PROMOTING AFGHAN OWNERSHIP AND

LEADERSHIP

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Afghanistan

Justice Organization

(AJO) Annual Report - 2015

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Contents Acronyms ............................................... 3

Introduction ............................................. 4

Promoting Democratic Values ............................... 6

Good Governance and Anti-Corruption ....................... 8

Anti-Terrorism and Financing of Terrorism ................... 13

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) ........................ 14

Strategic Studies and Evidenced Based Research .............. 15

Public Awareness and Advocacy ............................ 17

Our Achievements, Progress and Challenges ................. 23

Looking Ahead .......................................... 25

About AJO .............................................. 25

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Acronyms

AJO Afghanistan Justice Organization AGO Attorney General Office

AIBA Afghanistan Independent Bar Association MOJ Ministry of Justice

MOF Ministry of Finance MoCI Ministry of Commerce and Industry

INLTC Independent National Legal Training Center HOOAC High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption

SCD State Case Department ACU Anti-Corruption Unit

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

SoW Scope of Work AMMC Afghan Management and Marketing Consulting

AC Anti-Corruption AML Anti Money Laundering

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Introduction

Since the International Community’s intervention in 2002, year 2015

has been considered as the most turbulent year for Afghanistan which underwent political, security and economic transitions. It

continues to be volatile and in the grips of an ongoing crisis. Today, a deep sense of anxiety and uneasiness looms over Afghanistan’s

future stemming from a variety of reasons- poverty, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, communal and political violence, religious

extremism, mass exodus, repatriation, and power asymmetry.

The worsening security situation in Afghanistan is of serious

concern. What we witness in Afghanistan today is a clear signal of lack of peace and security. The rise of extremism in Afghanistan

and the region is an ultimate threat to human security.

Survey after survey shows that Afghanistan’s government failed to provide good governance and to solve social problems such as

unemployment, social injustice, and poverty. The political culture has been unable to meet the challenges faced by society. Growing

tendencies of ethnic solidarities, identification with rising religious fundamentalism and ethnocentric cultural aspirations are gaining

support, which destroys national unity.

This picture I just painted of Afghanistan undoubtedly is gloomy

illustrating Armageddon. And to an extent rightfully so, unless Afghanistan’s leaders realize that it is in our people’s best interests

to come together to resolve differences in the national interest and for posterity.

Millions of young Afghans are still heading to schools daily, working

in their small businesses, doing their best to provide services to the people, sacrificing in the fight against terrorism and the defense of

the country, working hard to promote justice and to enforce the law, and learning how to build a democratic society.

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The challenge is, however, how we sustain this momentum. We

really need with the continued engagement and support of the International Community to build democratic institutions, enhance

capacity of the public servant and promote integrity and transparency. We need to continue to advocate for freedom of

speech, access to information and equal rights for women. Most importantly we need to empower civil societies and every Afghan to

hold the government accountable.

The Afghanistan Justice Organization (AJO) takes pride to say it has been part of this momentum for the last 5 years and continued, in

2015, to support institutional reform, fighting terrorism, countering violent extremism, and countering and Anti-Corruption. AJO

trained law enforcement institutions and judiciary to fight corruption, money laundering, terrorism, and financing of terrorism.

For the first time, prosecutors were able to charge and obtain successful conviction using anti-money laundering law and recoup

nearly 2 million dollars. AJO worked with 220 insurgent inmates to learn about the drivers of violent extremism in Afghanistan and

conducted a de-radicalization program in the face of daily security and physical challenges.

In this annual report, you will learn about AJO’s brief history and of

our achievements and what lies ahead. AJO’s activities encompassed various sectors all of which contributes to AJO’s

mission and goals of empowering Afghans to build rule of law, good governance and promote democratic values.

I am humbled by our achievements given our brief history and the

challenges of working in Afghanistan, but the credit for our

achievements belong to our donors, partners, and the Afghan people without whose support we would not have been here today.

