Afghanistan: on the road to recovery.

War-ravaged, drought-stricken and impoverished, Afghanistan has in the past months witnessed momentous historic changes. When five years of Taliban rule ended last year, it opened an unprecedented window of opportunity for peace and prosperity in the region. Yet, after decades of interminable instability, the challenges facing the country are daunting and still fraught with danger. The Afghan people, exhausted by armed conflicts that threatened the very existence of their nation, need the sustained support of the international community to successfully pursue the road to recovery. In assembling and coordinating that integrated assistance, the United Nations has been given a central role to play.

The structure of a future UN mission in Afghanistan has not yet been finalized. However, the United Nations and the various agencies in the field are close to a consensus on its configuration. Briefing the Security council on 6 February, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, confirmed that an integrated mission that would operate with a "light footprint" was envisioned, giving Afghan institutions as much of a role as possible. The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mark Malloch Brown, is leading the early recovery effort, under the overall coordination of Mr. Brahimi. The recently appointed Deputy Special Representative for Humanitarian and Reconstruction Affairs, Nigel Fisher, is expected to play an important role in bringing together the different parts of the United Nations system engaged in relief, reconstruction and recovery work, and in ensuring that the agencies work in tandem with the Afghan authorities.

Besides working for peace, the United Nations has for years sought to provide humanitarian relief to the Afghan people and mobilize resources for the rehabilitation of the country. In response to the Soviet invasion, the General Assembly in January 1980 held a special emergency session on Afghanistan and adopted the first of a series of resolutions, calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and asking States to contribute humanitarian assistance. In 1988, the Secretary-General set up a "good offices mission" to monitor the withdrawal of Soviet troops and help Afghans find peace. The Assembly in 1992 welcomed the establishment of an Islamic State in Afghanistan and sought assistance for an emergency trust fund to support the country's rehabilitation. However, subsequent hostilities among rival warlords and escalating religious, ethnic and tribal strife led to the breakdown of government authority, paving the way for the Taliban regime in 1996 to gain control over 90 per cent of the territory.

When in the following years reports of drug trafficking, the export of terrorism and grave human rights abuses under the Taliban rule mounted, the Security Council imposed sanctions against the regime, in resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1333 (2000), which included financial measures and embargoes on arms and travel. On 30 July 2001, adopting resolution 1363 (2001), the Council set up a mechanism to monitor the sanctions. In response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States and its allies on 7 October launched an assault on the Al Qaeda organization based in Afghanistan, leading to the disintegration of Taliban control over most of the country.

On 13 November, Mr. Brahimi presented a plan to resolve the crisis and rebuild the country, based on input from the Afghans themselves. Supporting the proposal, in resolution 1378 (2001), the Security Council on 14 November also gave Mr. Brahimi overall authority for United Nations humanitarian, human rights and political activities in Afghanistan.

On 6 December, in resolution 1383 (2001), the Council endorsed an agreement signed by the Northern Alliance and other Afghan groups, after nine days of UN-sponsored talks in Bonn, Germany, which named Hamid Karzai as provisional head of Afghanistan. That day, with the fall of Kandahar, the Taliban regime collapsed. Coming into force on 22 December, the Bonn Agreement laid down a temporary political arrangement for the war-torn country, establishing an Interim Authority to govern Afghanistan for six months, while an Independent Commission worked on convening by 22 June 2002 the Loya Jirga--a traditional assembly of provincial elders and leaders elected to form a transitional government. Inaugurated on 7 February, the 21-member Commission, determined under the auspices of the United Nations, confirmed it would consult widely within the country, to ensure that the Loya Jirga would be representative of all segments of the Afghan population.

Since the transfer of power on 22 December, the Chairman of the Interim Authority, Hamid Karzai, has been working to establish its administration as the central government in Afghanistan. Despite many obstacles, including the absence of trained personnel, the destruction of ministry premises, and the lack of equipment, telephones and other basic facilities, most ministries have started to carry out their daily responsibilities.

One of the most important achievements of the Interim Authority was the payment of civil service salaries on 22 January, enhancing its credibility. However, Mr. Brahimi on 6 February warned that a great deal more money would be required in the coming months to ensure that the Interim Authority could continue to pay salaries and provide the services routinely expected of governments.

Security remains the primary preoccupation of the population in Afghanistan. Tensions leading to a stand-off in Gardez and Mazar-e-Sharif in early February clearly demonstrated that the peace process is still fragile. The Security Council--acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows for the use of force--on 20 December adopted resolution 1386 (2001), authorizing for six months the establishment of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), under the command of Brigadier-General John McColl of the United Kingdom. By the end of February, ISAF's troop strength stood at 4,500, drawn from seventeen Member States. States participating in the Force were urged to help the Interim Authority in the establishment and training of new Afghan security and armed forces.

