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UN Involvement in Afghanistan
Afghan children, Source: Senlis Council Following a decade of war, Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. The various Islamic militias that had fought the Russians engaged then in a violent power struggle for control of the country. The Taliban, supported by Pakistan, won control of the capital Kabul and most of the national territory by 1996. The Security Council imposed sanctions on the Taliban regime in October 1999 and January 2001 after it refused to hand over Osama Bin Laden and close the terrorist training camps throughout the country.
On October 7, 2001, the United States and its allies launched military strikes against the Taliban regime in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, said to have been masterminded by bin Laden from his base in Afghanistan. Shortly after the September 11 attacks, the UN Security Council demanded the Taliban surrender Bin Laden. But the Taliban rejected the ultimatum. US military intervention followed, after which the six nations surrounding Afghanistan joined Russia and the US to discuss the country's future. At the UN-supported Bonn conference, representatives from four Afghan factions agreed to establish a broad-based interim government. The US-backed Pashtun leader Hamid Karzai, exiled under the Taliban, was installed as Afghanistan's new interim leader.
In December 2001 the Security Council authorized the International Security Assistance Force to maintain security for the Afghanistan Transitional Authority. In March 2002 the Council established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, UNAMA, to manage all UN humanitarian, relief, recovery and reconstruction activities. Despite these initiatives, Afghanistan remains a "failed state." The authority of President Hamid Karzai, victor in the presidential election of October 2004, barely extends beyond Kabul's suburbs and warlords are once again in control of most of the country.
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Key Documents | Articles | Links Key Documents
Letter from NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to the Security Council on Afghanistan (February 4, 2008)
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer paints a depressing picture of the security situation in Afghanistan in this report to the Security Council. Some six years after the UN mandated a NATO force (ISAF), the report notes that the Afghan Army and Police forces are inadequately trained and that there exists a vacuum in the rule of law in the country. Scheffer also states that much of Afghanistan remains in the hands of opposition forces, and that attacks against civilians and military personnel in the country have increased.
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan provides two documents on the Loya Jirga procedure. The first document lays out the procedures for the elections of the members of the emergency Loya Jirga. The second is a follow up document, listing the observations of the election and the audition of complaints arising from it.
The UN Country Team for Afghanistan and UN partner agencies outline a program for urgent post-war reconstruction and development.
The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.
Report of the Secretary General on the Situation in Afghanistan (July 23, 2003)
This report highlights the tenuous security environment in Afghanistan, and warns that continuing instability threatens the provision for national elections reached in the Afghan peace accords of 2001.
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Articles
2008 |2007 | 2006 | Archived Articles | Links
Picture Credit: Christian Science Monitor (2002) 2008
2007
UN, US Actions Sometimes at Odds on Afghan Policy (July 5, 2007)
Before Abdul Hakim Monib deserted the Islamic movement in favor of US-backed President Hami Karzai, the US placed him on the UN's list of sanctioned al-Qaida members. Now Monib serves as governor of Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, and the US praises him for counter-terrorism cooperation. Working with Monib poses legal questions because it technically violates Security Council-imposed sanctions. But removing Monib's name from the UN's sanctions list requires approval from all fifteen Security Council members. This paradox exposes the inadequacy of the current UN system of sanctions against individuals. (Washington Post)Afghanistan: UN-Backed Body Steps Up Efforts for Reconstruction (January 31, 2007)
The Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) - a committee of 23 countries and international institutions to monitor implementation of a five year plan for reconstruction in Afghanistan - was set up in 2006. JCMB's first meeting sees new initiatives addressing lack of security, poverty, human rights and Afghanistan's political environment. The UN-backed body who proposed the five-year plan tells the JCMB that it is time to step up efforts to rebuild the post-war country, including improving security, easing poverty and fostering human rights. (UN News)
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2006
Violence Fuels Disillusionment and Threatens Reconstruction (December 7, 2006)
While Afghanistan faces its deadliest phase of violence since 2001, a UN Security Council mission report warns that growing insurgency, corruption, impunity, increased opium trade and weak governance cause "despondency and disillusionment" among Afghans. During its mission, the UN Security Council team heard mounting criticism from Afghani officials on the international community's lack of support to Afghan democratic institutions. Furthermore, Afghanis raised concerns about the overlap of NATO work from military to humanitarian affairs. (Integrated Regional Information Networks)NATO Now the Primary Security Force in Afghanistan (October 9, 2006)
NATO took the lead of the international security forces present in Afghanistan in October 2006, thus seeming to reduce the US role in the country. The NATO commander has said that the security challenges Afghanistan face, with the resurgence of the Taliban and the narcotic traffic, "will not be resolved by military means." According to UN statistics, 2.9 million Afghans live from opium trade, which the Afghans warlords control. (World Politics Watch)Afghans Fear Fallout from Iran Sanctions (September 28, 2006)
As some UN Security Council members threaten to enforce sanctions on Iran, analysts worry about the adverse political and economic effects these sanctions could have on neighboring Afghanistan. This Institute for War and Peace Reporting article warns that sanctions would have a major impact on the Afghan economy, which shares close economic ties with its western neighbor. Also, some experts fear that Iranians might support Afghan insurgent groups as a way of retaliating against the US-led call for sanctions against the Iranian regime.UN Urges NATO to Hit at Afghan Drugs (September 12, 2006)
While the Security Council adopted a resolution extending for another year the mandate of the international security force in Afghanistan, the United Nations anti-drug chief urged NATO to take "robust military action" to destroy Afghanistan's opium industry. Opium harvest increased by 49 percent over 2005 providing the Taliban with the financial means to fund terrorism. Some observers wonder whether military action would effectively put an end to the increase of narcotic crops in the country.(International Herald Tribune)Taliban Taking Over (September 5, 2006)
The US-led coalition in Afghanistan has implemented numerous policies which have created a humanitarian crisis in the southern part of the country, according to the Senlis Council report. By prioritizing military and counter-narcotics programs instead of those focused on development, the US has forced countless people into poverty. As a result, support for the Taliban continually grows in the south as the group steps in to help those negatively affected. (Inter Press Service)Afghanistan's Anti-Narcotics Strategy (August 29, 2006)
According to the 2005 statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan significantly increased, accounting for 87 percent of world production despite the Afghan government's National Drug Control Strategy. This Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies article points out that the Taliban insurgency encourages narcotic production to fund its activities. "The lucrative nature of the Afghan opium trade that links cultivators, traffickers and consumers is one of the biggest threats to effective nation-building and regional stability," the author says.The Afghanistan Compact (January 31, 2006)
This joint report by the government of Afghanistan, the UN and more than 60 countries represents a five-year plan aimed at putting Afghanistan on a solid course towards stability. The Compact outlines benchmarks and a timeline on four critical areas of activity - reconstruction and development, governance, security, and counter-narcotics - that the Afghan government should meet. The international community, in turn, will provide resources to help the central Asian country "stand on its own feet."
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Links and Resources
The UK Ministry of Defence's website provides a comprehensive and detailed information on the day-to-day developments of the multinational operation in Afghanistan.
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More Information on US Military Expansion and Intervention in Afghanistan
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