Kabul, Afghanistan
The Good Governance Studies Institute–Organization (GGSIO), through its Department of Peace and Security Studies and in collaboration with the State Ministry for Peace, conducted a one-day Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Workshop for senior officials and staff of the Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs.
The workshop was held at the Ministry’s headquarters and delivered by Mr. Abdulnasir Folad, Peace Master Trainer and Conflict Resolution Specialist. The session was attended by deputy ministers, department directors, and dozens of ministry staff members.
Institutional Role in Advancing Sustainable Peace
In his opening remarks, Mr. Mohammad Yaqoob Ahmadzai, Deputy Minister for Jirgas and Tribal Affairs, reaffirmed the Ministry’s full commitment to facilitating and strengthening peace efforts across the country. He noted that the Ministry has 462 registered tribal councils nationwide, which could serve as a strategic platform for mobilizing community-level support for peacebuilding in both central and provincial areas.
Mr. Ahmadzai emphasized that peace must safeguard fundamental national values, including the protection of citizens’ basic rights such as freedom of expression, media freedom, and women’s rights.
Dr. Mirwais Sargand Kochi, Director of Coordination with Security, Defense, Civil Institutions and Prison Affairs at the State Ministry for Peace and coordinator of the workshop, outlined the Ministry’s national peace initiatives. He stressed that sustainable peace must be nationally inclusive and institutionally supported.
Technical Session: Conflict Analysis and Strategic Peacebuilding
During the technical segment of the workshop, Mr. Abdulnasir Folad facilitated an interactive and participatory discussion covering:
- Conceptual frameworks of conflict and violence
- Stakeholder mapping in conflict environments
- Sustainable peacebuilding models
- Empathy and trust-building approaches
- Regional and international strategic dimensions of the Afghan peace process
- Negotiation principles
- The strategic role of the Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs in peacebuilding
The workshop concluded with active engagement from participants and reaffirmed the importance of mainstreaming peacebuilding principles within government institutions.
This initiative forms part of GGSIO’s broader institutional Peacebuilding Program, which is being implemented periodically across various ministries in Afghanistan to strengthen governance capacity and promote conflict-sensitive public administration.
