Afghanistan: Peace Through Justice Joint Programme

Afghanistan’s justice system has been deeply challenged by decades of war. Much of the judicial infrastructure has decayed or been destroyed, corruption is widespread, women's access to justice is often limited and many conflicts are resolved through the traditional justice system. This Joint Programme strengthened both supply and demand for access to justice across Afghanistan's more than 350 districts, the most neglected part of the country's judicial system.

Afghanistan’s justice system has been deeply challenged by decades of war. Much of the judicial infrastructure has decayed or been destroyed, corruption is widespread, and many conflicts are resolved through the traditional justice system, sometimes in violation of national and international standards. Cultural norms have often impeded women's access to justice and to the full exercise of their rights.

The Peace Through Justice Joint Programme brought the expertise of the United Nations Country Team to the most neglected part of Afghanistan’s justice system: the district level.

Through a partnership between UNDP, UNAMA, UNODC, UN Women, and UNICEF, the project worked to strengthen both supply and demand for access to justice across Afghanistan's more than 350 districts.

Results were achieved through a combination of different activities:

1. Increasing people's demand for access to justice and the realization of their human rights through public legal awareness:  "Mobile theater" performances sensitized more than 15,000 people, including women, on land issues, domestic violence, family law and forced marriage. The inclusion of religious and community leaders in activities led to positive results. 
2. Training of local justice actors to enable them to meet demands for access to justice: 653 community leaders and opinion shapers in six provinces were trained to increase their knowledge on human rights and legal protection issues, in order to boost citizens’ ability to access both formal and informal legal services.  
3. Child Protection Action Networks (CPANs) were established in 28 provinces and 51districts. The CPANs comprise representatives from government institutions, civil society organizations and UN agencies active in promoting the respect and protection of children’s rights. Some 639 child protection cases were identified and followed-up by the CPANs, part of an overall caseload of nearly 4,500 cases identified and followed-up throughout the country in 2010-2011.
4. Emergency rehabilitation of justice infrastructure: The joint programme constructed a primary court, joint prosecutor/Huquq office and detention center in Dara District, Panjshir, and a primary court and joint prosecutor/Huquq office in Shahristan District, Daykundi.

Click for more detailed results from the Joint Programmes in Afghanistan.