Civil transition: what’s it about?

The European Network of NGO’s in Afghanistan (ENNA) is pleased to present to you the seminar: Afghan Perspectives on Civil Transition. The seminar will take place in the European Parliament on March 16th and is hosted by MEP Thijs Berman, MEP Pino Arlacchi and MEP Keith Taylor.

The decision to hand over full responsibility for security to the Afghan government by 2014 opens a transition period that entails significant effects on the future development of the country. The way this process will be carried on will have a relevant impact on long-term peace and stability, human security, good governance, human rights, justice, women rights and on the general human, civil, political and economical development of Afghanistan.

As a network of more than 30 European development and humanitarian organizations, we are deeply concerned about the future of the country. We have identified a number of risks to be tackled and opportunities to be seized during this transitional period and therefore, we consider that an open dialogue among representatives of the Afghan civil-society, non-governmental organizations, researchers and policy-makers is essential. 

Programme

14.30 Doors are open, coffee and tea are served

15:00 Welcome address by Thijs Berman and Marta de la Cera;

15:05– 15:20 Keynote speech: Challenges for civil transition by Ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas, and Ambassador Homayoun Tandar.

15:20 -16:50 Panel 1: Setting the scene for civil transition by Muhammad Suleman Kakar; Aziz Rafiee; Salih Doğan; Michel Rentenaar; and David Tirr.

16:50- 17:00 Coffee break

17:00-18:15 Panel 2: Peace, justice and reconciliation by Horia Mosadiq; Nick Grono; Sari Kuovo; and Deedee Derksen.

18:15-18:30 Closing remarks: Civil society and transition by Keith Taylor.

18:30 Cocktail reception and book launch“The Battle for Khorasan: The rise of a new regional order” by Joelle Rizk (East-West Institute).

Additional information:

The speakers

Ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas is a Special Representative and Head of the EU Delegation to Afghanistan. He joined the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs post completing his degree in Law from the Vilnius University followed by postgraduate studies from Denmark and Norway in 1991. He was a Foreign Minister of Lithuania between 2008 and early 2010. He has had a distinguished career in the foreign services and has served as the Ambassador of Lithuania to the Court of St. James during 2006-2008 and was the Ambassador to United States of America and to the United Mexican States during 2001-2006. He has also served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania during the period 1999-2000 and was Chief Negotiator for Lithuania’s Accession to the European Union. Mr Ušackas is married and has two children.

Ambassador Homayoun Tandar received a scholarship to study archeology at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1981, he abandoned his PhD studies to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from Pakistan, and subsequently fought the Taliban through active diplomacy in the 1990s. In 2001, Ambassador Tandar was a member of the United Front delegation to the Rome negotiations and a signatory to the Bonn agreement on Afghanistan. Since then, he has served as an ambassador to Belgium and NATO, and has held posts as head of the Afghanistan Mission to the European Communities and as deputy national security adviser in Kabul.

Muhammad Suleman Kakar is the Managing Director of Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU). He has vast experience in the area of peacebuilding, research, advocacy and community development. For the last 24 years, he has worked in key government positions and in national and international NGOs. He has conducted evaluation of several national and international NGOs and UN agencies. He has also conducted research on issues of peace and development in Afghanistan. He is the founding and board member of several Afghan civil society organizations and global network for peace and justice.

Aziz Rafiee since over 15 years has contributed to the Afghanistan civil society development through his active work and engagement. He has worked with a wide range of civil society stakeholders, the NGOs, social, human rights and cultural organizations and associations. He has been the founding member of more than 12 civil society organizations who are contributing to the democratic development processes of the country. He is currently leading the Afghan Civil Society Forum-organization with more than 350 members and partners.

Salih Doğan is a researcher at the International Strategic Research Organisation (USAK), a Turkish think-tank based in Ankara. He is a specialist on Afghanistan, Central Asia and Security. He is managing editor of the Journal of Turkish Weekly, one of Turkey's most respected English-language sources for international political news and analysis.