And on behalf of myself and AJO, I want to thank everyone who provided that support and ask that you continue to support us.

Shafeek M. Seddiq

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Promoting

Democratic

Values

AJO promotes democratic values through capacity building and

institutional reform of the government and non-government institutions

including justice and law enforcements institutions. AJO believes that

such promotion is valuable for having a free and democratic society, a

united; strong and self-confident nation and a self-motivated and full of

opportunities economy for all.

AJO focuses on building and reforming institutions and individuals on

governance including training and adoption of anti and counter corruption

measures, anti-money laundering, financing of terrorism, and reforming

and advocating for the adoption of laws promoting democracy such as

access to information, freedom of the press, whistleblower laws, class

action, and public interest litigation. As a cross-cutting issue, AJO

includes in every project the promotion of gender balance and opportunity

to participate as outlined in the Afghanistan National Development

Strategy (ANDS) and the National Priority Programs (NPP).

In November 2011, AJO in Collaboration with the United Kingdom Foreign

and Commonwealth Office (FCO) launched a pilot project encompassing

institutional capacity building and collaboration, legal awareness, and

impact evaluation in accordance with the needs and requirements of the

respective institutions (stakeholders) and in alignment with the

Afghanistan National Priority Program (NPP5) and the National Justice

Program (NJP) within the Afghanistan National Justice Sector Strategy

(NJSS).

In June 2012, AJO started the first year of the project funded by the FCO

as a continuation of the Aim of the United Kingdom Foreign and

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Commonwealth Office to Strengthen the Afghan Formal Justice System in

Combating

Corruption and Improving Access to Justice and Good Governance for the

Afghan People. The project focused on the fight against corruption,

specifically training judges, prosecutors, police of the Major Crimes Task

Force, defense counsel, staff of Da Afghanistan Bank, professionals at the

customs and Ministry of Finance on Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-

Corruption laws; engaged in public awareness campaign, and building the

capacity of the AIBA.

In April 2013, AJO continued to work on monitoring and evaluating the

impact and success of the past year on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money

Laundering as well as continued capacity building and public campaign in

the fight against corruption, however, the specific focus shifted to Anti-

Terrorism cases and building a cadre of Anti-Terrorism Prosecution

Department (ATPD) staff to successfully try these cases. This shift was

due to the United Kingdom’s engagement in Afghanistan as part of a 48-

nation coalition to prevent international terrorism from using, again,

Afghanistan as a base from which to operate.

In March 2013, AJO carried out Anti-Corruption (AC) Tribunal Observation

over a six months period in four provinces: Kabul, Balkh, Hirat, and

Kunudz. The cases observed were held in both the trial and appeal

tribunals and on days when these AC tribunals were not in sessions, the

observers attended general criminal court hearings. The trials were

observed using EUPOL trial observation template to collect data and

assess the performance of the prosecutors and the application of fair trial

and other due process standards in accordance with the Afghan

Constitution, Interim Criminal Code for Courts (ICCC), and international

standards. During the six months observation period, 333 cases and trials

were observed and data collected of which 178 were corruption related cases

and 155 general criminal cases.

In October, 2014, USIP and AJO signed a Grant Agreement and started

the Counter Violence Extremism (CVE) project. The performance period

for the project was from October 15, 2014 to September 1, 2015. The

objectives set out to achieve the aims were data collection from

participants, design and develop curriculum and class material, conduct

training, and impact evaluation to measure the rate of recidivism after

release.

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Good Governance

and Anti-

Corruption

AJO supported the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Attorney General

Office both financially and technically. The AJO Training Department

conducted several intensive trainings on Anti-Money Laundering and

Extradition Law, and Criminal Extradition, for prosecutors of ACU in Kabul.

AJO assisted the Attorney General Office (AGO) in

expanding the AC Units to Hirat and Nangarhar Provinces. The AJO IT Department designed and developed Access database and

trained the administrative staff for the ACU at the AGO in Kabul, Hirat and

Nangarhar. The IT department also set up and provided internet system

for the ACU in Kabul. The Training Department continued to provided

trainings and capacity building to the professional and administrative staff

of ACU in all three provinces.

