Voices for Creative Nonviolence – Written evidence (AFG0016)

Submission to the Inquiry on The UK and

Summary  Afghan Peace Volunteers say no to war and “Enough” to military intervention in their country.  Grassroots peacebuilding is a vibrant part of Afghan culture. Peacebuilders should be heard in the peace process.  Women and youth must also be part of the national and international peace process.  Violence, insecurity and the resulting traumas continue in 2020 unabated.  The UK and other nations have contributed to insecurity and suffering for Afghans, and should now undertake reparations channelled through non-state actors that are Afghan led or willing to submit to Afghan leadership  UK deportation of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers are unsafe and must be suspended.  Covid-19 has compounded the vulnerabilities experienced by Afghans

About Afghan Peace Volunteers This report is a collation of views and statements from the Afghan Peace Volunteers, young people dedicated to justice and nonviolence. The information has been collated by Voices for Creative Nonviolence UK, which

provides solidarity support. Afghan Peace Volunteers (APV) is a civil society organisation based in Kabul, but its members are active elsewhere, especially Bamiyan. APV run a number of projects based on nonviolence, equality and the environment.

Page 1 of 25 Afghan Peace Volunteers work in partnership with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a civil society peace group working in the United Kingdom and of America.

Page 2 of 25 Page 3 of 25 A recommendation for the committee’s enquiries: Afghan Peace Volunteers have been educating people from other nations about life and peace work in Afghanistan for years through the “Global Days of listening programme,” providing translation and facilitated discussion. We recommend the committee arrange an online discussion with the members of the APV to hear directly from them. Committee members could then ask direct questions. Even if the committee cannot schedule this, individual members may wish to hear more from Afghan young people. Contact VCNV for more information. [email protected] Book a slot on Global Days of Listening: [email protected]

Geopolitical environment In December 2019, the Afghan Peace Volunteers released this statement: To the elite of Afghanistan and the world, we’ve had #Enough! of being much less than the human beings we can be. “The Afghanistan Papers,” published by the Washington Post, are further evidence that 99% of Afghans and all human beings face an unjust and corrupt you. We detest your corruption, lies, deceptions, theft, the killing and the war as revealed by “The Afghanistan Papers”. Five hundred and seventeen thousand human beings, more than 90% of them Afghans, shouldn’t have been victims at all, much less pawns for money and power which you’ve not been held accountable for.

Page 4 of 25 We oppose all forms of corruption, including corrupt elections. We want to state clearly that the Afghan Peace Volunteers is a non-political group, and that we do not support Ashraf Ghani, Abdullah Abdullah, or any of the current Afghan Presidential candidates. We respect you as human beings, but we do not respect what you do. We don’t want your neglect of the air, food, water, shelter, environment, or the earth. We don’t want your type of economy. We don’t want your brand of elitist democracy. We don’t want you as our representatives. We want life, and insist on love, but we cannot find these values in you. You do not heed our voices because that’s who you have become, non- responders, like non-living things.

2. What are the prospects for the implementation of the peace agreement between the US and the Taliban signed in February? To what extent have its provisions been implemented, and what are the principal challenges? National peace processes should not sideline the voices of Afghans working for peace in their own context. Many Afghans are active in peace work, albeit sometimes unnoticed by the UK state. This peacebuilding from the grassroots, rather than peacekeeping from above, should not be ignored. For example, in August 2018, members of the People’s Peace Movement ( PPM ) walked barefoot to the Northern areas of Afghanistan to persuade fellow Afghans, whether they’re with ‘insurgent groups’ or with the U.S./NATO/Afghan forces, to stop fighting.

Page 5 of 25 Afghan Peace Volunteers have voiced frustration about the exclusion of youth from the peace process Tahera, age 21 “Young people should be considered in the process, they should be able to send representatives to the Loya Jirga so they can talk about their problems directly – in the last 18 years there is a new generation of Afghan, our conditions have totally changed, we have a different mindset and identity. The older generation do not represent us.” Habib, age 16 “The youth need to make their wishes known. If necessary, they should protest, though that is dangerous as in the past there have been bomb attacks on such protests and people have been hurt. “Young people are also disunited, especially along ethnic lines. Social media isn’t being used well, 90% of news posted is fake, the Facebook network in Afghanistan is corrupt.” Norina, age 20 “Young people should participate, but when we say we want to participate they say no – they just want to talk with the elders and nothing else. If we say something, they will not accept it. I think involvement in the Governmental structure is important, but young people are not taken seriously – there was one young parliamentarian who gave his views and was told “ask your elders to come and see us.”

