23-29 September 2002

UNITAR Research Mission to Afghanistan

 

 

A UNITAR mission went to Afghanistan from September 23 to 29 to study the post-conflict reconstruction process in that country. Almost 40 interviews with key actors - notably from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and other UN programmes and agencies, Afghan representatives from government and academia, national and international NGOs, and key bilateral donors -- were conducted . Two trips outside of Kabul - to Kandahar and to a school in the Shomali plains -- were also organized. UNAMA provided full and excellent logistical support.

In addition to helping the members of the mission to come to a better understanding of the situation in Afghanistan, the findings of the mission should 1) inform the UNITAR conference on post-conflict reconstruction to be held in November 2002 in Hiroshima; 2) be of use in the design of long-term training and research programmes. This report provides a summary of the key findings of the mission.

Interviewees were asked in particular to brief the mission on the status and priorities of the reconstruction process from their specific vantage point, and to elaborate on the security/reconstruction linkage. Related questions -- on coordination within and between the various UN bodies, the nature of current and future projects, the key capacity-building requirements of the Afghan government, political developments and the situation in the provinces, for example, were also discussed. In general the mission was impressed with the high level of dedication and competence of governmental officials and international staff.

A number of recurrent themes emerged from the various discussions conducted by the mission. The first of these is the primary importance of security, and the crucial role (if not always explicit) played be the Coalition Forces, and to a lesser extent by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Most interviewees seemed to agree that a premature withdrawal (or even relative disengagement) of the Coalition Forces would be a devastating blow to security and stability in Afghanistan today, as political factionalism and ethnic struggles continue, albeit not in an overt manner.

A second and ensuing thematic emphasized throughout is the direct interdependence between security and reconstruction. Interviewees tended to agree that more visible and tangible reconstruction efforts, at a faster pace, were needed, to quell the neediness and restlessness of the population as well as the authorities. Many complained about the slowness of aid projects, faulting the key donors and the UN for delivery mechanisms not up to the task, and underlined the psychological importance for the population to sense that "reconstruction is happening". There seemed to be strong consensus that the lack of any "visible" improvements could lead to increased insecurity, especially affecting the warlord-controlled areas in the country

A third key theme is the insufficiency of the real amounts of international financial assistance for the reconstruction requirements of Afghanistan, compounded by fragmented delivery mechanisms on the donor side and deep institutional weakness for capacity-building on the Afghan side. A large segment of assistance funds continue to be spent on emergency humanitarian assistance (roughly 45% of the first year's tranche is allocated to humanitarian assistance ). But the reconstruction needs of the country are immense - both in rural and urban areas and in all major sectors of agriculture, health, education, public utilities and infrastructure. Massive employment schemes, labor-intensive infrastructure projects, civil service reform and intensive government capacity building needs are all pressing.