Afghan Women Leaders Demand Presence at Talks in Germany in Late 2011

In December, Germany will host the Bonn II Conference on the 10th anniversary of the conference held there that reestablished the Afghan state. The goals of this second gathering are to further plan for the transition of responsibility for Afghan security, to determine the nature of the international commitment to Afghanistan post-2014, and to assess the state of the Afghan peace process.

The Bonn II Conference is an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate its support for the increased participation of women in reconciliation and transition in Afghanistan. The delegation of Afghan women leaders call on the Bonn II organizers—and those who can influence them—to ensure that 30 percent of the official Afghan delegation is composed of civil society, of which 50 percent should be women. In addition, the delegates urged US decision makers to ensure that women are not just present at the conference but that they assist in setting the conference’s agenda.

Key Recommendation to US Decision Makers on the Bonn II Conference: (Read the full set of recommendations on the Bonn II Conference)

# 4 – Prioritize the inclusion in the Conference of political actors from the full range of insurgent and opposition groups; no political actor related to the ongoing conflict should be actively excluded.

Read the June 2011 recommendations of Afghan women leaders to the US government on reconciliation, reintegration, and transition processes.

For more information about Inclusive Security’s work on reconciliation in Afghanistan, or Afghanistan more generally, please contact Michelle Barsa.