Page 6 of 25 Khalid, age 21 “I wish the young people could protest but they are useless in this situation, it’s had no effect, for example in Wardak there was a bombing which killed more than 30 civilians, we’re not sure who did the bombing, maybe NATO/US or the Afghan National Forces. I don’t think youth can play a role in protest, no one is going to listen.” Marzia, age 21 “Young Afghans need to use online platforms to give their opinions, they need to form their own small Jirgas in communities, universities and mosques, and then make their opinions known.” Abdullah, age 20 “We can’t sit around wanting our rights, we need to go and get our rights.” Jawed, age 20 “The majority of the Afghan population is young so we should be invited to the conference, but as we haven’t been invited, we should go to the streets and raise our voices to the media so we are heard. One day the young people will take power of this country.” Hakim, age 24 “The only possibility young people have of participation is to enter government. Even the elders who went to Moscow, they are not part of the Government so their opinions do not count. If youth want to be included, they have to enter politics.”

4. Which non-state actors are most active in Afghanistan, and how significant a role are they playing? What is their relationship with foreign and domestic political actors?

These organisations are noteworthy because they have built trust and done effective work by trusting Afghan-led work. Afghan Peace Volunteers The APV are themselves an effective non-state actor, with an amazing range of projects including developing permaculture, gender solidarity education, a school for street children, training in conflict resolution, tree planting, relief for refugees, renewable technology, and disarmament drives. Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) An independent non-profit policy research organisation. It aims to bring together the knowledge, experience and drive of a researchers, analysts and experts to better inform policy and to increase the understanding of Afghan realities | afghanistan-analysts.org

Page 7 of 25 The ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross also has gained the trust and appreciation of Afghans for their work in health care delivery and rehabilitation services for people who've been maimed and wounded. Emergency We have been consistently impressed by the work of Emergency, an Italian NGO and humanitarian organisation founded to help civilian victims of war and poverty. The Emergency Surgical Centers for Victims of War and the 41 first aid clinics and stations they maintain have provided critical care, but also worked hard to turn their institutions over to Afghan health care professionals. en.emergency.it/what-we-do/afghanistan/ AMASO Afghanistan Migrants Advice and Support Organization was established in 2014 to address the need of an increasing number of people being deported from various European countries and Australia.

The objectives of AMASO are: a ) The collection of accurate data, impartial and up-to-date information on the laws, policies and practices of various states with regard to migration. b ) Advocating effectively on behalf of actual potential migrants and deportees c ) Providing advice and Support to deportees returned from various European countries and Australia amasosite.wordpress.com/ Jesuit Refugee Services, In Kabul this is coordinated by an Afghan man who does excellent work in organising education inside refugee camps. JRS work elsewhere in the country is also greatly respected. JRS is an international Catholic organisation, at work in over 50 countries around the world with a mission to accompany, serve and advocate for the rights of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. www.jrsuk.net/about

5. What is your assessment of NATO’s in Afghanistan? In 2017, at the outset of Resolute Support, medics on the ground with the Emergency NGO told VCNV that things were worse than they had been at any time since 2001, speaking to the insecurity military intervention has sown in Afghanistan. That humanitarian situation is little better today, with the Commander of NATO forces acknowledging violence remains too high.

Page 8 of 25 437,000 people were displaced and over 20,000 killed across Afghanistan during 2019 alone. Judged by these outcomes, NATO’s presence has not provided security. Terrorist incidents have increased. It is hard to escape the fear that both the Afghan government and the Taliban are preparing for the possibility of further civil war, and seeking advantage during the period of Resolute Support, and NATO military presence is simply ensuring violence will be protracted. Cost of war The war in Afghanistan has been a failure – this is the majority opinion from retired British Generals who were stationed in Afghanistan for much of the war, to most NATO countries who have already withdrawn their troops. 465 British soldiers have so far lost their lives in Afghanistan, while conservative estimates of Afghan fatalities are around 117,000, though studies say that figure can be tripled to take into account indirect deaths due to war. A 2013 study calculated that the war had cost each British household £2,000, which equated to £37billion in British taxes – there are no up to date calculations.

