Promises, promises: Afghans want more than talk

More than $40 billion has been spent on aid to Afghanistan over the past nine years, yet millions of Afghans still live in poverty; the security situation is worse than at any point since the fall of the Taliban, and donors are increasing focused on short cuts and military-led approaches, according to a new Oxfam briefing paper entitled “Promises Promises.”

Released on the eve of the Kabul Conference, the briefing paper makes clear that there has been much talk and little action in Aghanistan, to the detriment of ordinary Afghans.

“Many Afghans are tired of conferences where ministers from all over the world talk about the future of their country with nothing changing on the ground,” said Ashley Jackson, Oxfam’s Head of Advocacy in Afghanistan. “Afghans want jobs. They want to feel safe when they walk down the street. They want doctors in their hospitals and decent teachers in their schools. Now is the time for action - not more empty pledges and rhetoric. The needs of ordinary Afghans must be put first.”

While the international community has made endless pledges and promises to improve life for Afghans, it has repeatedly failed to follow through on many of those pledges with concrete action. For example, more than a third of all aid pledged at previous donor conferences was double pledged and much of the aid to Afghanistan is not aligned with the national development strategy.

Afghans are increasingly on the front lines of the conflict, the briefing notes. According to the UN, assassinations of community leaders, government workers, and other civilians now average one per day.

While many Afghans are desperate for peace, current reintegration plans threaten to be the latest in a long line of quick fixes. The program, due to be endorsed at the Kabul Conference, barely mentions how genuine grievances will be addressed, and many fear these plans will grant impunity without addressing the crimes of the past. In part, the reintegration plan seeks to use humanitarian and development assistance to motivate fighters to lay down their arms. In a country where 14 children die every half hour of largely preventable causes, offering impoverished communities aid contingent on their ability to produce “ex-combatants” is unethical and misguided.

The international community hopes for “a new social contract” between the Afghan Government and its people. But Oxfam fears that ordinary people could end up on the sidelines, rather than at the heart of this new contract.

“Holding yet another one-day conference is not the way to solve the long-term problems facing Afghanistan. It creates the illusion of action but it is actually what happens after the conference that matters most,” Jackson said. “We’re deeply concerned that far too many troop-contributing countries are looking for ways to get their troops out rather than looking at the root causes of the conflict and poverty.”

Many Afghans say they want corruption to be tackled as an urgent priority, yet not a single high-level official has been investigated and successfully tried for corruption.