An Afghan Appeal to UN Leadership

04.05.2023 07:34

UN Secretary-General António Guterres briefs journalists in Doha, Qatar, on the situation in Afghanistan. 3 May 2023. Credit: UNESCO/Khava Mukhieva

A letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Special Representatives and Envoys for Afghanistan, and UN leadership in-and-out of Afghanistan.

By Ahmad Wali Ahmadi
KABUL, Afghanistan, May 4 2023 (IPS)

We are a group of Afghans living in the country and working across sectors including peace, civil society, humanitarian aid, human rights, media, and the private sector, and are working to promote dialogue and seek long-term solutions for our country.

This ad hoc group encompasses and reflects the work of individual Afghan men and women and organizations led by and employing women working across the aforementioned sectors at grassroots, sub-national, and national levels.

As you gathered in Doha, Qatar on May 1st and 2nd 2023 to discuss the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, we welcome your initiative to explore avenues of engagement and dialogue to resolve the impasse that the Taliban Authorities and the international community have been in over the course of the last 19 months.

Afghans are suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet worsened by a weakened economy and a lack of a framework for political dialogue. Whilst humanitarian engagement has been a necessity, we need the global community to recognize that this is neither sustainable nor optimal for alleviating the human suffering in Afghanistan.

A principled, pragmatic, and phased approach to engagement with the Taliban Authorities is needed to ensure the well-being of the Afghan people and to remove the roadblocks holding us back from pursuing the social and economic development of our country.

As such, we urge that you take into consideration the following:

Political track

– With the recent renewal of the UNAMA mandate, the organization needs to be supported, strengthened, and empowered as the major political entity representative of the international community present inside Afghanistan.

– The international community should work with people inside Afghanistan to develop Afghan solutions to Afghan problems. We encourage the creation of spaces to promote local peace building initiatives and dialogues that already exist and support to expand on our work.

– Wide-range consultation with Afghans living inside Afghanistan including participation in international engagements taking place on Afghanistan.

Aid track

– Ensure the effective and principled implementation of humanitarian assistance through I/NGOs and UN Agencies with routine monitoring and re-evaluation of approach, commitment of timely and effective delivery of aid, and meaningful participation of women both as humanitarians and clients.

– Expansion and flexibility in funding – local organisations have shown better capacity to negotiate humanitarian access and the ability to expand into essential non-humanitarian work. Therefore, donor agencies should consider expansion of funds to national entities as well as showing flexibility around areas of operation and expansion of programming in areas where women can work.

* Focus on funding women-led and owned organizations and explore opportunities of funding private sector to develop and expand their initiatives.

* Repurpose and replenish ARTF funding to be fit-for-purpose in the current operational context through supporting locally-led mechanisms for delivery of aid and implementation of development programming.

* Women and girls can continue to access and be active through a range of institutions such as local media, certain types of vocational institutes, cultural heritage preservation and arts programming. These spaces would benefit from investment from the international community.

* Fund initiatives tackling climate change in Afghanistan before it is too late – the effects of climate change are increasingly evident, putting millions of lives and economic livelihoods at risk.

Economic track

* While the economy is no longer in freefall and there is evidence of a low-level stabilization, external obstacles continue to have significant detrimental effects on the Afghan economy. We urge for the lifting of sanctions on financial transactions that are crippling an already struggling private sector and leads to overcompliance of the international banking system.

* Unfreezing of the Afghanistan Central Bank’s assets to improve the banking and liquidity crisis plaguing the country and restore the SWIFT system.

*Technical support to the Afghanistan Central Bank in the areas of Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Terrorist Financing, and relevant fiscal policy departments to build confidence in the banking sector and support economic activity.

Diplomatic track

* Increase the in-country diplomatic presence to ensure direct engagement and dialogue without the reliance on intermediaries.

* Establish a clear roadmap for international dialogue with the Taliban Authorities including launch of informal working groups with the Taliban Authorities on issues of common interests such as countering terrorism, illicit drugs, irregular migration, preservation of cultural heritage as trust building measures, and enhancement of access to information as a public good.

As Afghans living and working in Afghanistan, we are advocating on behalf of millions that have remained here and are suffering from a multitude of man-made crises. We urge you all to consider them when you meet this week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

The current approach to Afghanistan has only increased the suffering in this country. Our people are innovative, determined, pioneering and resilient – let’s work towards lifting the barriers to our progress.