Women The two main reasons the US & NATO gave for invading Afghanistan in 2001 were to firstly capture Osama bin Laden and secondly to liberate Afghan women. 18 years later and the US are now in peace talks with the Taliban and Afghan politicians – the main concern so far has been getting the Taliban to agree to never harbour terrorist organisations in the future. Women have not been represented at the talks, safeguarding their rights have not been a discussion point. The Taliban do not recognise the current Constitution as they don’t recognise the current Government as legitimate. The Taliban currently say that women can go to school and hold jobs in public office, but not become judges or the president. The Special Inspector General on Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in 2015 estimated that $769 million had gone to “Ghost Schools,” wherein administrators collect salaries for absent student bodies. Today illiteracy for women in Afghanistan stands at 84% which, after 18 years of foreign support and millions of dollars, is still the worst in the world.

Military strikes continue to kill civilians 19 September 2019, Nangarhar saw the deadliest ever drone strike upon civilians, 70 Afghan farmers were killed and injured in a US drone strike in Nangarhar province. Reports say 30 Afghan farmers were killed, while

Page 9 of 25 another 40 were injured after the labourers had spent the day picking pine nuts, and were sitting round a fire they had just lit. Other strikes have awful humanitarian consequences. On 25 September 2019, at least 40 civilians were killed and 16 wounded attending a wedding after Afghan military forces struck against a Taliban hideout in the building adjacent to the ceremony in Helmand. Not only does this clearly does this mean insecurity for Afghans, but it also fuels anger against NATO countries including the UK. May God destroy your tank and your drone, You who’ve destroyed my village, my home. - Afghan landay1 Afghan Peace Volunteers created the “Fly Kites Not Drones” campaign over seven years ago because they felt that drone strikes from the UK and USA were stoking insecurity and violating their rights. Afghan Peace Volunteers have also lost family and friends to drone strikes. If the Committee seeks to listen to Afghan voices, the UK will end all air strikes in Afghanistan.

1 Collected by Eliza Griswold in I am the Beggar of the World

Page 10 of 25 Domestic context 6. What are Afghanistan’s principal economic sectors and trade relationships? a. How can these be built upon to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and create jobs and livelihoods? This question implies an emphasis on economic growth, but where the the SDGs are under discussion in Afghanistan, Sustainable Development Goal 16 must also be central. Nevertheless, Afghan peace volunteers have been working assiduously not only on relief work, but on sustainable solutions which accord with the Sustainable Development Goals. To take one example, the Youth Solidarity Bamiyan Team decided to work with poor people trapped by coronavirus restrictions. Using donations from the UK and USA, they bought solar pots for families. The need was created after the Governor of Bamiyan and the environment office decided not to let people collect bush from the mountains to burn for fuel. It is very hard for the poor people of Bamiyan. Ali from the Bamiyan team writes: “Bamiyan people do not have work to earn money to buy wood due to the coronavirus situation. They cook food with plastic, which is very dangerous for their health and the environment. We know the main problem in the world is pollution. We found out how to decrease the pollution in the world and Afghanistan.”

Page 11 of 25 It takes 40 minutes to boil 5 litres of water on a solar pot; it is possible to cook a meal of rice and vegetables.”

How to fund the SDGs: Reparations This Inquiry might have justly asked whether the UK owes Afghanistan reparations, which many Afghans would support. Noam Chomsky has made this case for decades2. States that have destabilised Afghanistan and caused generations of war and suffering including the USA, Britain and Russia owe its people reparations. My darling, you are just like America! You are guilty; I apologise. - Afghan landay3 To approach the Sustainable Development Goals, reparations would need to be provided. This concept would make sense from a restorative justice perspective, which also resonates with traditional Pashtun conflict resolution where restitution is offered for harm4. There are non-state actors and NGOs which have proven their ability to meet human needs without corruption or co-optation, as listed in Question 4. The UK is well-placed to make reparations part of the international conversation with Afghanistan and could pursue this both bilaterally and through the United Nations.

b. To what extent are the illegal drugs trade and the grey economy still an important source of income?

Today Afghanistan has approximately 3 million people addicted to opium, a staggering 12% of the population due mainly to the massive surge of the lucrative poppy cultivation industry after the start of the war. Today warlords dominate Afghanistan despite copious blood on their hands from unspeakable massacres during the war and in the decades before it; and many of these are now directing an opium industry which accounts for 90% of the world’s supply, up from only 27% before the 2001 invasion. This relatively new phenomenon catches Afghanistan with little-to-no infrastructure ready to cope with it, the rehab clinics being few and far between, and the reasons for wanting to forget all too obvious. Meanwhile, Afghan opium production has seen a sharp rise with the arrival of solar power and the ability to pump water from depths of 100m. Being

2 Chomsky, 2002. https://chomsky.info/20020201/ 3 Collected by Eliza Griswold in I am the Beggar of the World 4 USIP - Informal dispute resolution in Afghanistan https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/resources/sr247_0.pdf

Page 12 of 25 able to irrigate barren deserts has turned dust belts into one of the most profitable cash crop regions in the world. Whether or not illegal opium exports have been made more difficult or not, a significant proportion of the market has turned inward causing a massive social problem in Afghanistan. Young men often use heroin which takes them away from bringing families income, which puts more pressure on child and forced labour.

