership and membership. The HPC, through a designated team, will continue to lead the national peace and reconciliation efforts in the country. The JS will provide the technical and financial support for the HPC and for implementing and coordinating the peace efforts. The objective is to intensify efforts on political reconciliation and create the space for armed insurgents to renounce violence. The APRP remains the Afghan Government’s leading institution to obtain and maintain peace

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through political solutions as well as support initiatives for conflict resolution and prevention. The APRP leadership will lead an effort to improve the effectiveness of APRP by continuing the focus on its core functions of being the Afghan Government’s sole peace process infrastructure.

The Afghan Government is expected to continue its mobilization of support for the peace process from regional countries. The HPC should pursue an effective engagement strategy to mobilize their support for the peace process. In order to create a renewed momentum among the regional countries and the international community, important regional players and strategic partners will be engaged to mobilize support for peace as well as create consensus and cooperation. In the immediate term, it is expected that the international community reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Afghan led peace and reconciliation process in important international events on Afghanistan.

The monitoring capacity of the JS continues to be strengthened in order to ensure that peace activities are effectively monitored both at the national and subnational level. The APRP-UNDP Support Project has recently recruited an international M&E Specialist who will recruiting and leading six national M&E Officers at the regional level to provide more vigorous monitoring and evaluation of sub-national activities in reconciliation and peacebuilding with greater emphasis on impact and outcome.

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IX. ANNEXES

ANNEX-1: FINANCIAL TABLE

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ANNEX-2: EXPENSES BY OUTPUTS

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ANNEX-3: EXPENSES BY DONOR

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ANNEX-4: RISK LOG for 2015

# Description Date Identified

Type Impact & Probability Counter measures/ Management response

Owner Submitted by

Status

1 Uncertainty about the outcome of the current peace efforts create concerns about the very reason for APRP’s existence

January 2015

Strategic While peace remains the priority of the Unity Government, it has not yet announced concrete steps and measures to be taken and there is still uncertainty about the prospects of reaching a peace settlement. This has caused concerns regarding the effectiveness of APRP.

While concrete planning process is subject to the government’s decisions and priorities, some options should be developed that can inform policy decisions and ensure APRP effectiveness and added value. Increased focus on the effective reintegration and small grants implementation for example can be considered.

Project Manager and Government

Project Manager

Ongoing

2 Resource Mobilization for 2015

January 2015

Strategic Crucial work on resource mobilization for 2015 is strongly affected by the uncertainty regarding the direction of the peace process and the future of APRP. The delay in decisions by the Afghan government with 2015 plans can result in no funding for next year as donors have their own timeline of budget submission. Probability: High

Since the new government has not yet clarified its policy and plans for peace, a complete plan for the year and beyond 2015 will be unlikely in the immediate future. The option is for the leadership of JS/APRP to discuss with donors tentative and plan for the rest of the year to ensure timely financial commitment while we wait for the government to endorse the new way forward.

Project Manager and Government

Project Manager

Ongoing

3 Provincial Capacity Constraints: The capacity, competency and level of activity of the

January 2015

Operational As reintegration efforts gradually intensify and show results in various provinces, the PPCs will be challenged to assume the full extent of their responsibilities and this will be a risk to the

Closer and greater coordination between the PPCs and the PGs as well as other relevant security institutions will be crucial to promoting successful reintegration and the overall

Deputy CEO Join Secretariat

Capacity Development Initiatives on-going and has improved significantly

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different PPCs and PJSTs still vary considerably.

programme in its effective delivery. Probability: High

functioning of the programme. UNDP support to APRP is recruiting additional personnel which include development and finance staff to provide additional support to PJSTs and PPCs.

4 The shift in government’s policy from increased focus on reintegration to reconciliation, yet still seeing reintegration an inevitable outcome of the reconciliation.

