Funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Just Future project is a five-year-long project which started in 2021. In a consortium led by Cordaid, this program is implemented in six countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Mali, Niger, and Afghanistan. In each country, the consortium partners develop, implement, and monitor the program in close collaboration with national-level CSOs.
Context
Afghanistan, bearing conflict and injustice for decades, yearns for peace, conflict resolution, and dialogue. Thus, Search for Common Ground, in consortium with international NGOs, started implementing the Just Future project in Afghanistan to be a part of making the country peaceful and just. Search for Common Ground will primarily focus on the peacebuilding component of the project. This project will enable many communities to talk with each other and with their government to pave the way for an inclusive, just, and peaceful society.
Theory of Change
IF security and justice seekers in conflict-affected communities take collective action through and with primary stakeholders to articulate their needs and advocate for their demands to security, justice, and inclusion in decision-making processes (Assumption 1), and IF primary stakeholders can constructively and effectively challenge and overcome exclusion to influence security, justice, governance and peacebuilding policies and practices with and on behalf of the most excluded constituencies (Assumption 2), and IF duty-bearers and other power-holders develop the political will, resources and capacities to respond to the needs and demands of the most excluded constituencies and are held accountable by primary stakeholders for the result of their actions (Assumption 3), and IF international and regional CSOs and networks support these national processes by advocating for more people-centred practices, safeguarding civic space, holding international partners of state duty-bearers to account, and ensuring accountability towards the most excluded constituencies (Assumption 4), THEN fairer, more inclusive, constructive, sustainable and legitimate power relations between the most excluded constituencies on the one hand and duty-bearers and other power-holders on the other are likelier to emerge—addressing the weak social contract at the very root of fragility (Assumption 5), which will contribute to legitimate stability and sustaining peace in line with SDG16+ in the long-term, BECAUSE the ability of the most excluded security and justice seekers to access basic security and justice is dependent on the operation of a social contract wherein they can influence and negotiate collectively with duty-bearers and power-holders, and amongst themselves, in a context of inclusive political decision-making, sufficient civic space and respect for human rights.
Core Objectives:
The project’s overall objective in Afghanistan is to empower the most excluded constituencies to influence and negotiate collectively with duty-bearers and power-holders in a context of adequate civic space and respect for human rights, leading to more inclusive decision-making.</p
Expected outcomes of the project:
- CSOs strengthen their advocacy for citizens’ participation in the public domain and decision-making;
- Rural and urban communities actively support the participation of local dwellers, including women and youth, in efforts to establish social peace;
- Power-holders are responsive to the needs of vulnerable constituencies and supportive of dialogue with women, youth leaders, and IDPs;
- Alliances and networks developed at provincial, national, and international levels support effective advocacy of civil society.