7. What is your assessment of the functioning of Afghanistan’s constitutional arrangements? Women and young people The voices of women and young people need to be heard. They are the majority grouping of the population, and still their political influence is underrepresented and largely ignored by decision makers both in Afghanistan, the US and the UK. Afghan women were given the right to vote in 1919, just a year after some women in the UK. In fact, the reforms laid down by King Amanullah Khan and his wife Queen Soraya made Afghanistan one of the most progressive countries of the day in terms of improving equality for women. These reforms were later rolled back. After the Taliban government was toppled in 2001 the same fundamentalist and misogynistic Mujaheddin warlords, who only 5 years previously had freely used widespread rape and murder of women, were reinstated within a government which was, and still is, backed by the US/ UK and the international community. It is therefore no surprise that within the last 17 years few political gains have been made for women generally.

Page 13 of 25 The overall situation for Afghan women has improved in the last decade, particularly in the major urban areas like Kabul, but for those living in the rural provinces, there are still major problems. It is no revelation when you look at some of the rules passed post Taliban, for example the “code of conduct” endorsed by President Karzai in 2012, said that “women should not travel without a male guardian and should not mingle with strange men in places such as schools, markets and offices.” In 2014 the Afghan government passed a law which limits family members to testify as witnesses of domestic violence, while in the previous year the UN published a statistic showing a 20% increase in violence towards women. In 2015 Farkhunda Malikzada, a 27 year old Afghan woman, was publicly beaten and slain by a mob in Kabul under false accusations of Quran desecration. There are many problems for women who want to vote. Firstly, many do not have permission from their family. Secondly, women themselves do not know their rights, believing voting is just a right for men. Some women are also denied education about politics and government. Today 20% of the MPs in the Afghan government are women. Recent famous female politicians have included Malalai Joya who bravely spoke out for the rights of women, however the intensity of stress and poor security means her time within Parliament was short, and today she lives in secrecy and under protection. Afghan volunteer: “I think for women in Parliament maybe there is a lot of problems. Women are very scared in Afghanistan because all the power is taken; it’s very hard to struggle with men to get power. Parliament is where all the powerful men get together to make decisions. This is a very difficult area for women. Also, people probably won’t vote for women because they believe they can’t be in Parliament. “In Kabul it is easy to vote, but in the Provinces they kill women or cut their thumbs off so they can’t vote. “Families don’t like the women to go into the area of politics, it’s not good for women as in Afghanistan men have all the power.” Farzana age 17 “I will vote because it is my right.” Mah Begum age 17 “I intend to vote because it is my natural right, everyone should vote.” Marwa age 18 “I will not vote because in the past the results have not been good, also I’m not sure who is the good one, will they be a good person.”

Page 14 of 25 Mariam age 25 “I didn’t vote in the last election because it doesn’t make a difference, plus I didn’t want either Afghani or Abdullah to win” Zarghuna age 25 “I don’t vote because I understand that it is America who will choose who they want to become President. I heard during the Ashraf Afghani campaign that he would let America bring more soldiers to continue the war in Afghanistan, and that made me decide not to vote. Also it seems a poor system when there is a 1% difference in who gets elected” Alana age 18 “I will vote in the future because I want to choose someone to become President.” a. What is the outlook for the May 2020 power sharing deal between President Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah Abdullah? In March 2019, Afghans shared these thoughts about the internal peacemaking processes after Ashraf Ghani called a gathering of the Loya Jirga in Kabul. 30% of the people invited are women. Khalid, age 21 “The news says the Jirga are meeting for peace but I don’t know if the intention is peace. If negotiations are for peace then I personally feel it should be 50% women attending. The Jirga is mainly made up of people who get in through connections, someone like me, without connections, who is poor, won’t be able to get into the Jirga.” Marzia, age 21 "I remember the past Jirgas held for peace, I remember the slogans, but none of it has come about. At such meetings of politicians they are used as an opportunity to further divide people, I don’t think the Jirga will have a good result.” Tahera, age 21 “It’s good to have the opinions of Afghan ordinary people and prominent women who are going to attend, this is the first time women have attended. The treatment of women is concerning if the Taliban return, but women attending the Jirga will help these concerns.” Norina, age 20 “The only reason Ghani has invited some women along is because there’s a Presidential election coming up and he wants their support. I think it’s essential for women to be involved in negotiations.” Habib, age 16 “Up to now the negotiations haven’t involved young people, that’s the tradition – it’s the elders who meet, however unfortunately it’s the elders

