APAP successfully concluded training on Library Technical Services (December 15th-December 31st). The 22 participants (12 male, 10 female) included not only staff members of the Parliamentary Library, but also the Public Library of Kabul, the Kabul University Library, the Library of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the Library of the University of Education and the National Archive.

At the inauguration ceremony, Parliament’s HR Director, Mr. Shah Sultan Akifi, expressed appreciation for APAP’s work to help professionalize Parliament’s core staff and emphasized the importance of such kinds of initiatives.
 

APAP selected two staff members Mr. Habib Sangar (Wolesi Jirga) and Mr. Sayed Hamidullah Tawab (Meshrano Jirga) to participate in the New York State Senate’s fellowship program- a nine-month program under the SUNY/New York State Senate Fellowship (09/2008 – 06/2009). The Fellows will work as Senate staffers and also take legislative courses offered at SUNY/Albany's Rockefeller College of Public Administration and Policy, where they take one or two courses in Legislative Studies.
 

Mr. Sangar and Mr. Tawab , have received their US Visas. The itinerary for their trip has been forwarded to the participants. APAP will continue in this process.

During this period APAP held a Certificate distribution ceremony for the 21 Parliamentary Fellows hired by APAP for the committees and the library of the Parliament. The program overall was quite successful in developing the professional skills of the fellows and Parliament decided to hire them as full-time employees. For example, all three fellows assigned to the Parliamentary Library were subsequently hired. According to other fellows: one fellow was hired by the WJ’s Legal Research Unit, two more have been hired by the WJ’s Commission on Administrative Reform, and the Committee Organizer has informed APAP that he has received hiring recommendations for an additional four fellows.

Beginning in January APAP, in coordination with Parliament, will plan the second phase for fellows- keeping in mind the improvement and recommended changed to the program. Recruiting for the spring session is expected to be completed before the Parliament reconvenes.
 

Yunus Qanooni, Speaker of the Afghanistan National Assembly inaugurated the much anticipated Parliament Budget Office on December 6th, 2007. The Budget Office will provide constant technical and specialized research on the fiscal and economic issues of Afghanistan.

The creation of the Budget Office started when MPs, the Speaker and Committees expressed the urgent need for more technical capacity within Parliament to undertake these important duties. They turned to USAID/APAP for assistance. APAP responded by conducting a series of evaluations within the Parliament and succeeded in mobilizing support for the creation of a Parliamentary Budget Office. Consultations were held with the Ministry of Finance. The Deputy Minister thanked APAP for its effort towards building the capacity of MPs in the budgetary economics and promised to provide regular expenditure and projection reports from line ministries to Parliament. In August, APAP prepared and presented a draft Standing Order to the Parliament’s Leadership and Committees. The Standing Order establishes the Budget Office’s legal status, mandate, composition and structure, while establishing the Office’s autonomy to conduct fiscal and budgetary research studies without political interference. In September, APAP completed the MOU for the establishment of the Budget Office. And in November the Budget Office organizational chart was presented for the Secretaries General of each House for approval. A Search and Selection was struck to engage in a transparent manner qualified fiscal and economic experts to staff the Budget Office.

Three full-time dedicated Afghan experts have been hired to staff the Budget Office and will be supported in their mandate and duties by the USAID/Afghanistan Parliamentary Assistance Program where a further three experts are engaged in supporting the Budget Office. USAID/APAP has concluded discussions with UNIFEM agreeing on a close collaboration mechanism to ensure gender issues are fully covered by the Budget Office.

International and national experts will be hired regularly, providing a strong and complement backing to the MPs in the pursuit of their democratic mandate to represent the Afghan people.
 

In November 2007, APAP began conducting topic-specific assessment studies aimed at evaluating the impact of APAP’s course programs and Technical Assistance interventions. In order to accurately evaluate the degree of success of specific program activities, APAP organized follow-up interviews with program participants to gain direct input on the value or benefit of the activity. In the case of longer term courses, such as the English language course, follow-up interviews were held with program participants to accurately gauge the extent to which the coursework had been absorbed and integrated into the individual’s daily activities.

