United Nations Strategic Framework for Afghanistan
UNITED NATIONS STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR AFGHANISTAN
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In June 2023, the findings of these consultations were further validated through meetings with the
Afghan private sector, non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations (CSO). Despite
the subsequent imposition of the ban on female Afghan staff at NGOs, CSOs, and the UN, the priorities
and approaches articulated in the consultations in October and November 2022 remained broadly the
same; participants encouraged the UN and the international community to continue the principled
delivery of assistance to the Afghan people, particularly to women and girls.
Based on the outcomes of the updated analysis and consultations process, ACG partners formulated
and agreed on three complementary and mutually reinforcing joint priorities and outcomes for the
ACG Framework, which also form the basis of this UN Strategic Framework. These common priorities
are:
Priority 1: Sustained Essential Services
Priority 2: Economic Opportunities and Resilient Livelihoods
Priority 3: Social Cohesion, Inclusion, Gender Equality, Human Rights, and Rule of Law
These priorities are supported by three core outcomes described in the section below, as well as two
Collective Outcomes on 1) reducing food insecurity and 2) reducing maternal and child mortality rates,
towards which partners across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus will endeavour to support
through their interventions (see Section 3.5 on operationalization of the triple nexus in Afghanistan).
Box 3: Afghanistan Coordination Group
In the absence of a nationally led aid coordination architecture, the Afghanistan Coordination
Group (ACG) was established in May 2022 to improve coordination and coherence and identify
synergies among key international partners to enhance efficiency and aid effectiveness.
The ACG is currently comprised of representatives of the Governments of Australia, Canada,
Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Finland, Japan, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar,
Sweden, Türkiye, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom, as well as the
European Union, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development
Bank, World Bank, and the United Nations. Civil society groups, international and national
NGOs, regional partner countries, and private sector actors, are also engaged through the ACG
structure. The ACG is supported by sectoral level Strategic Thematic Working Groups (STWGs)
that conduct technical-level coordination between the ACG partners to improve the quality and
coherence of aid and policy dialogue and coordinate existing and planned programmatic
activities to ensure complementarity and avoid duplication.
While Afghanistan's neighbours are not all members of the ACG, both the ACG Framework and the UN
Strategic Framework address the principles and priorities expressed by regional countries. For
example, the May 2023 Samarkand Declaration of the Fourth Meeting of Foreign Ministers of
Afghanistan's Neighbouring States expressed "the commitment to the development of Afghanistan as
a peaceful, united, sovereign and independent state, free from the threats of terrorism and drug
trafficking" and the "importance of building an inclusive and broad-based governance system in
Afghanistan that reflects the interests of all segments of Afghan society."View entire presentation