30 March 2011 – More than 300 tribal elders and Afghan officials from Uruzgan met on Sunday with members of the High Peace Council to discuss peace and reconciliation efforts.

“We should start the reconciliation efforts within our families, the in the villages, towns, districts and provinces,” the head of public awareness for the High Peace Council, Mohammad Amin Wiqat, told a gathering that also included civil society members and other representatives of the community at Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province.

He added that the call for peace is not just a verbal invitation, but a “realistic and practical process.”

The meeting in Uruzgan was the latest in a series of discussions between the High Peace Council and tribal leaders in provinces throughout the country, to help build public consensus around a peace process.

Afghanistan's High Peace Council - led by former president Burhanuddin Rabbani - was a key initiative of the 1,600 member Peace Jirga in June 2010 and endorsed by the international community at the Kabul Conference the following month. It was es

During discussions in Uruzgan, Governor Mohammad Omar Sherzad detailed some of the challenges in the reconciliation and reintegration efforts, including unemployment and lack of reconstruction activities.

The Governor also urged local elders, provincial council members, civil societies and others “to play their part to rebuild Uruzgan” and bring about peace.

Also speaking at the meeting, the head of the Ulema Shura (council of clerics) of Uruzgan stressed the importance of speaking with prisoners at Poli Charkhi, Bagram and other jails in the country to find out what provoked them to revolt against the Government.

The High Peace Council is an Afghan institution, the official national body responsible for leading efforts to achieve peace. It was established in October 2010, implementing the recommendations of the June Peace Jirga, and has 70 members – including nine women. The Council officially requested technical assistance from UNAMA shortly after it was established, and in response UNAMA set up a special group of experts known as the Salaam Support Group. These efforts are part of UNAMA’s mandate to assist the Government and people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development.

By UNAMA Kandahar