Advocacy & Enabling Environment
Joint advocacy
ACBAR holds frequent advocacy meetings to identify and coordinate advocacy initiatives among members. The diversity of our members allows ACBAR to speak out and defend different sectorial and cross-cutting issues in Afghanistan. These collective approaches have led to the publication of various reports and position papers on topics such as aid effectiveness, protection, health, and education.
Presently, ACBAR has more than 200 members, a composition of international and national NGOs that have a long-standing engagement with Afghanistan. ACBAR collaborates with different international and national platforms and networks for consultation and decision-making processes on humanitarian relief and development issues. ACBAR is, amongst others, a member of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Forum (AHF), and the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) Executive Committee. Outside Afghanistan, ACBAR is a member of ICVA and Interaction.
Advocating on an international level
ACBAR engages in international aid for Afghanistan and has been present at the London Conference, Brussels Conference, and Geneva Conference. ACBAR facilitates the Aid Effectiveness Working Group (AEWG), one of the commitments of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan to be followed up by civil society.
In 2018, for the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, ACBAR was actively involved in the coordination of the National Consultation Process of the Afghan Civil Society. Also, the launch of the Triple Nexus dialogue was held in Geneva. Read our position paper, “Coordinating Triple Nexus in Afghanistan.” Our members have authored several publications on pressing issues, which are available for further reading. The Civil Society Working Committee, of which ACBAR is a member, also produced a report on the civil society input into the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan.
Advocating on a national level
ACBAR’s goal is to enable its members and the wider NGO community to carry out their humanitarian relief and development activities more effectively. ACBAR advocates on policy issues with different institutions of the Government of Afghanistan as well as coordinating with other civil society and/or good governance actors.
To better connect with local communities as an NGO community, ACBAR created a couple of essential awareness tools to clarify the role and principles of NGOs:
A Community Awareness Flipchart: explaining the role of NGOs and humanitarian principles in the flipchart;
Initiating Advocacy Efforts for NGOs in Afghanistan—a toolkit to help NGOs make use of advocacy in their work;
Excerpts from the NGOs Law: a brief summary of the most important chapters in the NGO Law for discussions with local authorities.
Each year, ACBAR organizes donor conferences, which are an opportunity for donors to explain their funding strategy and for member NGOs to connect with donors.
ACBAR updates annually the mapping of all working groups in Afghanistan on humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding areas.
Communication and Engagement:
ACBAR has always believed in strengthening communications and increasing interaction and engagement with its members, and in this regard, it welcomes the opinions, criticisms, and suggestions of all its members openly. Better communication enhances higher solidarity and facilitates easier socialization among members. Without a regular communication system, sustainability in a participatory environment like ACBAR is not possible. Strong communications and mutual interaction and engagement will pave the way for achieving the common goals that ACBAR has with its members.
ACBAR is committed to an open and transparent communications with its members so that it can easily receive the opinions of its members in all areas to best perform its services, which primarily involve representing members at various national and international levels.
As a forum with more than 200 members, ACBAR provides a linkage platform between various stakeholders and members. This is a part of ACBAR’s mandate and one of the three pillars of its strategic plan. The main goal of this platform is to stay connected with our members, stakeholders, and donors with the purpose of sharing information and finding solutions to ongoing concerns.
How do we communicate?
ACBAR is convinced that internal and external communication through appropriate channels between ACBAR, its members, and stakeholders should be guided by clear practices:
Working Groups: ACBAR has multiple working group sessions, both online and in person, in a regular and timely manner. These sessions are intended to facilitate information exchange between ACBAR and its members. This platform (Working groups with a variety of content) serve as a means for ACBAR to learn about challenges and difficulties that its members are facing. Following its discovery, ACBAR intends to consult with relevant parties to discuss potential solutions.
Newsletter: ACBAR publishes a newsletter on a monthly basis that contains information about events, ongoing programs, and ACBAR’s achievements. This newsletter publishes online with the purpose of sharing information and updates with members.
Social media: social media is one of ACBAR’s main two-way communication channels, which can increase the engagement of ACBAR’s members and public audience with updates regarding activities being accomplished, ongoing activities, and planned activities for the future. Through our social media channels (LinkedIn, X, and Facebook pages), we keep track of any interaction with our audience in order to ensure the efficiency of our efforts and services.
Website: our website (www.acbar.org) is not just a simple presence on the internet; it is a well-designed platform for active communication and engagement with our direct and indirect audience. We created this platform to go beyond just information delivery and to foster meaningful interaction and connection. Whether you are a member seeking guidance or assistance or a simple visitor, ACBAR’s website is your gateway to seamless communication.
Standing for Humanitarian Principles
ACBAR believes in humanitarian principles, hence the protection of humanitarian workers under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which offers specific rules on access and delivery of humanitarian assistance in conflict areas such as Afghanistan. In the event of attacks against aid workers and NGO facilities, ACBAR speaks out on behalf of its members to defend humanitarian activities and services for people in need.
For example:
Putting Protection at the Heart of the Peace Process (February 2018)