Mechanisms for a Victims-Centred Peace Process in Afghanistan • National Survey of Victims: Building on “A Call for Justice”, the AIHRC should carry out a methodical survey of the post-2001 war victims to collect, aggregate, and categorise victims and their demands on key benchmarks of restorative and retributive justice, and secure an accessible means for receiving victims’ views in consultation with existing civil society and victims’ groups. • Victim Mobilization: Representation of Afghan war victims is still disorganized and lacks coherent organizational structures and platforms. The recent effort to seek victims’ views by the International Criminal Court, (which was largely implemented by civil society organizations) reignited a flicker of hope for justice among victims across the country. The Afghan peace process, although in its embryonic phase, offers a historical opportunity for Afghan war victims to mobilize and help shape a future settlement. • National Consultation: The government should consult widely to understand the realities of different sets of victims, and what is required to make them feel heard. Victims should not be seen as an obstacle to peace, but be brought in to help create an inclusive settlement. There are positive international models of consultation with varying levels of formality. • Streamline Negotiation Mechanisms: The government should remove duplication in its peace and negotiation bodies. • High Level Victim Representation: Whichever body takes meaningful responsibility for peace negotiations should include a Commissioner or Deputy for Victims, and a specialized victims’ committee or advisory group, to ensure substantive and sustained consultation with victims. Ideally this victim representative would be part of any negotiating team. Failing this, victims should be provided with regular and direct access to negotiators. • Civil Society Consultation Group: Civil society should coordinate joint civil society and victim’s advocacy with the government and international allies, to ensure regular and sustained engagement with negotiators and peace mechanisms. • Promote National Dialogue: The government, donors, and civil society should foster a victimscentred peace discourse by engaging in extensive dialogue and debates with different stakeholders and target groups through media, research centres, academic institutions and online platforms.