Page 15 of 25 who have been waging war, so I think the Jirga will be about how to wage war, it will include members of the Mujahideen and the Taliban – both are war mongers.” Jawed, age 20 “I think it’s good news that 30% of the people invited are women, normally in this country women can’t participate so this is a big improvement, it will give women a chance to raise their voices and give their ideas of what they want and what is needed.” Abdullah, age 20 “It will have a significant impact in that it will allow people to get together and talk about the solutions to the problems.” Hakim, age 24 “I think it’s good that 30% of space has been allocated to women as it is better than the past when women couldn’t participate at all. In this kind of Jirga women can express their views. If the Jirga agrees to work together to bring peace they might decide that foreign troops need to leave and the Afghan Government needs to make peace with the Taliban. I oppose any kind of possible Government where women can’t leave their homes and are forced to wear burqa.” b. Can Afghanistan successfully operate as a multi-ethnic state? The question of a multi-ethnic state is complex, but perhaps the Afghan Peace Volunteers can form a case study of what can happen at the grassroots.

Afghanistan is about the size of France and has somewhat artificial borders which include numerous ethnicities and languages. The various ethnicities have strong historic and cultural connections with populations in neighbouring states. There has not been a population census for decades, but it is thought to be in the region of 22 million. The median age of Afghans is 18 years and the life expectancy variously estimated to be 42 -50 years. 65% of the population is under 25 years. Afghan Peace Volunteers have built community across perceived ethnic divide in Afghanistan. With Hazara, Uzbek, Tajik and Pashtun members, they have found ways to understand each other and collaborate on projects. This is no mean feat given the legacy of cultural violence and continuing inequality. The APV also place a premium on gender equality as well, with women taking leadership roles. To build community they developed initiatives like the Border Free Football team, building relationships through encounter and friendly competition. They are also proactive about conflict resolution within their own community.

Page 16 of 25 The APV have built this community without foreign state aid and indeed opted not to seek British Council support (which informally had been suggested) because it might skew how inclusive they were perceived to be. It could be that the youth of the APV was part of what helped them develop this peaceful approach to identity; the majority of Afghanistan’s population is under 25 years of age, so generationally perhaps Afghanistan will see more grassroots, youth-led change in days to come. That said, attempts from external actors to scale-up this kind of positive experience seem unlikely to succeed unless they are willing to allow genuine grassroots Afghan leadership. c. To what extent have international and domestic efforts to build Afghanistan’s institutions (such as the judiciary and the rule of law) and measures to promote the rights of women, freedom of religion and belief and freedom of expression, and anti-corruption initiatives been successful? How best can they be sustained and strengthened?

Gains for women? Although there have been gains for women, many have sadly been exaggerated. The classic example is the education of some 4 million Afghan girls, when in reality enrolment numbers vary considerably between Afghan government sources and that of the Special Inspector General on Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). In 2015, SIGAR estimated that $769 million had gone to “Ghost Schools,” wherein administrators collect salaries for absent student bodies. Today illiteracy for women in Afghanistan stands at 84% which, after 18 years of foreign support and millions of dollars, is still the worst in the world. Norina, aged 20, on International Women’s Day 2019 “Change is going to take sacrifice and Afghan women need to be prepared for this, we need to be brave. We can’t expect the men to change their mindset so it’s up to the women to change their minds – there will be sacrifice but that’s the stark reality. Women need to get together with other like-minded women and push for change, we may lose women but perhaps other women in the future will find encouragement.” Afghanistan may be the worst country in the world to be a woman, but by this evidence also the number one place to find the bravest and strongest of women.

Page 17 of 25 9. What is the outlook for talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban following the US-Taliban peace agreement? What role can or should the Taliban play in government, and how can this be achieved?

Ghulum, age 20, on the Doha talks: “Britain can help the peace process, but the military is not a good way for us. Try to help us by making schools and better education. “Britain should insist on inclusion for women and youth in the peace process, and get other countries like Russia and France to put the same pressure. The Afghan government should be permanent.”

