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Event Recap

Jul 21, 2020

Event recap: “The role of victims in Afghanistan’s peace process”

By Atlantic Council

On July 20, 2020 the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center hosted a panel discussion on the role of victims in Afghanistan’s peace process. Marika Theros, a nonresident senior fellow at the South Asia Center, moderated the discussion which was paneled by Shaharzad Akbar, Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Sergio Jamarillo Caro, Former High Commissioner for Peace for Colombia; and Hadi Marifat, Executive Director of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization.

Afghanistan Democratic Transitions
Illicit Networks-Zaranj

In-Depth Research & Reports

Jul 15, 2020

Strategies for reforming Afghanistan’s illicit networks

By Harris Samad and Fatima Salman

Authored in-house and advised upon by senior fellows Ambassador James B. Cunningham, Ambassador Omar Samad, Marika Theros, Javid Ahmad, and Fatemeh Aman, this report explores illicit networks in Afghanistan in the context of peacebuilding, democratic consolidation, and enhancing state capacity. It concludes by outlining several specific policy recommendations that will be necessary to combat the illicit networks in a manner that supports the durability of the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan and the continued consolidation of its fragile democratic institutions.

Afghanistan Arms Control

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2020

Afghanistan needs a ceasefire now to battle COVID-19

By Marika Theros and Sahar Halaimzai

COVID-19 will not wait for negotiators to reach a humanitarian ceasefire. This is not the time to place political goals above public health or to exploit divisions. A coordinated plan of action, grounded in a public health perspective and which prioritizes pausing the violence, is necessary in order to save lives. Any actor using the pandemic to score political points or to strengthen their hand at the negotiation table cannot be truly committed to peace in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Conflict

Marika Theros, PhD is a nonresident senior fellow at the Strategic Litigation Project and the director of the Civic Engagement Project (CEP), which jointly runs the Inside the Taliban’s Gender Apartheid initiative.  As part of CEP, she has advised on peace processes, ran track 1.5/2 processes, and supports coalition-building and communications strategies for women and civic leaders seeking inclusion, justice and human rights.  She is also a policy fellow at LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and co-founder of the Civic Ecosystems Initiative.  

Her work focuses on political mobilization, human rights, global-local dynamics of violence and change, the politics of knowledge production, and peace process design support in the Balkans, Latin America, South Asia, the Middle East and Somalia. She completed her PhD at the London School of Economics, M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University and MSc in Human Rights at LSE. She has published widely in academic journals, including International AffairsGlobal Policy, Peacebuilding, Journal of Human Rights, Journal of Civil Society, and Conflict, Security & Development. She serves on the boards of the Rahela Trust for Afghan Women’s Education, Women for Peace and Participation, and as an expert member of the Uplift Afghanistan Fund.