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As Afghanistan continues to plunge into a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis, there is one global player that can help the country move forward: the United Nations. While its member states continue to debate whether to recognize the Taliban government, the UN can still play an important role in helping the people of Afghanistan. In fact, as an international organization, it often assumes responsibilities that not a single nation has.
Although it was left out of US-Taliban talks and internal peace processes in Afghanistan, the UN is now seen as the main path to humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. If individual states dominate and weaken the UN, preventing the institution from coming into contact with the Taliban, significant vulnerabilities in the UN system will inevitably emerge. As the world waits to prove that the Taliban has changed, the UN must also change its view and it would do well to consider the following messages.
First, it is important to recognize that there is as much need for a political solution in Afghanistan today as there is for the Taliban to take over Kabul. Instead of writing that the peace process in Afghanistan is dead in the water, it is more constructive to see it as a multi-year, flexible and ongoing process to build bridges on all sides and gain a common understanding of Afghanistan’s future.
Given the need for a lasting peace in Afghanistan, the UN must ensure that human and development responses are supported rather than undermining the peace process. In doing so, the human development-peace link provides a strong framework for advancing more integrated approaches that break the traditional foundations of the international aid system in response to the crisis in Afghanistan.
Second, the UN can pave the way for promoting a development approach to humanitarian aid. The issue of food security is critical because Afghanistan is already suffering from severe food shortages and can suffer from widespread famine. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a severe summer drought has affected millions of farmers in Afghanistan.
Urgent measures must be taken to prevent further deterioration of the country’s food security crisis. However, traditional humanitarian business models for importing pre-packaged food are a missed opportunity to contribute to agricultural livelihoods and early economic recovery. Along with aid distribution points, aid collection points are needed across the country to collect food where it is available.
In the coming months, the UN can support smallholder agriculture through public food procurement, renovate food pipelines and facilitate food transportation, and thus contribute to the resilience and transformation of Afghan agriculture.
Third, bold and innovative ways of funding to meet humanitarian needs on a scale will be needed to address Afghanistan’s multidimensional crisis and difficult operating environment without imposing dependency. In October, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced the creation of a People’s Economic Fund that would provide access to money to vulnerable Afghans and micro-enterprises that could bridge livelihood support and macroeconomic stabilization. While this is a welcome move, there is a need for resource mobilization on a much larger scale.
The UN can also play a crucial role in bringing together states in the region to address urgent issues that hinder a more effective humanitarian response. As a landless country, Afghanistan needs to rely on neighborhood cooperation to provide aid. Pakistan has long been a natural opportunity for aid organizations to access relief items. Although the route is essential, it is dangerous to be subject to a limit. The UN can help diversify aid routes, including through Uzbekistan and Iran.
Fourth, there is an urgent need to support 20 years of investment in state and social skills in Afghanistan. This means that the country needs beyond life-saving support. Thus, it is essential that foreign aid avoids existing structures, especially in the education and health sectors, which are essential for socio-economic stability and employ a large number of women.
In mid-October, U.S. Undersecretary of Finance Wally Adeyemo reiterated that he did not anticipate any situation for the Taliban to acquire frozen goods. Unstable cash flows and low reserves, along with limited ability to receive support and funding, will create opportunities for “terrorist” groups to manipulate affected or impoverished people. The UN can play a critical role in acting as a good faith monitor in a gradual approach to defrosting Afghan goods, helping to pay the salaries needed for health and education, and tackling the deteriorating socioeconomic situation of the Afghan majority.
Fifth, given the lack of trust between the Taliban and the international community, it is best for the UN to step up a roadmap to strengthen humanitarian cooperation and development cooperation step by step. The UN has set an example when UNICEF coordinates access to education with the Taliban and intends to directly fund teachers in Afghanistan. UNICEF and the World Health Organization have also launched polio immunization campaigns with the support of the Taliban: in October, the Taliban authorized a UN-led national polio vaccination campaign and pledged to allow women to participate on the front lines. workers.
In a hopeful step towards full development cooperation, Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar recently met with UN Development Program Director Achim Steiner in Doha, where they discussed the current economic crisis in Afghanistan.
In short, as UN agencies are already coordinating humanitarian projects with the Taliban, they are well placed to reach a mutual agreement on the steps needed to establish functional cooperation between the Afghan government and the international community. Given the vital role that Qatar has played as a mediator between the Taliban and the international community, it is logical that it should also play a key role in facilitating this process.
This requires a clear framework with measurable and milestone expectations that will lead to mutual action. For the Taliban, this could include providing secure access, ensuring that aid is not dismantled, guaranteeing women’s rights, and forming a truly inclusive government that represents all Afghans. Internationally, mutual steps can range from the restoration of development aid or the lifting of sanctions to the full acceptance of the Afghan government.
Finally, this will require political will and the appropriate leadership to represent the UN in order to create a proper operational relationship between the Taliban and the UN. Although the Taliban’s perception of the UN is colored by the sanctions imposed on the group, it was interesting to see a pleasant mention at the last meeting of the Taliban leaders Lakhdar Brahimi on the days of former UN Special Representative for Afghanistan. Although they did not agree with UN policy at the time, they clearly identified with him as a Muslim who understood their faith and culture, and showed an understanding of their views without compromising basic humanitarian principles.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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