The establishment of the office of CSHRN in the north and the northeast

Setting up of the office

CSHRN was established in August 2004 in Kabul. It carried out its activities for the first two years mostly in Kabul and conducted programs like a Human Rights School and trainings. Participants were invited from various regions in order to get familiar with CSHRN. Afterwards, members of the network started to research on human rights and the condition of civil society, and the north coordination center got established.

The regional coordination center in the north, which was the first one, was established on 28th, September 2006. The office is in Mazar-e-Sharif and covers nine northern and northeastern provinces of Afghanistan: Samangan, Jawzjan, Sarepul, Faryab, Baghlan, Kundoz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Balkh .

Spreading CSHRN activities out of the capital Kabul to the north aimed at introducing the civil society and human rights network in order to develop civil society into an influential power, to strengthen the culture of citizenship and a stable and legal democratic society.

Activities of the northern regional coordination center

 September 2006 to January 2008

Conducting debates, seminars, and other advisory programs on human rights and civil society for the foundations and human rights activists was one strategy for identifying needs and opportunities in the north. Equally, these programs in various Northern provinces also aimed at strengthening human rights concepts.

The North coordination center and other foundations participating in the programs helped the development of a national strategy for CSHRN. Expressing the needs and providing a platform for discussion these needs resulted in debates and other programs conducted by the north coordination center.

Following, a strategy for CSHRN was approved by the members of the network with a focus on three areas: Capacity Building, Advocacy, Coordination.

Capacity Building:

Capacity building is the first key area that was extremely legible after the establishment of the north coordination center for developing the capacity of human rights organisations. The northern coordination center gave capacity building the highest priority in its first action plan. Below are the examples of the programs conducted:

•  A three-day program on human rights for four northeastern provinces (Baghlan, Kundoz, Takhar, Badakhshan)

•  A three-day program on human rights for five northern provinces (Samangan, Balkh, Jawzjan, Sare-pul, Faryab)

•  Fifteen workshops based on the CSHRN manual on human rights

•  A one-week training for teachers in Balkh Province

Advocacy:

Lobbing is an effective way in order to improve the human rights situation in the country and to promote the vision of CSHRN.

Examples for the work done in the area of advocacy:

•  Participation in the issuing of a statement against the parliament's peace and reconciliation charter (in coordination with the capital, Kabul)

•  Human Rights International Day celebration in Balkh province conducted

•  A national debate on human rights, challenges and rewards conducted

•  Other debates on human rights' concepts conducted

Coordination:

Conducting programs and establishing coordination between human rights foundation is another key area that help gathering foundations as a unit power in the society. Coordination also supports the vision of CSHRN.

Examples for the work done in the area of Coordination:

•  Conducting Human Rights Spring School for nine northern and northeastern provinces

•  Celebrating Women International Day

•  Conducting a three-day seminar on human rights and civil society for four northeastern provinces

•  Conducting a three-day seminar on human rights and civil society for five northern provinces.

Biographies of the regional coordinator and the regional coordinator assistant

Soroush Kazemi was born in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province in 1984. He completed his secondary school in Sultan Gheyasuddin and continued high school in Bakhtar.

Afterwards, he became a member of the Youth Journalist House. He was then appointed as chief-editor of the ‘Padidar Monthly Publication' in 2005. He has written social critiques and his articles on the culture of citizenship, civil and political rights got published.

Soroush Kazemi is a pro-active person and has constantly developed his personality. He got to know CSHRN in 2005 and established contacts between persons from the north involved in human rights and CSHRN. This provided an important opportunity for CSHRN to study the situation of human rights in the north. He participated in the Human Rights School conducted by CSHRN in Mazar-e-Sharif.

In September 2006, Soroush started to work as a regional coordinator for CSHRN in the North and Northeast. He has joined different programs on human rights, civil society, government, rights, law and democracy. He believes that CSHRN has created opportunities for the understanding of social values. He enjoys the corporation culture and the concepts developed to bring improvement.

Nasima Azkiya

Nasima Azkiya was born in Baghlan province in 1983. She had her earlier education in Aisha Afghan Secondary School and completed High School in Sultan Razia. She then did her undergraduate studies at Balkh University, in the English Department.

Nasima Azkiya was interested in human rights' concepts and civil rights' values and did self studies on these subjects. Getting to know them, she started to work in human rights foundations such as the Corporation Center for Afghanistan (CCA) in the north, a foundation working for Human Rights.

In 2006, Nasima Azkiya helped CSHRN run its programs in the North. She got more familiar with CSHRN and was one of the participants of the Summer School on Human Rights organized by CSHRN in Mazar-e-Sharif.

In September 2006, Nasima was employed by CSHRN in the north as staff for the regional coordination.