TLO Background and Establishment:

The Liaison Office (TLO) is a non-governmental organisation aiming at improving local governance, peace and security in the South, East and Southeast of Afghanistan through systematic and institutionalized engagement with traditional and modern civil society structures.

TLO has worked on brokering linkages and cooperation between traditional civil society, grass roots organisations, modern state institutions and different representatives of the international community in Afghanistan.  This institutional setting forms the base for providing assistance to traditional civil society aiming at giving them a voice/role in the peace and reconstruction process of Afghanistan, especially the country’s new governance framework.

TLO emerged at the end of 2003 out of a swisspeace pilot project (supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation) on good governance after the organization was approached by elders of the local community representatives in the Southeast (Ahmadzai and Mangal tribes) requesting assistance for participation in the peace and reconstruction process since local interest proved overwhelming, the pilot project quickly gained acceptance and momentum; and as a natural continuation and expansion of this project, the organisation was founded in December 2003.

Missionand Approach of TLO:

The mission of TLO is: “to facilitate the formal integration of communities and their traditional governance structures within Afghanistan’s newly peace, governance and reconstruction framework”.

TLO’s aim is to contribute to peace and security through strengthening the capacity of traditional and modern civil society structures in the area of peace building and conflict mediation. TLO is trying to find a way to deal with the challenge of working in insecure environments with communities desperately wanting to be part of the peace and reconstruction effort.

TLO's Core Objectives:

•  Improve knowledge and understanding of Afghanistan and its communities through targeted research. 
• Improving Peace and Human security: This includes activities that address both aspects of freedom from fear (prevention, management and resolution of community conflict) and freedom from want (facilitation of development projects that enhance the livelihood of communities, especially in the area of natural resource management).
• Supporting the Afghan government’s ability to carry out its responsibility to protect (R2P): Currently the Afghan government is not fully able to perform its responsibility to protect its citizens from conflict and violence (especially in the volatile areas of the Pashtun belt). TLO aims at fostering linkages between traditional and other community structures and the Afghan government in order to improve on and strengthen the government’s capability to deliver in this regard.
• Build the capacity of traditional and modern civil society in areas of peaceful conflict resolution and management.

 

TLO Activity areas:

TLO works in three main areas: research and analysis, peace building and mediation, and natural resource management. Crosscutting activities included information sharing and dissemination (to international and national stakeholders), coordination and facilitation (meetings, workshops, seminars, dialogue among and between stakeholders) and capacity building (civic education, training).

TLO Operational Capacity:

Currently the organisation has one headquarter in Kabul, three regional offices in Paktia, Kandahar and Nangarhar and four additional provincial offices in Khost, Paktika, Uruzgan and Ghazni Provinces. While the organisation’s focus has been mainly on the Southeast, East and South of the country, the long-term vision is to expand activities across all of Afghanistan.

TLO is increasingly engaging gender orientation in its organisation and work. In order to introducing a further element of gender awareness into its work, TLO has adopted an iterative approach exploring areas where raising gender relations and the inclusion of women is possible. This includes, for example:

• Collecting gender disaggregated data where possible
• Encourage modern and traditional civil society organisations to include women in their memberships and decision-making processes.
• Encourage prominent female figures and active women’s organisations in the communities where TLO works to engage with programmes and provide their own suggestions to program development.
• Work with TLO constituencies and partners, toward a greater understanding of and consensus on how best to serve women in the communities where they operate without generating resentment and conflict between men and women.

TLO & HBS Cooperation:

• Good Governance in Tribal Areas (Feasibility Study leading to the The Liaison Office)South- East Region
• Setting up the The Liaison Office Kabul, Paktia and Khost
• Continuous Support The Liaison Office Paktia
• Peace Jirga for Stability & Reconciliation, Kabul
• Workshop on Peace stability & reconciliation in the east/ south eastern regions, Nangarhar, Kabul
• Facilitation of Governance and Development Initiative, Eastern Regions
• Facilitation of Governance and Development Initiative, Paktia, Paktika and Khost
• Facilitation of Governance and Development Initiative, East and Southeast regions