UK Defense Committee reviews PN evidence on Afghanistan

In September 2013, the UK Parliament’s Defense Committee announced its inquiry into Afghanistan, aiming at examining the security situation in Afghanistan; the progress of withdrawal of UK forces and equipment; expected assistance to the Afghan National Security Forces after 2014; the impact on Afghanistan of the new Government in Pakistan; and UK relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan after 2014.

The Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention consulted its members from Afghanistan and Pakistan to deliver their input and make their voices heard. The responses that we received from current and former Pakistani and Afghan women parliamentarians show that the inclusion of women at all levels of reconciliation and peace-building process is their major concern.

For both Pakistani and Afghan women parliamentarians, compromise on women's rights in any negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan is unacceptable. They stress the need of including women into all reconciliation and peace-building processes, in accordance with paragraph 1 of the UN Security Council resolution (S/RES/1325) on Women, Peace and Security that "[u]rges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict; […]".

Therefore, a minimum of 33% of representatives at all levels of the reconciliation and peace-building processes should be women. In order to help women to be at the table, Afghan and Pakistani women parliamentarians request the international community, including the UK government, to commit to the meaningful representation of women at all levels of the peace process by holding the Afghan government accountable for such inclusion.

Please follow this link to the written evidence accepted by the UK Defense Committee. 

Photo by dissuadedotorg.