Calling on the Afghan parties to "do all within their means and influence" to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of all United Nations and other international personnel, the Council urged them to withdraw all military units from Kabul. The Council's authorization of ISAF to maintain peace and security in Kabul and surrounding areas was envisaged in the Bonn Agreement, which stipulated that such a Force "could, as appropriate, be progressively expanded to other urban centres and areas".

On 6 February, Mr. Brahimi reported that the visible presence of ISAF troops in the capital had improved the security situation there and had led to "increasingly vocal demands by ordinary Afghans, members of the Interim Authority and even warlords" for the expansion of ISAF to the rest of the country. Addressing an open meeting of the Council, Hamid Karzai on 30 January said the Afghan people welcomed the International Force, as time was needed to build up and train a national police force and an army. "The extension of the presence of the multinational forces in Kabul and expanding their presence in other cities", he said, "will signal the ongoing commitment of the international community to peace and security in Afghanistan".

The Council, in a presidential statement of 30 January, noted that efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan were "on the right track". But it emphasized the importance of rapid and well-coordinated humanitarian assistance, stressing that the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) "must be allowed to operate in security and with full freedom of movement, particularly in those areas most in need. Warning that reconciliation and rehabilitation in Afghanistan should not be derailed by any outside pressure or intervention, it urged the different ethnic groups within the country to "forego their differences and invest in the reconstruction of a nation with sound democratic potential".

The Council stressed it was "essential" for the future government to respect the human rights of all Afghan people, regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion, and welcomed the Interim Authority's "bold steps" to promote the rights of women--including appointing female Cabinet Ministers--and control illegal narcotics, such as opium and heroin, in particular by banning the production of poppy.

On 16 January, the Council decided that all States should take measures to contain the menace of the Al Qaeda organization and the Taliban, including freezing funds, denying entry to its members and preventing the supply of arms. On 7 February, cautioning that the global fight against terrorism might weaken international laws meant to protect asylum seekers, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, warned that Afghanistan would slide back into a "1992-like situation" if the security situation in the country continued to deteriorate.

On 27 September 2001, Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched a US$584 million appeal to shore up UN humanitarian assistance to some 7.5 million Afghans. With the appointment on 25 January of Nigel Fisher as Deputy Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs, relief efforts in Afghanistan have continued to expand their reach and impact, with access improving to several areas that had only recently been considered unsafe. Still, with northern Afghanistan in the grip of winter, the suffering of internally displaced persons, especially children, has worsened.

Spontaneous returns of Afghans from neighbouring countries have been gaining momentum. However, because of the fragile security situation and continuing effects of drought and a devastated economy, UNHCR cautioned against an immediate mass return of the more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees. Many who have returned--more than 105,000 in January alone--have not moved back home but to urban areas considered safe, in particular to Kabul and Herat, putting even more pressure on the already overstretched service capacities of the cities. On 15 February, announcing it would open voluntary repatriation centres in Iran and Pakistan, UNHCR said it was ready to repatriate up to 250,000 over the next months, anticipating that by the end of the year some 800,000 refugees, as well as 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) inside Afghanistan, would return home.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on 5 February launched a US$285-million programme to provide immediate relief, as well as support for long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction, in Afghanistan. Assisting about 6 million people, the Agency said its Afghanistan effort was "the largest, most complicated and most dangerous food aid programme ever carried out by WFP in its nearly forty years of existence". A city-wide food distribution in Mazar-e-Sharif began in early February--the third such distribution this year after Herat and Kabul. Starting in April, WFP plans to shift its focus from relief to recovery, with particular emphasis on school feeding for education.

Still, insecurity and banditry continue to hamper relief efforts in many parts of the country. Three entire provinces in the east--Pakhtia, Khost and Paktika-remained practically off-limits for humanitarian workers. In numerous districts in southwestem Afghanistan, several main roads remained extremely dangerous. The situation in Mazar-e-Sharif almost led to the evacuation of UN staff, while in Gardez UN local staff actually had to be evacuated. On 15 January, a WFP food convoy was held at gunpoint in the northern city of Aibak. Even in areas that are considered relatively safe, such as Herat and Kabul, the security environment for relief workers remains fragile.

The United Nations presented a framework of funding priorities for the country's recovery at the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, held from 21 to 22 January in Tokyo, Japan. Attended by representatives from 61 countries and 21 international organizations, the high-level Conference demonstrated the strong commitment of the international donor community to provide Afghanistan with reconstruction assistance. Participants agreed on the urgency of rapid disbursement to ensure the functioning of the Interim Authority, and pledged over US$4.5 billion, including commitments of US$1.8 billion for 2002.

Addressing the Conference, Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed that the two most immediate concerns were to ensure security--"the number one preoccupation" of everyone--and the need for the Interim Authority to have the resources to pay public servants. "Without resources", he warned, "the Administration will quickly lose credibility and be unable to extend its authority elsewhere in the country, thereby undermining the chances of the longer-term peace process."