Specialized Training Courses for Mullahs - Kabul, Hirat,

Balkh, Nangarhar, and Kunduz & Kandahar Provinces: Mullahs from six provinces of Afghanistan, including Balkh, Herat,

Kandahar, Kunduz and Nangarhar participated in training program.

Corruption And Islam, Types of Corruption, Corruption from Legal

perspective, Negative Impacts of Corruption, And Mechanisms to Fight

Corruption in Afghanistan were covered during the trainings.

Anti-Corruption & Anti Money Laundering Training Course

- (Hirat & Nangarhar ACU/AGO): AJO conducted 5 days training

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program on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering for four

Prosecutors from Nanagahar and Hirat provinces who are assigned to

prosecute the AC and AML cases referred to Appeal Prosecution Offices in

the mentioned provinces. Besides; two Police Officers from Nangarhar

were introduced to AJO to attend the training in Kabul.

(Kabul & Nangarhar AGO/AIBA/MoI): AJO started a 10 days in

depth training program on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering at

National Legal Training Center (NLTC). Professionals attended the training

program representing the Attorney General Office (AGO), Afghanistan

Independent Bar Association (AIBA) and Ministry of Interior (MOI).

Extradition Law & Anti Money Laundering: AJO conducted a 10

days in depth training on Extradition Law and Money Laundering at

Independent National Legal Training Center (INLTC), Kabul University.

The topics included, Elements, polyphonies, participation and settlement

in crimes, Definition, legal sources, phases and vital methods of money

laundering, Real crimes of money laundering and its elements, Correlated

crimes of money laundering, Administration of crime detection in money

laundering crimes, Administration of investigation in money laundering

crimes, Extradition of criminals, extradition of property and issuance of

property, Combating money laundering in national and international.

Exclusive Training Program on Judges Opinion Writing:

AJO believed that training the judges and equipping them with tools

necessary to write opinions of the cases will lead to transparency, thus

reducing corruption, as the public and the profession will hold the specific

judge accountable for an abusive and incompetent decision. These

decisions could also be used as training tools for educating new

generation of lawyers, judges, and prosecutors in universities throughout

Afghanistan and the in-service judges. They may also be used as a

precedent by other judges and will lead to uniformity in final dispositions

of like or similarly factual cases throughout Afghanistan. AJO therefore

designed an exclusive training program for five Judges from Kabul and

Maidan Wardak provinces through a two weeks training program in Kabul.

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Institutional

Reform and

Development

AJO in order to increase capacity of a functional and sustainable

Afghanistan Bar Association (AIBA) conducted an organizational

assessment of its current resources; and a member survey of its

members all over the country.

The aim of conducting an organizational capacity assessment was to assess the extent of management capacity, the needs of AIBA and

to develop an action plan to address those needs, conducted Wekalat

magazine reader’s survey, and outsourced the AIBA member

survey. AJO provided management capacity programs for AIBA

(Management, Budget, English and Computer) and designed and

developed several access databases for AIBA, and trained AIBA staff on

how to utilize these databases as a result of the organizational capacity

assessment.

The overall objective of the survey was to help AIBA to better plan to

address the needs of the members, to improve upon its services for the

benefits of the members and to fulfill its mandate and objectives as stated

in its By-laws. The survey is designed and conducted to measure

perceptions of the value, impression, and interactions with the Bar.

AJO partnered with AMMC to conduct a provincial level assessment of the

AIBA member’s views about the AIBA, its role, mandate and its progress

over the last three years besides others, with the objective of further

strengthening the AIBA. This provincial level survey of the AIBA members

took place across 16 provinces of Afghanistan .The address the needs of

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the members, to improve upon its services for the benefits of the

members and to fulfill its mandate and objectives as stated in its By-laws.

