dougnoll’s posthaven

Segment 1: Social Justice and Basic Human Rights.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Judithe Registre, Program Director for the Because I Am a Girl campaign at Plan International USA.  Judithe holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and Social Policy from American University and a Masters Certificate in Advanced Social Research from Afrikaans University in South Africa, in addition to being a Fellow Alumnus of the Salzburg Seminar, a forum that brings together thinkers and leaders from different global institutions to develop ideas geared towards solving international issues.

Judithe was born in Haiti and discovered a passion for justice and social change at a very young age. At 9 she first realized that young girls have to wash, cook, and clean, while young boys got to play. That idea did not resonate well with her. She wanted to understand how society is structured and how people relate to one another, as well as learn about social justice. Judithe defines social justice as the idea that we are all born with innate human rights: education, quality of life, access to food and water, basic things we need to grow up as dignified human beings.

Segment 2: Invest In Kids Today.

Judithe has been in some of the most difficult places in the world, one of the most challenging being the  Democratic Republic of Congo. Spending time there taught her the true meaning of trauma. In any post-conflict environment, the population experiences trauma and violence at a greater rate than a mainstream population. We need to take into consideration the trauma that the women and girls in those environments have experienced when we attempt to rebuild their society.

The process of healing takes multiple generations. Change happens if we are patient and committed to the long process. The process needs to be centered around the community. If we want to get rid of the problems that occurred 20 years ago, invest in the kids of today. If we educate women and children, change can happen faster than anticipated.

The Because I Am a Girl campaign focuses on girls and invests in educating them before they become women. By 2016 they estimate they will have helped 4 million girls with education, financial skills, basic life training, issues of early marriage, and improved maternity health. The heart of addressing women is to address girls before they hit puberty.

Segment 3: Steady, Persistent and Consistent Efforts.

In developing or post-conflict countries, when young women start to reach puberty they become objects of reproduction and lose opportunity, whereas when young men reach puberty in those same countries, they gain opportunity. The expectations for boys and girls are very different. If we invest in the girl’s education, her contribution to society will be far greater.

Plan International was founded in 1937. They operate in 50 developing countries and have over 600 volunteers all over the world, primarily working with children. They work to ensure education and protection for the rights of kids so they can grow up to become active citizens who hold leadership roles in the community. Their mission is 3-fold: they work at the grassroots level, and at the government level, as well as the international level. Change in any environment is difficult, even when we know change is good for us. Steady, persistent and consistent efforts lead to change.

Segment 4: The Discussion Changes.

The moment someone believes they can do something, the moment we start believing that we have the confidence and the intelligence to make something happen…everything changes. When you have a nation of young women and young girls unable to realize their full potential, it prevents that society from realizing its full potential. It goes far beyond the individual girl. When people start recognizing the overall benefits to investing in girls, and that an educated and intelligent woman makes a better partner, mother, and role model as a whole, the discussion changes. Everything changes.

To listen to the entire interview:

Segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

Segment 4

The assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was spearheading the reconciliation process with the Taliban in Afghanistan, has changed the dynamics of peace in Aghanistan. The Afghan government has evidence that the assassination, carried out by the Quetta Shura Taliban headed by Mullah Omar and based in Pakistan, was supported, encouraged, and perhaps financed by the ISI, the Pakistani Intelligence Service. The Pakistanis vehemently deny this charge. However, it would seem that Pakistani influence in Afghanistan is on a severe decline.

As a response to the assassination and the evidence linking it to the Pakistani intelligence service, the Afghanistan government has turned to India, seeking stronger ties and a reliable peace partner. This is infuriating and probably frightening the Pakistani military and intelligence service. The whole point of the Afghanistan adventure, from their perspective, was to de-stabilize the country, keep it in a low level of insurrection and civil war, and control the insurgents from Pakistan. They could thereby assure themselves that Afghanistan would not pose an existential threat on their western border. However, the continued duplicity that Pakistan has used as its chief strategy now seems to be backfiring. The US is tired of the lies, double-dealing, and outright deceptions carried out by the Pakistani military and intelligence service. This became apparent after Osama bin Laden was discovered living 750 yards from the Pakistani military academy and was assassinated by Seal Team 6. Now the Afghanistan government has turned against Pakistan as a direct result of Pakistan's involvement in the Rabbani assassination. Obviously, Pakistan is not a willing partner in the creation of a stable, neutral Pakistan and is beening ostracized from the process. What might this mean for a peace process?

First, any legitimate peace process will have to start inside of Afghanistan. No matter what any other country may wish, the Afghan people have to decide that they want peace, not war. This will by necessity be an internal process and therefore cannot be constrained by traditional 18th century diplomatic negotiations favored by the international foreign policy establishment. In other words, at the outset, there will be no high level peace talks between diplomats, envoys, and heads of state. 

Instead, if any peace process is to be effective and enduring, it must be organized and implemented from within Afghanistan. The stakeholders must include tribal leaders, village and regional councils (both shuras and jirgas), urban civil society leaders, women's rights leaders, government ministers, Pashtun, Tajik, Hazzari, and Uzbek ethnic representatives, and rule of law advocate, among others. The process must be carefully designed, fully funded, and organized by a mediation and facilitation team dedicated to a very long, arduous process. Lasting peace in Afghanistan will take 10-15 years to accomplish, not 6 months.

Second, the focus of the international community, especially the US, should be on supporting this internal process and protecting it from outside interference (e.g. from the Pakistanis and their Taliban proxies). Pakistan may be the major spoiler because peace is the last thing it wants to see in Afghanistan, unless it is in total control of the government. Pakistan and its Taliban proxies must be isolated and persuaded to stay out of the internal peace process.

Third, to the extent feasible, the NGOs and diplomats working in Afghanistan should be offering peace-related resources to the stakeholder groups. This could include referrals to mediation and facilitation experts, training in negotiation and mediation, training in effective group decision-making, and the myriad other skills needed in any difficult peace process. Building a systemic capacity for peace processes, negotiations, facilitated conversations, and restorative processes will be as important as the actual peace work itself. The US could divert a small percentage of its military spending in Afghanistan, which would be enough to support a robust peace process for the  generation that the process will probably take.

Finally, the international community should stay out of the way except to provide support and expert advice when asked. It should shelter the process, provide security as necessary in support of the process, and keep Pakistan at bay. Only when the Afghanistan people are speaking with one voice under a leadership regime that all trust to speak for their interests should the circle widen to include regional states.

This view of peace is very different from the usual trajectory of international peace efforts. It requires those who have power or think they have power to step back and allow for Afghanistan self-determination. At the same time, those who have power and are truly interested in peace can use their power to protect the process from outside spoilers. It means becoming a servant to peace instead of a master of war. It means putting the interests of the Afghanistan people ahead of national economic or security interests. It's unlikely that this dedication to peace exists in the international community. However, peace in Afghanistan is unlikely without it.

Douglas E. Noll is a professional mediator, author, and speaker. His latest book is Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts.