A new survey shows that 79% of surveyed minorities in Afghanistan do not see themselves represented in the peace process, which has made some progress over the last few weeks. The organization which conducted the survey is Moasesae Hoqooq-e-Bashar wa Mahwe Khoshonat (a "human rights and elimination of violence organization").
The survey involved the random participation of 595 individuals, including 48 percent women and 52 percent men, from minority groups in Bamiyan, Badakhshan, Balkh, Ghor, Kabul, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Nimroz and Jawzjan provinces.
Surveyed individuals were AImaq, Qezeslbash, Pashaee, Turkmen, Baloch, Barahawi, Arab, Sadat, Nuristani, Wakhi, Kyrgyz, Gujar, Ismaili, Sikhs and Hindus.
The survey, titled “the Vulnerable Minorities and the Peace Process", revealed that 80 percent of the surveyed minorities want more representation in the peace process.
Second Vice President Sarwar Danesh admitted that despite improvements in citizens’ rights, Afghanistan faces challenges in ensuring human rights.
“Minorities and women are two main issues for the Afghan government when it comes to peace, and are nonnegotiable. We don’t want to return to the dark past,” Danesh said.
Meanwhile, the European Union and human rights organizations said that ensuring a lasting peace in Afghanistan will not be possible without the participation of minitories and without ensuring their rights.
“Diversity is a wealth. It is a driver of power, of prosperity, of long-term stability. It is not a weakness. The inclusion and meaningful representation of these minorities in the peace process as well as in the future government substructure of Afghanistan after the peace deal will therefore be of utmost importance,” said Roland Kobia, EU’s special envoy to Afghanistan.
In response to a question about whether or not minority groups in Afghanistan have a role in the peace process, 17.7 percent said yes, 79.1 percent said no, 2 percent had no comments and 1.2 percent had no response.
“The government has the obligation to defend the rights of minorities and the people of Afghanistan, whether they are one, two or ten persons,” said Sima Samar, the State Minister for Human Rights Affairs.
Mohammad Hasan Aimaq, a tribal elder from the Aimaq ethnic group, said the government has not paid attention to the role of vulnerable ministries in Afghanistan.
“Minorities are not less. Ignoring them results in a lack of trust in the government by a portion of the people,” he said.
This comes as negotiators in Doha on Saturday reported that both sides have exchanged their lists about the agenda of the peace negotiations and that the next phase of the talks will begin on January 5.
The negotiating teams of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban earlier this month agreed on procedural rules for the talks. Following their agreement, they held three meetings on the agenda of the negotiations and were expected to start the talks this week.
The negotiators did not mention whether the talks will be convened in Doha or somewhere else.