The survey was designed and conducted to measure perceptions of the

value, impression, and interactions with the Bar.

In an effort to raise the profile of the Association, to engage advocates,

judges, prosecutors, academics, and intellectuals in legal and social

discourse, and to generate revenue for the operation cost, the AIBA

embarked upon with the technical and financial assistance of AJO to re-

start the publication of its WEKALAT magazine. AJO supported

technically and financially, the publication of the WEKALAT

magazine and build the staff capacity to be able to sustain itself in a

short period of time.

In addition to this, AJO provided advocacy trainings to the new registered

lawyers to enable them to start their advocacy career.

Advocate Training Courses: AJO in coordination with the

Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) conducted two 10 days

in depth Advocate Trainings at Independent National Legal Training

Center (INLTC), Kabul University. New Defense Lawyers were introduced

by the Training Committee of AIBA to participate in the training. Based on

the training methodology of the AJO, needs assessment of the Defense

Lawyers was conducted before the training and the training materials

were accordingly prepared keeping in mind the needs of the defense

lawyers. The course included group work activities, discussions and

excises of real cases.

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Anti-Terrorism

and Financing of

Terrorism

Confiscation Training Courses: AJO in coordination with the

British Embassy/ Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) held training

programs at IIU/Counter Narcotics, Kabul. These intensive trainings were

designed to train staff from IIU and CJTF on specific topics related to

confiscation. The participants received training on: Elements of Crime

(specific problems), Confiscation (characteristics, types, and differences

between general and specific confiscations, confiscation of immovable

goods), and Money Laundering.

New Prosecutors Training Course/Anti-Terrorism

Prosecution Department (ATPD): AJO conducted a series of

training courses under the Legal Training Program for New Prosecutors of

ATPD in Kabul. Each training course was organized for 15 prosecutors,

after meeting and discussions with the Head of ATPD, in collaboration with

Attorney General Office, and cooperation of FCO/British Embassy Legal

Advisors. Each course was held for 5 days. AJO training methodology

included needs assessment of the potential participants before conducting

training but considering the project nature, the needs assessment of the

training took place in mutual understanding between FCO and AJO, the

needs of participants was determined in consultation with ATPD

Management.

Anti-Terrorism Prosecution Department Ethics Seminars:

AJO and British Embassy in Kabul (FCO-BEK) conducted a total of 20

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seminars on “Code Of Conduct And Professional Standards” with the aim

to develop a greater understanding of conducting independent, impartial

and standard investigation and prosecution of the terrorism cases by the

prosecutors and thus, enable them to implement the approach within the

sphere of their own work and practices in addition to promote it within

their institution. Participants of the seminars were provided with an

opportunity to discuss their daily activities and challenges they face. AJO

planned to organize 20 seminars, 2 every month for a total of 239

prosecutors. The Seminars focused on developing prosecutor’s

professionals understanding of the code of conducts issues in details and

enabled them to effectively apply these leanings within their future work.

Further, the seminars covered topics such as respecting the principle of

impartiality in the investigation and prosecution, administration of justice

and Principles of neutrality.

Countering

Violent Extremism

(CVE)

AJO developed policy brief on Deradicalization, Disengagement

and Reintegration of former Taliban. This policy brief outlines

daunting challenges for violent extremism for the international community

and for Afghanistan. The policy brief summarizes the findings of

implemented pilot project for a year training Taliban inmates in Pole-

Charkhi prison in Kabul.

AJO also developed policy brief on Drivers of Radicalization to

Violent Extremism. This brief summarizes the perception of Taliban

inmates in Pole-Charkhi on the drivers of radicalization to violent

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extremism. These perceptions were captured as part of a project funded

by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), aimed at better

understanding the drivers of radicalization while also conducting Islamic

training which drew on alternative interpretations to deradicalization,

disengagement and reintegration of inmates back in their communities.

The findings of this policy brief are based on the four common themes

that emerged from the 205 inmates, representing 30 provinces,

interviewed for the purposes of this project.