In March 2019, young Afghans offered these reflections on the prospects for peace following talks in Doha & Moscow between the Taliban, the US, and Afghan elders: Marzia, age 21 “The negotiations are just a show, Afghans know those people have been involved in war for decades, they are now just making deals to give Afghanistan away. What the U.S. says officially and what it does is different, if they want to wage war then they will, they are in control and they are not in the business of bringing peace.” Habib, age 16 “I don’t think the peace talks will have any results, the Taliban are made up of many groups, the group of Talibs in Doha do not represent all the Taliban. While the talks take place in Moscow there is still fighting everywhere, they fight while they talk – there needs to be a ceasefire while they negotiate, actually there needs to be a ceasefire even before negotiation begins.” Khalid, age 21 “Peace will not come from these negotiations. It’s not clear what is happening, the Afghan people don’t know what is happening in Moscow and Doha, it’s all happening behind closed curtains, maybe they’re talking about peace, maybe they’re talking about something else. None of the people in Afghanistan are involved in these talks.” Naser, age 17 “If the Taliban want peace they should announce that they want to talk with the Afghan people and come to Kabul, not go abroad and talk to the U.S. or Russia. If the Taliban say they want an independent Government then the people will support, but actually they just want to talk to the US”

Page 18 of 25 Norina, age 20 “I think they just want to use these talks for their own advantage in creating policy in Afghanistan. They use the problems of the Afghan people to further themselves – it’s not good work they are doing, they should be asking their own people not the foreigners.” Tahera, age 21 “Peace talks are a good opportunity for our country, it’s a chance for Taliban leaders to talk and it’s a great help from our neighbors” Ahmed, age 21 “The Afghan Government needs to be involved before it can have any great significance.” Hamida, age 20 “I don’t think the negotiations are for peace, we’ve had them in the past and they didn’t lead to peace. One sign is that when negotiations are going on people are still being killed. If they’re serious about peace then they should stop the killings.”

11. What are the prospects for the return of the almost 2.5 million registered refugees from Afghanistan (UNHCR figures)? What is the impact of hosting Afghan refugees on its neighbours?

The forced return of refugees is a threatening prospect, both for refugees and for the vulnerable communities that would struggle to provide for them. There are currently 1.3 million internally displaced Afghans, 3 million living in Iran and Pakistan and an estimatec 100,000 in Europe (making up the second biggest refugee ethnicity in Europe). The EU and the UK have deemed Kabul a safe location to deport Afghan refugees. Many of those deported have never been to Kabul, some (who were born in Pakistan or Iran) have never been to Afghanistan. There have been cases of deported Afghans being caught up in suicide bomb attacks in Kabul – nowhere in Afghanistan is safe for deportation. Deportees’ needs and security are largely neglected. People often arrive stranded with no friends of family in the country, or hundreds of miles from their community with no way to reach it safely. Many have never lived in Afghanistan, let alone as an adult. There should be a moratorium on all deportations to Afghanistan from the UK. Kabul, a city comparable in size with Birmingham, has seen its size double due to internally displaced people. The camps in Kabul are already swollen

Page 19 of 25 and insecure, with high levels of mortality from disease, hunger and exposure to the climate. Organisations on a smaller scale like the Afghan Peace Volunteers provide some mitigation, such as their duvet project where refugees are paid to make duvets which are distributed to families. But these agencies are not equipped for this influx. An influx of returning refugees would place a massive strain on support services, or simply leave thousands more destitute. There is already 1.5 million internally displaced people. Vulnerabilities have been further multiplied by the covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, Afghanistan is unsafe in terms of violence. The high rate of civilian casualties demonstrates this, with 20,000 deaths reported annually5. The notion of safe areas for returnees is also fallacious. No area is safe from violence, including Kabul, with government buildings, mosques and education institutions targeted. According to the British Foreign Office, Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to visit, and the BBC describe Kabul as one of the most ‘terrorised’ cities in the world. It is without a doubt that Kabul is now one of the most dangerous locations in the world. We recommend the Committee contact AMASO for further information, as well as the organisation Stop Deportation to Afghanistan, who provide support to newly deported refugees. The UK should be seeking to strengthen the international support for refugees and displaced people, and not enforcing a doctrine of forced return.

The UK 12. What are the UK’s national security and foreign policy interests in Afghanistan? What are the UK’s objectives for its engagement?

