On 15 November Mr. Scott Smith, Political Affairs Department Director and Mr. Maciej Dachowski, Political Officer for Regional Affairs of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paid their second visit this year to the OSCE Academy to deliver a lecture to the new group of MA students and to discuss possibilities for internships for Afghan alumni within the UN Volunteers programme in Afghanistan.
During the lecture Mr. Smith informed about the latest developments in the peace process in Afghanistan, the ceasefire negotiations and its outcomes; the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan and the impact of the upcoming presidential elections in the USA on the peace process; the various causes of the conflict and their rooting in the different countries neighboring Afghanistan. Following the lecture students asked Mr. Smith about the Daesh groups in some of the regions of Afghanistan; the possibility of targeting more activities at major international players, like the USA, Russia, Iran, India and Pakistan, rather than internally in Afghanistan; the effectiveness of the UNAMA in Afghanistan, and many more issues.