Strategic Studies

and Evidenced

Based Research

Transitional Justice in Afghanistan: “We should not repeat old

issues”? This Policy Note is an attempt to understand the history and

status of transitional justice in Afghanistan as well as provide

recommendations for its implementation in order to heal wounds and

prevent impunity. The Policy Note is authored by Afghanistan Justice

Organization (AJO), a member of GPPAC’s South Asia network, in

collaboration with the GPPAC Global Secretariat in.

Empowerment and Protection, Stories of Human Security:

This publication is a product of many people, ideas and organizations

coming together through the Global Partnership for the Prevention of

Armed Conflict (GPPAC), a global network of peacebuilding organizations

and practitioners. AJO as member of GPPAC contributed to the Human

Security publication and wrote the chapter called People’s perspectives on

Human Security: Regional Chapter on Afghanistan.

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Public Awareness

and Advocacy

The fight against corruption to restore integrity to the public offices of the

Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) and

Afghanistan’s development through engagement with diverse local actors

and stakeholders has been a primary focus of AJO’s efforts. AJO’s

contribution to the fight against corruption is visible through its

awareness, legal education, and vocational training programs conducted

for the Anti-Terrorism Prosecution Department, Anti-Corruption

Department of the Attorney General’s Office, Serious Organized Crimes

Agency and Afghanistan Independent Bar Association. However, its efforts

are not limited to just capacity building, AJO is an active member of the

civil society community in Afghanistan and has carried out several

conferences and seminars on corruption examining it through new and

alternative perspectives.

AJO held a one day conference on the Anti-Money Laundering and

Financing of Terrorism Laws in Afghanistan at the NLTC. The

conference focused on the needs, difficulties and challenges in combating

money laundering in Afghanistan and served as a forum for creating

action plans to improve the status of and to encourage the relevant

government and non-government organizations’ active participation.

AJO held a follow up one day conference on Anti-Money Laundering

and the Financing of Terrorism Laws. More than 100 nationals

and internationals including professors and senior students from Law and

Economics Faculties of Kabul University and government officials from

Ministry of Commerce and Industry, AGO, MoJ, Ministry of Finance, Balkh

and Kandahar Customs Department, Kabul Airport Customs Department,

Herat Chief Prosecutor and Head of the MoJ, Kandahar Head of MoJ,

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HOOAC, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the

conference.

hold a one day conference on “The use of children as suicide

bombs from both Sharia and legal perspective” at the

National Legal Training Center. The overall objective of this conference

was to bring together university professors, leading experts and civil

society members representing diverse sectors including the Government

of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), parliament, civil society

organizations, academia, media, and the international community to

discuss the legitimacy of children’s involvement in armed conflicts both

legally and from Sharia point of view; deepen the understanding that

children suicide bombings are forbidden both in Sharia and CRC to which

Afghanistan is a party; educate public on the negative impact of children

used in armed conflict to the communities; encourage public to outright

condemn this practice and denounce child suicide bombing as a crime

against humanity, Sha’ria, and laws; come up with clear

recommendations to guide and mobilize all relevant public and private

sector to take actions.

“The Role of the Reporting Entities in Combating Money Laundering”: AJO

conducted seminar on “The Role of the Reporting Entities in

Combating Money Laundering” at the INLTC. As part of the legal

awareness component of the AJO-FCO project, the seminar focused on

the “Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Laws” requirements

for the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) to

report any suspicious activities to the Da Afghanistan Bank - the Financial

Transaction and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan (FinTRACA)

known also as the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). As a preliminary step

to combating Money Laundering, AJO invited representatives from Money

Exchange and Transfer Association (also known as HAWALA and Saraf

merchants), Property Dealers Association, Defense Lawyers, and

Goldsmiths (precious metal merchants) Association to exchange ideas,

and to learn from money laundering experts and the prosecutors about

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the reporting requirements and on how they can assist to fight money

laundering.

