KUNDUZ - An Australian research team launched in Badakhshan a five-year international research project comparing different means of solving problems rooted in legal doctrine.

“Comparative studies show that peace building process will never create a lasting peace if the truth about the past is hidden” said John Braithwaite, one of the two researchers involved in the project, Peacebuilding Compared.

The project compares successful restorative justice models used throughout the world, including informal mechanisms of conflict resolution and peacebuilding – such as shuras and jirgas at local and provincial levels.

Restorative justice is an approach to the legal system that focuses on the victim and the offender, as opposed to the judge or jury deciding on the case. Methods associated with restorative justice include community service, victim-offender mediation and healing circles, as opposed to prison time.

The study of Afghanistan launched at a conference in Badakhshan last week, with discussions between the researchers and community leaders, provincial peace council members, judges and senior justice professionals. The conference was organized by the Afghan Department of Justice and UNAMA.

Researchers Braithwaite and Ali Wardak are collecting data from 50 countries, including Afghanistan, that have been in major armed conflicts since 1990. The analysis will compare 670 variables in those conflicts, including for example date on law enforcement.

UNAMA’s Role of Law Unit with the financial support of the German development group GIZ facilitated visits to corrections centres in the region.

Speaking at the conference, Badakhshan deputy head of the Provincial Peace Committee, Abdul Rahman Anwari, said the active role of moderate Muslim scholars in the ongoing peace-building process is vital given their major role in social life.

Speakers also highlighted the contribution of women to peace and reconciliation processes.

By UNAMA Kunduz