The findings, conclusions and recommendations of this two year program will assist the new English language teacher in fine-tuning the course design.
 

As a part of Afghanistan Participatory Poverty Assessment (APPPA), APAP and ACBAR began working on the production of TV/Radio media deliverables and a Plain Language Guide.

Radio Roundtable Programs
APAP identified and contracted with the Media Support Partnership of Afghanistan (MSPA) to produce three 30-minute radio roundtable featuring MPs, civil society organizations and community members from Herat, Badakhshan, and Nangarhar provinces and then broadcast them in the respective provinces.

TV Roundtable
Eight MPs from both Houses participated in the recording of the National Roundtable Program TV show which will be broadcast by the Tolo and Lemar TV networks between February 15 and March 15, 2008.

APAP and ACBAR prepared the draft briefs/scripts to outline the key themes intended to be communicated through the television programs. The National Roundtable Program is intended to communicate specific themes identified out of the APPPA survey focused on improving the understanding of the scope, causes and impacts of poverty as expressed by the poor.

TV Documentaries
APAP contracted with ARIA Productions (parent company of Afghanistan’s most popular television channel - Tolo Television), to produce a 24-30 minute program, in both Dari and Pashto, for the national audience and another 5-10 English language documentaries for the international audience. The documentary for the local audience will be broadcasted by Tolo and Lemar TV channels between February 15 and March 15, 2008, while the documentary for the international audience will be presented/broadcast at APPPA international press conferences, ANDS donors’ advisory group meetings, presentations to international NGOs, etc. These documentaries will contain clips from the entire APPPA process including the APPPA participatory fragments taken from the field, the national roundtable discussions, press conferences, etc. These documentaries present the voices of legislators, their constituents and civil society organizations.

Radio Spots
APAP also contracted with MSPA to produce 20 Radio spots (10 Dari and 10 Pashto) for broadcast - 10 times each in the Herat, Badakhshan and Nangarhar provinces. The radio spots were designed to communicate specific messages from community members, parliamentarians and civil society organizations.

Plain Language Guide preparation
APAP and ACBAR began working on the Plain Language Guide for the general public, CSOs and MPs over the key issues regarding ANDS, APPPA and economic development. The guide is intended to reach MPs and civil society. The Plain Language Guide will be produced, designed and published, then distributed to all stakeholders before the finalization of ANDS. The Guide is intended to create wider understanding of poverty reduction, economic terms and the respective roles of civil society, the public sector, and the private sector.
 

APAP facilitated two 3-hour seminars on Parliamentary Empowerment and Awareness Raising on ANDS and the broader agenda of poverty reduction priorities. These two seminars were jointly organized by APAP and ACBAR as a part of the Afghanistan Pilot Participatory Poverty Assessment (APPPA). The aim of these awareness raising seminars is to provide Parliamentarians with the information they need to effectively engage with the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and to identify ways they can advocate with various stakeholders for strategic solutions.

The first seminar was organized for 10 MPs from Lower House on November 4th and the second seminar for 23 MPs from Upper House was organized on November 5th. During the seminars MPs information packets were distributed about ANDS, information on ANDS sub-national consultation, the Afghanistan Compact, and APPPA and its provincial consultations.

The MPs actively participated in the discussions and the seminar stimulated multiple thoughts and questions on poverty reduction and the ANDS. APAP believes that these and other forthcoming seminars will help MPs increase their input and participation in the formulation and implementation of ANDS and poverty reduction priorities. It will also enhance the Parliament’s image among the general public, who can see that the Parliamentarians are actually listening to and addressing their concerns. This will, at the same time, assist MPs to find constructive ways to engage with different stakeholders.
 