Perhaps a better question for the Committee is, what are the benefits to the Afghan people in hosting a European military force? To quote Rethinking Security’s submission to the Integrated Review: “Reviewers should be not so much who or what threatens the UK (and how to counter them) but why other actors might pose a threat to the UK and how this might be influenced or reinforced by UK actions future, current and historic. This involves deeper questions of perception: why are others perceived as threats? Why might others perceive the UK as threatening? Obvious examples include how Iran might assess UK policies towards Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel or Saudi Arabia, or the global impact of the UK

5 OHCHR 2020 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25594

Page 20 of 25 possessing nuclear weapons and pursuing an explicit policy to project military ‘strike’ power globally. ”6 14. The UK is a significant aid donor to Afghanistan. What has been the impact of UK aid to Afghanistan since 2001? How effective are its ODA programmes across all issues and sectors (such as education, health, food security and women’s rights), and how do they compare to those of other countries? Reparations would be a more just framing than “Aid”, as discussed in our answer to Question 6. VCNV does not have extensive experience of UK ODA, except to note many civil society actors would find it difficult to accept ODA because it gives the appearance of partisanship, which affects their safety. Many in Afghanistan now report an ‘aid dependency culture’, coupled with a huge loss of skills from the war, a country which 40 years ago was self- sufficient now struggles to grow food. 17. How well co-ordinated are the UK’s activities in Afghanistan in terms of aid, defence and diplomacy?

a. How can the Integrated Review improve co-ordination? The integrated Review should take a frank look at a record of failure and re- evaluate the kind of security it seeks to build in Afghanistan and globally. The UK and US are preoccupied by militarised approaches to the cost and detriment of human security. We recommend Rethinking Security to explore this. rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/ b. What impact will the merger of the FCO and DfID have? The merger of DfID and the FCO raises profound concerns about the militarisation of aid policy. Aid can by itself be at the root of conflict in recipient countries because it chooses winners and losers; when it becomes tied with Britain’s geopolitical agenda, those tough choices become untrustworthy. The brand “UK Aid” is already complicated (to say the least) in a country with a violent colonial history, not withstanding the last two decades of violence. Knowing the UK is seeking geopolitical advantage through aid is unlikely to persuade Afghans that peace and wellbeing are at the heart of its policies. Britain’s espousal of a human rights driven foreign policy will not persuade Afghans who can see a plainly incoherent, from arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia; from criticising China for breaching its obligations in Hong

6 Rethinking Security, 2020 | https://rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/policy-makers/

Page 21 of 25 Kong before announcing the UK’s intention to break wilfully an international treaty with the European Union.

Other

18. What impact is the COVID-19 pandemic having on Afghanistan? VCNV have collected updates during the pandemic, which speak to the compound insecurities that have resulted. Find below updates from The “New Normal” in Afghanistan | June 2020 In Afghanistan, the 'new normal' is the new plus the old normal. When large parts of the population live in a state of food insecurity and under the threat of continued hostilities, COVID-19 adds an extra layer of danger to everyday survival. We asked Afghan Peace Volunteers and friends in Kabul and Bamiyan for their comments on the COVID - 19 pandemic. While many are worried about how they can support themselves under the lockdown, this recent facebook post from Bamiyan sounds the alarm. K, Bamiyan The government talk from their guts. They have no program. They put restrictions on people's lives [without thinking] how they are going to find their daily needs. Since households subsist on a basis of daily payments for their labour, they need to go out everyday to find work. I see many households in my area that are already suffering from shortages of food. They worry that before the COVID-19 kills them they will definitely starve to death. Abdul Ghafoor, Afghanistan Migrants Advice and Support Organisation , Kabul As for many humanitarian organisations, the pandemic has had a negative impact on my work. It has made it difficult for me to give face to face advice and practical support. It has also badly affected those I work with. For example, we have at least 7 deportees at our shelter who are mainly stuck in Kabul because they can’t travel to Iran to go and join their families. With no income, they rely on the rations we provide to get them through the pandemic. M, Bamiyan Some people [can't take precautions for] their health because they need to go to work. Some people believe that the pandemic has come from God and say that God will decide what happens to them.

Page 22 of 25 M, Bamiyan The lockdown is so stressful for us. My family has no work. When they don't have work they don't have food. Some people are just waiting for death. K, Bamiyan The COVID-19 pandemic has cancelled all my plans for this year. For now I just think how to continue life without work. Context Most families in Afghanistan only eat five basic foodstuffs. The poorest rely on only 3 basic foods: bread, oil and sugar. All these have to be imported from neighbouring countries such as Kazakhstan to the north. As countries seek to control the COVID-19 pandemic, they close borders and Afghanistan must rely on its emergency supplies. From weekly humanitarian aid reports, we learn that in North and Eastern areas of the country 1,700 people have been displaced by flooding and thousands more need humanitarian assistance. Despite a three day ceasefire over Eid and prisoner swaps promised by the ongoing peace process, continued fighting between ANSF and NSAG (non-state actors), in many parts of the country, has lead to 15,000 more displaced people. In one week over 12,000 people returned from Iran and Pakistan. While violence and the faltering peace process are foremost in people's minds, in a country used to death, COVID - 19 almost 'pales into insignificance'. In this Crisis Group podcast covering the COVID pandemic, health care and the peace process, an Afghanistan analyst explains that some Kabul residents, 'have the attitude that if the international community hadn't made such a big deal and if [the coronavirus] wasn't on the news every night, people might not have noticed it.' In Afghanistan COVID - 19 can mean starvation | April 2020

