Quarterly Report, April – June 2014: Afghanistan Community Cohesion Initiative

in the east, south, and southwest regions of Afghanistan. The program aims to increase resilience in areas vulnerable to insurgent exploitation by strengthening community capacities to promote a peaceful transition, supporting peaceful electoral processes and outcomes, and countering violent threats to a peaceful transition. CCI focuses on strategically important districts within Kandahar Province in the South, Hilmand in the Southwest, and Ghazni, Khost, and Kunar in the East. The program's approach is grounded in the principle that durable resilience and cohesion is a result of local will, initiative, and leadership. Creative-CCI designs and implements small grants through a process-oriented, community-driven approach, seeking to strengthen linkages between communities vulnerable to insurgent exploitation and positive influencers, including the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). The program relies on a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, which gathers information from multiple levels to assess programming success and provide information necessary to improve activities and inform district appraisals. Creative-CCI also conducts ongoing assessments that provide situational awareness and a strategic analysis of the program's areas of operations, informing the development of provincial work plans that guide programming. During the second quarter of 2014, security incidents increased throughout the east and southeast, affecting Creative-CCI projects. Insurgent-related violence continued to build throughout the second round of elections in June, with Kunar and Hilmand recording the highest incident rates. The program implemented proactive measures to mitigate potential situations, including closure of provincial offices during heightened risk periods, strict personal and professional staff security protocols, and reducing staff movement in more remote districts. The Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF) changeover was initiated with minimal notice from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) in mid-May. Creative-CCI signed a new contract with APPF following Contracting Officer approval from OTI, and it is anticipated that there will be no change to the current level of service provided by APPF. The Presidential and Provincial Council elections dominated the period, with eight candidates campaigning for the presidency and 2,591 for the Provincial Council. The new President was yet to be announced, and voters determined that the 458-seat Provincial Council will be comprised of 361 males and 97 females, in line with the 2013 Election Law that mandates a 20 percent quota for women candidates in the council. In the South, the April appointment of a new Afghan National Police (ANP) Provincial Chief increased the ANP profile at Creative-CCI project sites. In Hilmand, two suicide bombers attacked the Nahri Sarraj DG's office, killing 12 ANP and three GIRoA employees. In Sangin, Creative-CCI continued working with the DG, developing GIRoA's plans to further consolidate positive involvement and relations with the northern village clusters of Bostanzai, Kotazay, and Nokorzay. In Kandahar, security is fragile, with Kandahar City and surrounding districts experiencing increased AGE activity. ANP arrested six suicide bombers in May, with evidence pointing to a planned attack on Aino Mina, home of GIRoA officials, government offices, and NGOs. In the East, the Tere Zayi district DG was removed over alleged corruption allegations and replaced by Jamil Shah as acting DG, who in turn was replaced by a new DG, Khali, in late June. Greater instability in Bak district has led to a reduced GIRoA functioning ability, characterized by extensive documentation processing delays and reduced movements for officials and community members. In Ghazni, the Qarabagh DG was dismissed from his post without public explanation on June 20. The Qarabagh district has experienced increased instability, with reports of armed clashes and IED attacks.