Seminar on Anti-Money Laundering Law in Hirat: AJO

conducted joint seminar in Hirat in coordination with the Appeal

Prosecution Office/AGO/Hirat to create awareness about the AC Unit in

Hirat as well as Anti-Money Laundering Law. The seminar was broadly

broadcasted by the media in Hirat and Kabul and professionals from the

relevant institutions participated. The objectives of the joint seminar

included Public awareness about money laundering laws and its

importance in the fight against financial crimes; Strengthening Financial

Intelligence Unit reporting system by highlighting their role in the fight

against anti-money laundering; and Introduction of Special Attorney of

Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office in Hirat.

“The Role of Women Post-2014 Afghanistan: Challenges

and Opportunities”: AJO organized and held roundtable meetings on

“The Role of Women Post-2014 Afghanistan: Challenges and

Opportunities” at the Institute Francis Afghanistan located at Estiqlal High

School in Kabul. The purpose of these roundtables were to bring together

women leaders from diverse backgrounds to speak about Afghan women’s

achievements and challenges during the transitional years and what the

next Afghan government and its regional partners can do to consolidate

women’s gains and help empower women to mitigate new challenges in

the post-2014 period. This roundtable served as a platform for women

leaders representing the Afghan Parliament, media, academics and civil

society to discuss and propose resolutions to increasing and embedding

women’s involvement and influence in political, economic and security

arenas.

“The Role of Women in the Afghan Peace Process”: AJO in

collaboration with The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed

Conflict (GPPAC), jointly hold a one day seminar on “The Role of Women

in the Afghan Peace Process” in hopes to highlight problems as well as

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find consensus among stakeholders on how to address these issues as

well as form cooperative action.

To commemorate the International Anti-Corruption Day, AJO hold

seminars on “The fight against corruption in Afghanistan:

Combining Civil Society and Government Efforts”. The objective of these

seminars was to explore the role of civil society in fighting corruption in

the GIRoA in the last decade and how this role can be further

strengthened in the post-2014 period. The overall purpose of the event is

to bring together leading experts and Anti-Corruption advocates

representing diverse sectors including the GIRoA, Parliament, Civil Society

Organizations, Academia, media, and International Community.

Access to Information Law: AJO in collaboration with Integrity

Watch Afghanistan (IWA) and Nai Supporting Afghan Media Organization

organized a Seminar on Access to Information Law in Hotel

Intercontinental. The seminar was attended by representatives from the

Parliament, Ministry of Justice, Civil Society Organizations and media. The

seminar aimed to campaign and advocate on the Access to Information

Law in the Parliament, improve participant’s awareness on access to

Information Law, public outreach and support of it through their relevant

organizations, expedite the legislation process of Access to Information

Law, Establishment of good coordination amongst civil society, media and

Parliament in order to adopt a strong Access to Information Law.

Whistleblower Law: Whistleblowers Protection Draft Law introduced

to the Parliament of Afghanistan. AJO has been one of the working group

members as well as panel member of the press conference to appreciate

the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Caucus (PACC) for introducing the draft

of Whistle-blowers Protection Law at the general assembly of Wolsi Jirga

(Lower House) of the Afghan parliament. AJO welcomed this move and

acclaim PACC members for finalizing the legislation and tabling it to the

Parliament.

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Radio Program: The Radio Program has been part of the holistic

approach of AJO’s broader “strategic communication” in the fight against

corruption to restore integrity to the public office of the GIRoA and

Afghanistan’s development by engaging the citizenry. The Weekly Radio

Program broadcast on FM radio was designed for maximum outreach and

aimed to focus on educating and engaging public in the fight against

corruption in general, but specifically predatory corruption. The program

was called “Anti-Corruption Drive” and was about “restoring integrity to

public office”, “respect for rule of law”, and the public having “confidence

in the government” by discussing corruption that is endemic throughout

the government, public and is an obstacle to the development and

security of our country.