As Kabul enters a third week of strictly enforced lockdown, what do the restrictions mean for those living below the poverty line. The first item on everyone’s minds is food. Some fear that, as flour prices rise, the small, local bakeries will close. ‘It is better to die of the coronavirus rather than die of poverty,’ says Mohammada Jan, a shoemaker in Kabul. Jan Ali, a labourer, laments, ‘Hunger will kill us before we are killed by the coronavirus. We are stuck between two deaths.’ Even without the disruption caused by the pandemic, nearly 11 million face acute food insecurity, according to UN projections. For the thousands of street children and casual labourers in Afghanistan, no work means no bread. For the poor in urban areas, the main priority will be to feed their families, which means being out in the street, looking for work, money and supplies. People are likely to be more worried about starving to death than

Page 23 of 25 about dying from the coronavirus. ‘They are too busy trying to survive poverty and upheaval to worry about a new virus’ With prices of wheat flour, fresh fruit and nutritious food items rising fast and no government control of food prices, there is a real danger of famine. Border closures, intended to restrict the spread of the virus, mean international supply lines of oil and pulses, mostly from Pakistan, will be severely restricted. Even though many farmers are optimistic for this year’s harvest, after plentiful snows and rains this winter, the virus could hit them just as the harvest starts in May. At the time of writing, there have been 1,019 confirmed corona virus cases and 36 reported deaths, although with limited testing and many not seeking health care when sick, the actual figure must be much higher. The provinces most affected are Herat, Kabul and Kandahar. The heart of the outbreak is in Herat, the busy border town from which, normally, thousands of Afghans, mostly young men, cross into Iran in search of work. Following fatalities and lockdown in Iran, last week alone 140,000 Afghans recrossed the border into Herat. Some are escaping the coronavirus itself, others have lost their jobs because of the lockdown so they have nowhere to go. In Herat, a three hundred bed hospital has just been built to cope with the new cases. Afghanistan has set up new testing centres, laboratories and hospital wards, even roadside hand washing stations. The World Bank has approved a donation of $100.4 million, to provide new hospitals, safety equipment, better testing and ongoing education about the virus. The first medical packs from China, of ventilators, protective suits and testing kits, arrived in Afghanistan last week. Many Western NGOs, however, have had to stop work as their staff has been ordered home by their own countries and there is a shortage of doctors trained in the intubation procedures needed to help COVID 19 patients. Afghanistan’s 1 million displaced people, [IDPs] will be disproportionately affected by COVID 19. For those in camps, overcrowding means it is almost impossible to maintain social distancing. Poor sanitation, and scant resources, sometimes no running water or soap means basic hygiene is difficult. For migrant workers, a lock down means both their jobs and accommodation suddenly disappear; they have no choice but to return to their village, causing huge numbers of people to be on the move. Commentators International Alert and Crisis Group analyse the fall out from COVID – 19 pandemic. First of all western leaders, don’t have time to devote to conflict and peace processes, while focused on domestic issues. The UK prime minister has only recently recovered from the virus as I write. It is thought the COVID 19 pandemic will 'wreak havoc' in fragile states, where civil society is not strong. While on one hand there is a sense that ‘we’re in this together’, as we know from our own situation in the UK, the virus has also given rise to more surveillance and unusually heavy handed

Page 24 of 25 policing. In a country where ethnic tensions turn into armed conflict, there is a danger that ‘othering’, in which particular groups, such as migrants for example, are blamed for spreading the virus, becomes violent and deadly. Despite prisoner swaps between the Taliban and the Afghan government completed as a foundation for peace talks, and despite the Taliban joining in the campaign to educate citizens about the virus, attacks such as this one by ISIS, continue. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports 5 covert US air or drone strikes against the Taliban in March, resulting in between 30 and 65 deaths. A month ago, the UN Secretary-General called for 'an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world'. Ongoing ceasefire and peace negotiations are vital for Afghanistan during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Received 14 September 2020

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