Afghanistan – Global Peacebuilder Summit

Country/region: Afghanistan

Conflict: Civil war

Organisation: Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission

Field of work: Human rights

Dr. Sima Samar is a well known woman’s and human rights advocate and activist within national and international forums. She served as the first Deputy Chair and Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Interim Administration of Afghanistan. Before chairing the Commission, she was elected as the Vice Chair of the Emergency Loya Jirga.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is working in the area of protection and promotion of human rights. Established based on the Bone Agreement and Presidential Decree and afterwards, pursuant to Article 58 of the Afghan Constitution, it found a legal base to protect and promote human rights in the country, “Every individual shall complain to this Commission about the violation of personal human rights. The Commission shall refer human rights violations of individuals to legal authorities and assist them in defense of their rights.“

Among the many awards she got are the Right Livelihood Award 2012, Mother Teresa Awards for Social Justice, Honorary Doctorate from Salem State University.

The jury statement for the Right Livelihood Award says: „Sima Samar is a doctor for the poor, an educator of the marginalised and defender of the human rights of all in Afghanistan. She has established and nurtured the Shuhada Organization that, in 2012, operated more than one hundred schools and 15 clinics and hospitals dedicated to providing education and healthcare, particularly focusing on women and girls. She served in the Interim Administration of Afghanistan and established the first-ever Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Since 2004, she has chaired the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission that holds human rights violators accountable, a commitment that has put her own life at great risk.“

Links:

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission:

http://www.aihrc.org.af/home/members

Right Livelihood Award

http://www.rightlivelihood.org/samar.html

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Samar

Land/Region: USA
Organisation: Building Markets
Arbeitsfeld: Arbeitsplätze zur F.stabilisierung schaffen

Job creation is one of the greatest drivers of poverty reduction and stability in conflict-prone countries. The key to those jobs? Local entrepreneurs. The reason that poverty and instability persist is due to basic barriers that prevent local entrepreneurs from accessing formal business opportunities. Building Markets was founded to solve this problem.

Our approach is simple. We connect local entrepreneurs to domestic, regional and global supply chains. Our teams start by finding and verifying competitive local businesses and matching them with the demands of buyers. We collect and translate tenders and distribute them through our extensive networks.

We train local businesses on how to bid on, win and execute those tenders. We measure impact, and we advocate for aid reform and open markets.

To date we have redirected over $1 billion into some of the world’s poorest nations, helping to create the full-time equivalent of over 65,000 jobs.

Scott Gilmore is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Building Markets. Prior to this, Scott was a Canadian diplomat, his last position being the Deputy Director for South Asia, working on Canada’s integrated defence, development and diplomatic assistance to Afghanistan.

LINK:
buildingmarkets.org

Dr. Samar Sima

Scott Gilmore