Report Corruption Drive: AJO established an Anti-Corruption Drive

on the website (http://afghanjustice.org/reportcorruption/), for everyone

to tell their story on experiencing corruption not only in government but

also in private sector. To boost the report corruption drive, AJO also

created a Facebook page called Report Corruption so that the message

reaches as many people as possible.

Anti-Corruption Book: has been part of AJO’s effort in fight against

corruption. This book is in Dari language and has been widely used by

various institutions and students of Sharia and Law faculties in Kabul and

provinces. The books has been printed in 2000 copies twice and has been

used as reference in trainings of judges and prosecutors by IDLO and Max

Planck. The book has also been reviewed and being used as desk

reference by President Ghani and Attorney General Hamidi.

Anti-Corruption Illustrated Booklet: AJO with support from

Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the British Embassy in Kabul

developed and printed a simplified illustrated booklet in an attempt to

educate the public, but specifically the law enforcement institutions on the

most important elements of corruption that are often missed in the

indictment process or disguised as tradition and “doing business as

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usual”. This booklet is in three languages (Pashto, Dari, and English) and

offers information on legal aspects of crimes of corruption. The booklet is

available online on AJO website.

I Pencil Booklet: AJO chose to translate “i, Pencil” one of the most

important and influential essays on free market and limited government.

AJO has a strong faith in the Afghan men and women who through their

entrepreneurial spirit will bring peace and freedom to Afghanistan not

through more powerful and corrupt government, more military and more

peace negotiation. This booklet is in three languages (Pashto, Dari,

English) and available on AJO website in softcopy.

A collection of Anti-Corruption articles: AJO continues to play a

role in fighting corruption in Afghanistan in different ways. Such an

activity is to write articles on corruption and its various aspects and types

and print for further dissemination to public. This collection of articles

includes topics such as types of corruption, Economic development and

Corruption, Political Will and Corruption, Role of Citizens and Corruption,

Prosecution and Corruption, Taxation and Public Accountability,

International community and Corruption, Public Procurement and

Corruption, Land Grabbing and Corruption, Media’s role in the fight

against corruption, Civil Societies role in the fight against corruption,

Extractive industries and corruption, Taxation and Accountability,

President’s role in the fight against corruption and many more. This

booklet is in Pashto and Dari languages and is available online.

Booklet on De-radicalization to prevent Extremism in

Afghanistan: one of the focus areas of AJO is Counter Violent

Extremism (CVE). AJO is member of CVE working group and has been

active participant in various national and international conferences,

seminars and events on CVE. AJO felt the gap of publication on the topic

in Afghanistan where radicalization, extremism and terrorism has put the

country on an edge to threat not only for Afghanistan but also for the

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world. This booklet is in three languages (Pashto, Dari and English) and is

available in soft and hard copies.

Our

Achievements,

Progress and

Challenges

Since 2011, AJO has implemented projects including capacity building and

institutional reform of the government and non-government institutions

including justice institutions and law enforcements, the Afghanistan

Independent Bar Association. Conducted public awareness and advocacy

campaigns, organized and conducted exchange programs to Turkey,

Tunisia, Egypt and India, and trained more than 1000 judges,

prosecutors, defense lawyers, police, mullahs, real estate agents, money

exchange and hawla owners and the members of the FinTraca on various

substantive and procedural laws including Anti-Corruption, anti-money

laundering, anti-terrorism and financing of terrorism, and the criminal

procedure code.

AJO has held many conferences, seminars and workshops on a variety of

topics to raise public awareness and engagement including women’s

participation in the peace process, Access to Information Law, use of

children as suicide bombers, and fighting corruption of which some

conferences were organized in collaboration and cooperation with the

regional institutions in Kabul, Islamabad, Delhi and Sri Lanka.

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AJO also conducted surveys, research, and public opinion polls throughout

Afghanistan. Wrote and published policy briefs, analytical reports, book

chapter, and books on countering terrorism and countering violent

extremism, transitional justice, human security, and anti and counter

corruption.