Stressing that "immediate injections of cash at the community level" through labour-intensive projects would allow the Afghan people to "see the peace dividend for themselves", UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima urged the international community to "ensure that Afghanistan's women, who have for so long suffered exclusion, abuse and the loss of their rights, are now supported to play a full role in the country's reconstruction".

The two-day Conference provided donor Governments from around the world with the opportunity to review two UN studies on the most pressing human needs in Afghanistan. Prepared by UNDP, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, "Preliminary Needs Assessment for Recovery and Reconstruction" outlines the scale of the challenge across a number of sectors, such as creating a comprehensive health system, rehabilitating infrastructure and reviving the banking system. The study estimates that the reconstruction of Afghanistan will cost some US$15 billion over the next decade-about US$5 billion in the first two and a half years, the period spanning the current Interim Authority and the Transitional Government due to follow.

At the Tokyo Conference, the United Nations also presented its "Immediate and Transitional Assistance Programme for the Afghan People 2002", on requirements for immediate relief, recovery and reconstruction, as well as reintegration. Quick-impact programmes could enable the enrolment of 1.5 million children in primary school within the next two years, and over the next six months, 100,000 food-for-work jobs could be created and water restored to 15,000 households on an emergency basis. The study estimates that some US$1.33 billion will be required this year, including US$237 million for recurrent costs of the Interim Authority, US$376 million for quick impact projects and US$736 million for other humanitarian assistance.

Following the Conference, joint technical missions from the World Bank the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations system were conducting field visits to assess immediate development needs in the key sectors identified by the Interim Authority-education; health; infrastructure, including roads and civil aviation, energy, water supply and sanitation; agriculture; and support to local governance and community-driven development. Identifying immediate priorities, such as investments and capacity-building, as well as urgently required legislative and regulatory actions, the missions will formulate operating principles for implementation, including policy and institutional framework, as well as approaches on environment, gender and other social issues.

On 28 February, as a follow-up to the Tokyo Conference, a new international appeal for US$1.18 billion was launched in Kabul to support the Interim Authority in establishing peace and stability. The appeal also covers recurrent costs, including the salaries of civil servants, as the Afghan authorities are unlikely to be able to collect taxes in the foreseeable future. In earlier Afghan Governments, about 43 per cent of civil servants were women.

RELATED ARTICLE: Historic Visit to Kabul

Paying a historic visit to Afghanistan-the first for a United Nations leader in the past forty years-Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 25 January met with the Afghan leadership to discuss United Nations efforts to help with the country's political transition and economic recovery. The Secretary-General met with a team of Afghan deminers, praising them as "real heroes" in their efforts to clear their land of the most painful reminder of the terrible wars the country has suffered. He also visited West Kabul, which sustained massive destruction in the civil war of the early 1990s.

Human Needs in Afghanistan

* Approximately 9 million Afghans, including over 1 million internally displaced persons, are in need of assistance during the coming 12 months.

* There are some 4 million Afghan refugees, of whom the vast majority are women and children.

* Half of all Afghan children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and one out of every four children dies before reaching the age of five.

* One in twelve women dies in childbirth. The maternal mortality rate is the second highest in the world, with an estimated 16,000 dying each year from pregnancy-related causes.

* Some 4 per cent of the population is disabled, many by landmines.

* Only 23 per cent of the population has access to safe water and only 12 per cent to adequate sanitation.

* Barely 6 per cent of Afghans had access to electricity in 1993, among the lowest consumption in the world. Only two in 1,000 have telephones.

* The primary road network has seriously deteriorated -1,700 km of 3,000 km need rebuilding.

* Over 50 per cent of urban housing stock is destroyed or damaged in major cities.

* Over 800 sq km of land cannot be put to productive use due to being contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance, while up to 300 new casualties occur each month as a result of mine/unexploded ordnance accidents.

Source: "Afghanistan: Preliminary Needs Assessment for Recovery and Reconstruction" and "Immediate and Transitional Assistance Programme for the Afghan People 2002"

Human Needs in Afghanistan

* Over 7 million Afghans are vulnerable to severe food shortages. Three years of drought and the onset of winter have further eroded the already-stretched coping mechanisms. A fourth year of drought is still a possibility with the late onset of rain and snow.

* Afghanistan's grain production has fallen by more than 50 per cent in the past two years, its livestock herds are severely depleted and its irrigation systems extensively damaged.

* Widespread environmental degradation disproportionately affects the rural poor and women.

* Afghans have suffered an abysmal human rights situation for decades. There are particular concerns for children, women and minorities, as well as specific protection concerns faced by civilians, as a direct result of military or other action.

* Egregious acts of violence have been perpetrated against women. They have been excluded from educational opportunities and access to employment. Primary school enrolment for girls is only 6 per cent.

* A collapsed education system, with extremely low enrolment rates and extreme imbalance between girls and boys, combined with a lack of teaching capacity, shortage of learning material and poor infrastructure.

Source: "Afghanistan: Preliminary Needs Assessment for Recovery and Reconstruction" and "Immediate and Transitional Assistance Programme for the Afghan People 2002"