On October 29, Yunus Qanooni, the Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, spoke on "The Democratization of Afghanistan" to a standing room only audience at the University at Albany. This speech was the culmination of his visit to Albany and Washington, DC from October 23-29, 2007. Speaker Qanooni was joined on his trip by two distinguished Afghan Parliamentarians, Mrs. Seddiqa Mubarez and Mr. Mohammad Naiem Farahi, and Mr. Rahimullah Ghalib, the Wolesi Jirga's Chief of Staff. Speaker Qanooni met representatives from Albany's Rockefeller College to discuss modalities for launching the Afghanistan Parliamentary Institute (API) under a joint academic exchange program.

While in Washington, Speaker Qanooni visited his counterpart in the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, USAID's Administrator and the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman. He also made a presentation at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Speaker Qanooni discussed the creation of the Afghan Parliament, and its role in strengthening Afghanistan's nascent democracy, noting that: "Democracy has been recognized as a successful idea and a successful experience. We accept democracy as a way and a path and we learned this from our friends in the West Democracy has had a long route in Afghanistan; for the first time in the 200 years of history the people of Afghanistan have seen a transition of power by their own will. For the first time in the history of Afghanistan, we witnessed the formation of a government that was the will of the people." 
 

APAP facilitated the participation of two MPs in the Badakhshan Provincial Development Discussion forum on November 1st. The discussion forum, organized by ACBAR in conjunction with APAP, included district Governors, members of Provincial Councils, MPs, representatives from line ministries, CSOs, and community members. The forum provided roundtable discussions and video interviews with impoverished Afghans and were aimed at creating opportunities for different stakeholders to discuss poverty reduction priorities and provide input to the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). 
 

APAP invited Mr. Richard Atwood, former Chief of Operations of the Joint Election Management Body Secretariat (JEMBS) in 2005, to provide information about the implementation of the Electoral Law in the Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections of 2005. Beginning on October 28th, Mr. Atwood met a number of key interlocutors in the Parliament and civil society organizations. Mr. Atwood led a joint session for both Houses in which he addressed a variety of questions including electoral fraud, the 2005 election budget, and the mechanisms instituted for registering and resolving complaints.
 

APAP held meetings with Chairpersons of the WJ’s and MJ’s Environment and Natural Recourses Commissions to discuss the details of a presentation on Mining Law by a Natural Resource Management legal expert, Mary Louise Vitelli.

Following these meetings, APAP held a briefing on the Mining Law with the Environment and Natural Resources Committees of both houses. The focus of the briefing was on mining sector regulations, legal documents and terminology, customs issues, and shortcomings in existing legal framework.

APAP and its sub-contract partner (AWAZ Productions) broadcast the seventh and eight episodes of the prime-time ‘Face the Nation’ TV talk show on Parliament. The radio versions of the same talk shows were broadcast during the same time period.

Nafisa Sultani, an MP on the Meshrano Jirga’s Committee on Disabilities, and Ahmad Ali Gibrail, an MP from the Wolesi Jirga’s Central Audit Committee, were featured in the program. They both spoke about their representation functions, with Ms. Sultani, who is herself disabled, focusing especially on her representation for disabled and handicapped people. Both episodes aimed at increasing public awareness and understanding about the role, structure, procedures, and functions of the Parliament and its elected members.

To evaluate the impact of this civic education program, APAP conducted a survey of 95 individuals in Kabul to learn more about the public’s perception of the Parliament and its elected members. The final survey report will be issued during the next reporting period.
 

APAP has been participating in meetings with the legislation committees of both houses to build the groundwork for it to review the new electoral law. APAP will be using its own in-house electoral expertise to provide technical assistance to the committees as well as working with other implementing partners to field high-profile international elections experts.

To support this effort, APAP has joined IFES in preparing a Briefing Book for MPs on the Electoral Law. While the book’s distribution will be limited initially to those MPs directly concerned with the electoral law, APAP and IFES intend broader distribution in both houses as each move to consider the Bill in plenary.