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Looking Ahead

AJO is looking forward to move from an NGO status to Think Tank. While

AJO has come a long way since its establishment in 2011, a rapidly

changing environment provides many opportunities for us to evolve in

new directions. Looking ahead, there are a number of areas where AJO

can achieve change by adapting itself and working with others on

common goals. AJO will also focus on its strategic plan 2016-2020 to

achieve goals set for each thematic area of focus and become an

organization of change. The focus areas are Political Violence & Terrorism,

Countering Violent Extremism, Governance & Rights and Economic Policy

Issues. AJO will focus more on policy research and policy advocacy and

will maintain a strong commitment to further increasing the quality of

work standards.

About AJO

Afghanistan Justice Organization (AJO) is an Afghan-led, non-profit, and

non-partisan organization promotes democracy, governance and rule of

law through project design and management, project performance and

evaluation, training and capacity development, policy research and

analysis, and public awareness campaigns and advocacy.

AJO is governed by the board of directors and managed by its executive

team. The current team consists of a President, Vice President for

Program Management and Operation, and departments include Project

Design & Management, Communications, Strategic Studies, Capacity

Building and Training, Performance Evaluation, Evidence Based Research,

Public Awareness and Advocacy, Information Technology, Finance and

Procurement, and Human Resources.

The management has combined experience of 20 years in Afghanistan

alone. AJO’s leadership consists of Afghan-American lawyer, former

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judges and prosecutors, professors, radio and television personalities,

journalists, and monitoring and evaluation specialists.

AJO is member of Afghanistan Civil Society Forum (ACSF), Global

Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Regional

Center for Strategic Studies (RCSS) and Consortium of South Asian Think

Tanks (COSATT).

Millennium Development LLC (MD)

Millennium Development (MD) is a Virginia Limited Liability Company

established in July 2012 with the sole purpose of providing

groundbreaking solutions to institutional and political challenges in conflict

and post-conflict countries. MD is an expert in governance programming

with a focus on addressing rule of law and justice and peace-building.

Those experiences equipped MD to find unique solutions to complex

issues and collaborate with wide range of stakeholders, beneficiaries and

donors often under difficult circumstances. MD’s delivery model features

flexibility, cost management and controls, utilization of local expertise,

safety and security, and a robust monitoring and evaluation program

reporting on results.

Afghan Zariza (AZ)

The Afghan Zariza (Millennium) is designed to inform, educate, and

engage young generation inside and outside Afghanistan. The Zariza’s

goal is to empower Afghans to create better future through knowledge

and actionable, positive and uplifting reporting and news. The Afghan

Zariza is served by more than 15 journalists, reporters and editors

throughout Afghanistan, and receives contents from academics,

professionals and analysts around the world. Zariza has already

established Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube accounts

which it intends to heavily use to promote its website and magazine.

Afghanistan Law Library (ALL)

ALL is an electronic tool allowing you to find Afghan Laws. It is designed

to meet the specific needs of the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers,

law and Shari’a professors and students, the larger business community

both domestic and internationals who are investing or are already in

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Afghanistan, international lawyers, and academics. Afghan Laws provides

online legal research, continuing legal education by introducing new laws,

laws amended, legislative tracking and litigation forms and shares

knowledge through a discussion portal for its users.

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Contact

For media inquiries, contact: info@afghanjustice.org

Tel. +93 (0) 20 231 1904

For more info, visit:

www.afghanjustice.org www.afghanzariza.com

www.afghanlaws.com www.mdllcc.com

Wazir Akbar Khan St#15, Lane#6 (right),

House#263 Kabul, Afghanistan

www.afghanjustice.org

About AJO

The Afghanistan Justice

Organization (AJO) is an

Afghan-led, non-profit, and

non-partisan organization

promotes democracy,

governance and rule of law

through project design and

management, project

performance and evaluation,

training and capacity

development, policy research

and analysis, and public

awareness campaigns and

advocacy.