Bridging the Gap: Increasing Civil Society Participation in Law and Policy Formulation in Afghanistan

Authors: Idrees Zaman, Jane Yudelman, Tilly Reed, Anika Ayrapetyants

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In recent Afghan history, relations between the government, elected officials and civil society actors have been complex and plagued by misunderstanding. This study was designed to help better understand the ways in which elected officials and government and civil society actors are currently working together to help shape laws and policies in Afghanistan, as well as identify ways to improve their engagement. Two laws—the Media Law and the Election Law—and two policies—the Afghanistan National Development Strategy and the Basic Package of Health Services—form the center of this study. Interviews and focus group discussions were held with elected officials, government and representatives of civil society (largely CSOs) at the national, provincial and district levels to better understand the ways in which they have engaged in the formulation of these laws and policies.

The study found that there had been strikingly little engagement to date amongst these various parties in law- and policy-making processes. The engagement that did exist was largely donor-driven and often considered not to have been effective. A number of factors appeared to be at play here. At the root of the situation was a poor understanding of what is meant by civil society, as well as of the law- and policy-making processes and the roles that each sector might have in these. Distrust between CSOs and government was another significant factor, although despite this, CSOs appeared to remain interested in engaging with government on these issues. The CSOs, however, generally did not have the necessary strategies and capacities to fully engage in law- and policy-making processes. Moreover, while there had been some attempts to influence laws and policies, the CSOs in Kabul had not been able to build systematic approaches to be effective at this.

The study revealed that, while there are well-articulated law-making processes, no such processes exist for policies. Neither the law- or policy-making processes have clearly defined guidelines for including consultations with CSOs. When CSOs have been consulted, it has generally been personal connections that have driven the choice of whom to consult. This has led to a less than inclusive process of consultation, during which the CSOs often appeared to have been inhibited from providing recommendations that might be perceived as negative. Moreover, it appeared that policy formulation and legislation processes were highly centralized and barely reached the provinces. In some cases, attempts had been made to involve the participation of women, but this participation was seen to be largely symbolic.

Below are the major recommendations that have emerged out of this study:

1. Building a Better Understanding of Civil Society and Law- and Policy-making Processes. Build across all sectors at all administrative levels a better understanding of civil society, the law- and policy-making processes, and the roles that each sector can play in these; and support the strong governance projects to help communities better understand their roles in policy dialogues.

2. Increasing Access to Information. Increase the flow of information between government and CSOs and for all sectors (government, Parliament, CSOs and international NGOs) from the center to the provinces and districts about these processes and the actual laws and policies that are developed; encourage media to provide more coverage on the laws and policies, as well as relevant initiatives relating to these; and increase the transparency of donor-government agreements so that civil society is aware of the commitments made.

3. Building Strategies and Capacities to Enhance Engagement. Strengthen the strategies and capacities of CSOs (research, advocacy, networking, use of media, planning collective actions) and media (investigative journalism and reporting) so that they can be more effective at influencing laws and policies; build the capacity of government at the provincial and district levels to promote policy dialogue; direct international donor support—programmatic and financial—to building the capacities of CSOs, media and government to engage more effectively in policy dialogue.

4. Building and Using the Voice of CSOs. Create platforms for CSOs working in the same thematic areas (e.g. health) to promote better coordinated approaches to engage in thematically-relevant policy dialogue; for existing coordinating bodies, develop more strategic approaches to engage in policy; and strengthen the voice of CSOs through networking with organizations and relevant individuals who can provide additional expertise.

5. Increasing the Women's Participation. Build the capacity of the MoWA, especially at the provincial and district levels; raising awareness in government about the value of genuine participation of women; and strengthen the capacity of an existing body to act both as a platform for women's CSOs and a forum for building their capacity.

6. Building the Foundation for Increased Participation in Law- and Policy-making. Codify and widely share the processes used for making policies; develop a well-articulated process for including CSO and women's participation in the formation of laws and policies; include collective CSO platforms or CSO "advisory" bodies in the consultation processes; and create a working group of civil society and government to provide oversight to strategies to promote policy engagement, to monitor the progress made and how the inputs of CSOs are used, and to ensure information is disseminated adequately to government and civil society at all levels.