January 2015

Strategic The new Afghan government views reconciliation and peace talks as the main incubator of the end to the conflict. As such, for 2015, reconciliation has been given more priority. This requires not only prioritization of resource mobilization, but also adjustments in the APRP and HPC. The key concern however is the lack of progress in formalization of the new policy due primarily to the slow progress in government’s efforts for launching peace talks.

While concrete planning process is subject to decisions of the new government and the HPC, some options should be developed that can ensure continuity while also having flexibility to mobilize resources when and as required.

Project Manager

Project Manager

Ongoing

5 Lengthy Process to Initiate Independent Monitoring

March 2014 Operational Lengthy process has delayed the selection of local partner which has not been identified yet. A delay in this process reduces the period for monitoring as well as opportunities for using data gathered to improve programme activities. Probability: High

In order speed up the process, the Team Leader has developed the monitoring methodology; conducted market research of local partners with the capacity to In order speed up the process, the Team Leader has developed the monitoring methodology; conducted market research of local partners with the capacity to conduct field work; drafted the Terms of Reference for the

Project Manager

Project Manager

Completed in 2014 and report available in Q1 2015

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research organization.

6 Need to Release Some PWC Workers

March 2014 Programme Releasing of workers needs to be managed so that any potential conflicts can be avoided as much as possible. Probability: High

In order to make the process as inclusive and fair as possible, a joint evaluation committee consisting of PWC coordinator, PJST, Provincial Governor’s office and Department of Public Works will be established to carry out performance evaluation based on which decisions will be made.

Project Manager

Project Manager

Completed as part of phasing out of LMs in December 2014

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ANNEX-5: ISSUE LOG for 2015

ID Type Date Identified

Description Status/ Priority Status Change Date

Author

1. Programmatic March 2015 The recent security situation has been a concern for GIROA and all development partners to address new issues as the group like ISIS in some provinces in the north and south-west and west is emerging. Provinces that were reported as peaceful previously seem to be destabilized. Likewise, Taliban groups who were in negotiation have brought more concerns due to their personal security in destabilized areas. Therefore, APRP needs to be more critical in addressing needs of all those concerned parties.

With assistance and support from the security ministries, Civil Society members and other stakeholders, JS and UNDP will have close monitoring on the situation. Additionally, the relocation programme for the senior commanders and political figures continues to expand. During the reporting period, a total of 5 senior commanders and senior political figures have been relocated to safer areas including capitals of the provinces.

High March 2015

Project Manager

2. Programmatic December, 2014

The LM Community Recovery activities of APRP officially ended December 31st, 2014. The proposed budget for SGPs in 2015 has been substantially increased, which will increase the opportunities for reintegrees to be involved in APRP-funded community projects. However, final approval of the SGP budget is dependent upon available financial resources in 2015.

UNDP and HPC/JS have given emphasis on fund raising to continue support to SGP. Communication with donor communities has been strengthened.

Medium March 2015

Project Manager

3. Programmatic April 2014 Reports indicated that the security situation is getting tenser in some provinces that were previously peaceful. The deterioration of the security situation in some places will have a serious impact on the security of reintegrees and APRP work in general.

APRP continues to collaborate with security agencies in the reintegration efforts and critical process of vetting. The idea is to advance the reconciliation efforts and negotiations at the high level as part of 2015 strategy.

High March 2015

Project Manager

4. Programmatic June 2014 The presidential election disputes continue to have an effect on APRP planning for the next year and resource mobilization. Funding commitment from donors requires APRP clarity on the plan for next year. The plan for a unified government

In March 2015 President has approved HPC Structure Reforms and currently working on HPC leadership and members.

High

March 2015

Project Manager

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might also affect how the peace programme looks in the future. YEAR END UPDATE: The new administration has voiced support for APRP. However, specific instructions from the President regarding the leadership and structure of the High Peace Council have not yet been announced. Some donors are reluctant to make firm commitments of new funding for APRP until more clarity is gained regarding the Presidents vision for APRP.