Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 02/2011

Afghan High Peace Council Fails to Reflect Afghan Civil Society

Patricia Gossman

January 2011

United States Institute of Peace

Abstract

The Afghan public, along with the international community, appears increasingly supportive of opening negotiations with the Taliban to end the war. This Peace Brief assesses the possiblities and challenges the Afghan government and the international community must consider to forge a lasting settlement with the Taliban. The author, Patricia Gossman, is a human rights expert who has investigated and reported on human rights violations in Afghanistan and elsewhere in South Asia for the past twenty-five years.