Akmal Hussain
The deteriorating security situation of Afghanistan and increasing loss of innocent lives has once again raised questions about the fate of peace in Afghanistan and the rest of region. The people of Afghanistan have suffered the most and the 40 years of war does not seem to be ending soon. Never has Afghanistan been so much politically divided as today. The NUG’s inability to govern and other factors have estranged the Afghan society into sub-nationalities like Pushtoons, Uzbeks, Hazaras and Tajiks etc. The root cause of Afghanistan imbroglio lies within, the internal and external challenges facing Afghanistan also underscore that any long lasting solutions has to come from within, which must be addressed at priority by the Afghan government.
Recently, the United Nations mentioned that “Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous, and most violent, crisis ridden countries in the world.” It further advised , the international community and the Afghan government that it should further beef up their efforts for sustainable security across the country. Afghanistan has one of the world’s largest populations in conflict induced internal displacement. Following the withdrawal of international troops in 2014, the country faced the worst security situation. This has not only raised poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan, but also caused a dramatic increase in internal displacement. According to UN report, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) rose from 196,000 in 2014 to 654,000 in 2016, which indicates a dramatic increase. Due to lack of security, poor economic and political environment, IDPs have never been without challenges in Afghanistan, its a shameful reality that many among the IDPs have been displaced several times, and have become ever more vulnerable.
Although the Afghan government had portrayed that they were trying to address the needs and fulfill the humanitarian rights of the IDPs, but practically a very little had been done; on one pretext or another. Initially the Afghan civil society and the international community launched a long awaited national IDP policy in 2014. So far neither the government nor the international community has built any formal camp having all basic services for the IDPs in Afghanistan, which has resulted in scattered and informal settlements of IDPs under tent, houses, which are made of mud, besides the scant access to clean water and latrines amounts to a fair degree of humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan has one of the globe’s largest populations in protracted displacement but its National policy on internal displacement was launched for the first time in 2014. it was prepared based on the Afghanistan Constitution, aimed to protect and uphold the rights of the IDPs as Afghan citizens to prevent or end displacement inside the country with the support of civil society, humanitarian and development partners, and NGOs. According to the envisaged policy, the rights of IDPs included the freedom of movement, expression, residence, adequate housing , suitable location, livelihood, standard of living, water, food , cloths; health care, protection, education, access to information; participatory rights including rights to vote. However, bad luck struck during that year and political turmoil due to the presidential election result prevailed for quite some time. After the establishment of the new government as the National Unity Government (NUG), during the same year the international troops left Afghanistan and the security situation deteriorated, foreign aid declined, and the number of IDPs significantly increased. Those political and security transitions stalled the implementation of the policy by all the stakeholders. Without the commitment and collaboration of stakeholders, it was next to impossible to bring such an optimistic change in the lives of the displaced people in Afghanistan.
Reportedly, in total there are more than 1.5 million internally displaced Afghans as a result of conflict and violence in Afghanistan. More than half of them are children and adolescents; therefore, they suffer more risks compared to adults when they are displaced from their home communities.
Experts elaborate that not only the children and adolescents but all IDPs, including men and women are affected differently with needs, vulnerabilities and protection risks. The IDPs fled with nothing but their lives due to fighting from all sides the Taliban, Daesh, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the foreign troops. The current challenges faced by the IDPs in Afghanistan includes the lack of adequate shelter, access to health and education facilities, food, sanitation, water, and unemployment. The cited challenges have jeopardized the expected momentum which ensures well-being and dignity of the IDPs. Local figures of Afghanistan indicate that majority of IDPs live in urban environments of their countries in order to have better live. Afghanistan is holding a large number of IDPs ,who are informally settled in the big cities, especially in Kabul for economic and other reasons. Living in the cities is not without challenges for the IDPs because most of them are from the rural areas, therefore, they are unused to city life and unable to find job if not by agricultural. Consequently, the IDPs cannot ensure the basic survival of their families. And the government does not have any employment and income generating projects for them. keeping in view the said condition and state of the IDPs, there are fair chances of getting encouragement by the warring factions for making sure the basic survival of their families and hence provide an ample opportunity for inducting dedicated recruits.
The National policy on internal displacement which has the support of Afghan government and all other stakeholders is failed to fulfill the needs and rights of Afghan IDPs. The current challenges of the IDPs undoubtedly indicate that since the launch of the policy the situation of the IDPs have been worsened. And they are living on the brink of survival. it is stated without any exaggeration that all the key stakeholders have failed so far to bring the policy into reality because of several interlinked reasons. it includes, the deteriorated security situation across the country which dramatically increased internal displacement. Secondly, the decline of foreign aid since the withdrawal of international troops. thirdly, the lack of political will of the government, generally weak administrative institutions, paralyzed by corruption, lack of technical capacity and budget within the government. Besides, the political and constitutional tensions within the NUG as result of which the policy was not considered as a priority. The Afghan government together with the international community have not devoted adequate attention or resources to addressing humanitarian needs and legitimate rights of IDPs who are living without sufficient access to basic living standard. The failure constitute violations of the human rights in Afghanistan within the presence of several national and international humanitarian organizations.
There is a dire need for the Afghan government to address this internal issue at priority and must find durable solutions. As its comprehensive implementation could serve as a strategic tool towards improving the living conditions of the displaced Afghans. It would also improve the living conditions and overall morale of the Afghans. As of now, they have a very shaky and loose affiliation with their country due the prevailing instability and security issues. A proper attention towards Afghan IDPs would not only stop more people to displace but also give confidence to the current conflict induced IDPs to return to their home communities and contribute towards the peace, prosperity and security of Afghanistan. Resolving the issue of Afghan IDPs would lead to address the issue of Afghan Refugees living abroad.