The timeline for the Parliament’s consideration of the law has slipped due to the Independent Electoral Commission submitting multiple/different versions of the law to the Taqnin. Based upon meetings with the Ministry of Justice, APAP has confirmed that the law is now expected to reach Parliament in mid-October.

APAP has thus far facilitated three WJ public hearings on Afghanistan Criminal Procedure Law. Originally, APAP and the Committee on Justice and Judiciary Committee had planned to hold a final capstone hearing in Kabul in mid-August. However, because the Committee would like to stage the final hearing nearer to the time when the law is being considered in plenary, the final workshop is being delayed until the late fall. The public hearings held in Jalalabad, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif have already covered three Eastern, five Western and five Northern Provinces. Further discussions on implementing an oversight plan were delayed by the Peace Jirga but APAP is expecting the process to be back on track by the second half of this month.

APAP held discussions with Oxfam and the WJ’s Economic Committee aimed at organizing a briefing session on Oxfam’s WTO accession report. Although both parties agreed to hold the briefing on August 7, the Peace Jirga necessitated its cancellation. APAP is now working to facilitate a new briefing date.

APAP held a series of meetings with the WJ’s Economic Committee members and assistants to discuss the committee’s proposal to hold public hearing program in Heart at the end of August. APAP assisted the committee in developing the program agenda and contents and may provide technical assistance to support the event.
 

APAP met representatives from Kabul University, both houses of the Parliament, and the Deputy Minister for Higher Education to discuss the overall structure of the Parliamentary Institute. Previous demands that the Parliamentary Institute include a degree track program for MPs was dropped, with the Ministry and Kabul University agreeing that the MPs could take degree programs at Kabul University with the possibility of using a modified entrance exam.

On July 18th, APAP concluded its Intermediate-level Legislative Drafting course. One hundred three staff members representing MJ Committees, the Ministry of Defense’s Legislation Department, the Ministry of Justice’s Legislation Department (Taqnin), the Independent Election Commission’s Legal Department, and the Ministry of Interior’s Legal Officer received training in drafting and amending laws. While the training program imparted much-needed skills, it also further assisted in establishing collegial relations between and among different Government branches.

At the certificate award ceremony, held on July 19 th in the Parliament’s Conference Hall, the WJ’s Speaker, Yunus Qanooni, expressed appreciation for APAP’s work to professionalize the core staff of the Parliament and other Afghan government institutions.

APAP continues to hold meetings with both houses to establish operational protocols for the new Parliamentary Budget Office. While the parties involved appear to have agreed to a basic structure: a single office serving both houses, with a Director and between 4-6 staff, the final details are still under discussion. APAP has agreed to assist the Parliament in developing a position description and recruiting a Budget Office Director (to be funded by the Project. A joint recruitment committee will begin reviewing applicants during the next reporting period.

As a result of APAP’s recommendations, the WJ’s and MJ’s Budget and Finance Committee work plans now include a Regional Budget Summit aimed at facilitating Parliament-Civil Society engagement in the 1387 budget planning process. The first Regional Budget Summit is tentatively scheduled for Mazar-e-Sharif in November and APAP is working with the Committees to prepare an agenda and identify relevant stakeholder groups.
 

APAP supported the Parliament Library in organizing its First Anniversary celebration. The 50 attendees of this event included: MPs and representatives of different governmental and non-governmental organizations and representatives of international organizations. The event was also used to solicit additional resources for the library, via distribution of book donation forms. Ms. Andrea Muto, USAID/AROLP, responded by donating a number of law-related books, with CDs, to the National Assembly Library.

APAP’s computer courses continue, with 61 participants graduating the course since the program was initiated. Approximately 100 staff members are in the process of learning MS Windows and MS Office programs. The target date for the completion of this training project is June 2007.

APAP provided the MJ Secretariats’ Information and Public Relations, Finance, and Administration Departments 23 office desk sets, 16 file cabinets, 20 visitors chairs, and furniture for the meeting room. Also, to assist the National Assembly in better managing the Library’s holdings, APAP provided an additional 26 meters of wood shelving.
 