Michel Rentenaar is a diplomat with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is presently the Civil-Military Interface Advisor at the NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe. Previously, he commanded (together with a one star army general) the Task Force Uruzgan VII in Afghanistan. During the same period he was also the Director of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Uruzgan. He also worked in the Middle East Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served at the Netherlands embassies in Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Moreover, he was a political adviser to Dutch battalion commander as well as to Head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in al-Muthanna (southern Iraq); he served as the head of the Asia and Middle East Department for asylum and migration at MoFA and as a Deputy Ambassador and Head of Development Cooperation in the Netherlands Embassy in Uganda.

David Tirr joined the European Commission in 1984, and has ever since concentrated on external relations, including trade issues, relations with US, and political and economic questions with the countries of Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. For five years he was responsible for political coordination ("European Correspondent") at the Commission. Since November 2008, he has been Head of the Division, in the Commission and now in the European External Action Service, charged with relations with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Horia Mosadiq is a researcher for Amnesty International and an author of more than 100 articles and opinion pieces on human rights, women rights and transitional justice on Afghanistan. During the past ten years Horia Mosadiq served as Director of Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC), Media Commissioner for Afghanistan Elections Commission 2004, Senior Advisor to Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and Observer in the Constitutional Loya Jirga of Afghanistan. She has also formed a number of human rights and media organizations in Afghanistan and widely advocated for accountability to the past human rights violations. For her engagement in Afghanistan, she received a National Human Rights Award in 2007.

Nick Grono is responsible for the oversight and management of Crisis Group's programs and operations around the world, and heads the organisation's strategic planning. He leads Crisis Group's work on international justice, and has worked extensively on Afghanistan, and has written widely on these and other conflict-related issues, with articles published in the International Herald Tribune, the Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, Africa Affairs and elsewhere. Nick is a lawyer by background and, before working for Crisis Group, was Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser to the Australian Attorney-General. He has a law degree with first class honours from the University of Sydney and a Master's in Public Policy from Princeton University.

Sari Kouvo is co-director and co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. She is a Human Rights Lawyer with extensive knowledge of the Afghan justice system and human rights situation. Sari holds a doctorate in International Law from Gothenberg University (Sweden), and has held visiting fellowships at the NATO Defence College (Italy), Kent University (UK), Abo Academy (Finland) and the Australian National University. She has worked as Human Rights and Rule of Law Adviser to the EU Special Representative for Afghanistan in Kabul (2004-2006) and as researcher at Amnesty International. She currently heads the Afghanistan Program of the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).

Deedee Derksen is a researcher, journalist and a writer on Afghanistan. For many years she was a correspondent for the Dutch leading quality newspaper de Volkskrant and current affairs tv-programme NOVA in Afghanistan. In October 2010, De Geus published her book called “Thee met de Taliban – Oorlogsverslaggeving voor Beginners: Tea with the Taliban, War Reporting for Beginners”. She has a master in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam, and completed a post doctorate course in Journalism from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

This event is hosted by:

MEP Thijs Berman (Socialists and Democrats) is a former journalist and correspondent. He was a consultant to High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1994. Since 2004, he is representing the Labour Party in the European Parliament. Among other, he is a Chairman of the Delegation for relations with Afghanistan, and a member of the Development and Human Rights committees. He is also a deputy member of the Committees on Budgetary Control, Economic and Monetary Affairs and the delegation for EU-ACP countries. He is married and has two children.

MEP Pino Arlacchi (Socialists and Democrats) is a sociologist specialising in the study of organised crime. He was an adviser to the Italian interior ministry and helped set up an anti-mafia agency. He was one of the driving forces behind the Palermo convention (officially, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime) while working for the United Nations. Arlacchi’s most substantial work as an MEP to date is a report on Afghanistan that was approved by the foreign affairs committee in November 2010.

Keith Taylor is a Green Party Member of the European Parliament for the South East of England region. Keith sits on the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), the Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Committee on Petitions (PETI). He is a full member of the Parliamentary delegation to Afghanistan, and a substitute member of the Iran and Palestine delegations. Keith is also Vice President of the UK’s Local Government Association Group in the European Parliament – and a member of the Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

Information/sign up:
To confirm your participation and for any enquiries, please contact Ms Agnieszka Kazimierczuk ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; +32 2 282 46 73). Please note that seats are limited.