Peace From the bottom-up? The Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program

Since late 2010 the Afghan government, supported by its international partners, has tried to reintegrate insurgents under the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program (APRP). The APRP aims to entice fighters from the battlefield with security, jobs and other incentives – provided they renounce violence, respect the Afghan constitution and cut ties with al-Qaeda.

This paper is part of an ongoing project by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) to identify issues and options to help Afghanistan move toward sustainable peace.

Afghanistan will need a robust and effective reintegration infrastructure to support the achievement of a durable peace. In order to have this, the Joint Secretariat, High Peace Council, International Security Assistance Force and the international community led by the United Nations should consider the following recommendations:

• link reintegration with reconciliation: increase the role of diverse social groups and non-combatants in vetting, grievance resolution, and development planning; pursue a broad-based peace process that engages leaders of groups across the society on difficult political issues driving the conflict
• focus on quality, not on speed: Afghanistan will require a robust reintegration infrastructure able to handle large numbers to secure a sustainable peace. Manage expectations through clear communication of program goals and limitations; If there is a cease fire, localised cease fires, or potential cease fires, be prepared to offer comprehensive packages to midlevel commanders that include genuine local reconciliation and non-economic grievance resolution
  
• support local processes. expand administrative, financial and moral support for local officials involved in implementing APRP; introduce effective independent local monitoring of the use of resources