The SUNY/APAP Budget team prepared and distributed a comprehensive 1386 Briefing Book for members of the Afghanistan National Assembly. The first of its kind in Afghanistan for MPs, it incorporated a compilation of texts and reports on the budget at the time it was released by the Minister of Finance in February 2007; it contained sector-related analyses (such as health or education issues); distributional and group analyses that examine the impacts of budgets on different income groups or parts of society (such as women or children); indicators of domestic revenues; analyses linking budget and rights issues; analyses of the general economic effects of the budget; and tax and revenue analyses. In addition it contained background information on the London Compact and other relevant information.

The Briefing Book was produced at the request of an increasing number of MPs who wish to enhance their knowledge of economic issues and fiscal policies.

Its distribution was highly acclaimed as a contribution to capacity-building of the Afghanistan National Assembly.
 

March, 2007

On March 27, 2007, APAP (in conjunction with USAID/AROLP) completed a 10 day Legislative Drafting training workshop for 40 staff members of the Lower House Committees and 6 Legal Officers of the Legal Departments of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior. The inclusion of Members of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior facilitates a better understanding of the Executive Branch and assists the Executive Branch better understand the parliamentary process.

The training enables participants to draft/amend laws and to assist MPs in their legislative and oversight functions. At the certificate distribution ceremony, the WJ’s Secretary General expressed appreciation for APAP’s work to help professionalize the National Assembly’s core staff.

'The staff of both branches learn how a focused and well-drafted bill can help create Afghanistan’s future.'
 

March, 2007

APAP provided assistance in planning a public hearing on the Criminal Procedure Law in Jalalabad. The purpose of the hearing was to listen to the concerns and problems faced by the Law Enforcement Agencies in the provinces as they implemented the provisions in the current Interim Criminal Procedure Code. Agencies represented included Criminal Investigation Police, Prosecutors, Judges, Provincial Prison Chiefs and representative from Civil Society Organizations.

Participants submitted their written suggestions to the committee, urging the committee to keep their recommendations in mind when enacting a new Criminal Procedure Code for Afghanistan.

As a follow-up to the Jalalabad hearings, the Committee has decided to organize a second event in Herat (May 5th-May 6th). APAP is taking lead in providing technical assistance and logistics for this hearing.

APAP staff met the MJ Committee on Natural Resources to facilitate meetings with the Counter Narcotics Courts to review the Counter Narcotics Law.
 

'This public hearing has been noted as a significant milestone in the democratic process of Afghanistan, as it marked the first time the Legislature, the Executive and the Judicial Branches met face to face.'
 

Official Gazettes of the Government of Afghanistan dating back to 1964 Presented to National Assembly Library. Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Tuesday, February 13, 2007, Mr. James Kunder, Acting Deputy Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), presented two 86 volume hard bound sets of all the Official Gazettes of the Government of Afghanistan dating back to 1964 to the National Assembly Library. Decades of war left libraries and government institutions lacking a comprehensive compilation of the laws of Afghanistan. This collection of Afghan legal documents was published by the Ministry of Justice with support from USAID.

“I believe this reference set which contains all enacted laws, regulations, decrees, and other important legal documents of the country will be useful to the work of the National Assembly as it reviews and amends Presidential decrees and begins to write its own legislation,” says Mr. Kunder.

Since its inauguration in December 2005, USAID has provided technical assistance and training to members of the National Assembly and their staff. USAID also provided computers, furniture, books and technical assistance to help establish the National Assembly library. Its ongoing programs include technical support to key committees and assistance to create a new Parliamentary Institute at Kabul University.

This event comes at the end of Mr. Kunder’s four day visit to Afghanistan. During his visit he had the opportunity to view many USAID supported programs in democracy and governance, economic growth, alternative livelihoods, infrastructure and power.