Informal Justices and the International Community in Afghanistan

Date

2013-04

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

United States Institute of Peace

Abstract

This report analyzes the array of programs that dealt with the so-called informal justice sector in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2011. It focuses on a series of pilot projects sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace that engaged local Afghan organizations at the district and provincial levels to observe and record how informal justice systems resolve (or fail to resolve) people’s disputes, and how informal and formal justice actors relate to each other in practice. It also examines the expanding role of international actors in local dispute resolution and the impact that such interventions have had on local practices and perceptions of justice. The report finds that the informal justice sector provides a pervasive and effective, if sometimes flawed, venue for the majority of the Afghan population to access justice and argues that the international community should commit more fully to supporting local informal justice mechanisms.

Description

Keywords

Afghanistan, Justice, Administration of -- Afghanistan., Dispute resolution (Law) -- Afghanistan., Mediation -- Afghanistan.

Citation

DOI