The Loya Jirga: Critical Transition at Hand for Afghanistan

CARE
Friday, 7 June 2002

CARE urges international community to follow through on funds and security

Amid enduring hardship and great insecurity, Afghans are assembling for a loya jirga, or grand council, to choose their leaders after more than 20 years of conflict. CARE, a leading humanitarian organization working in Afghanistan, today issued an urgent call for international support for rebuilding the country.

"It is essential that the international community follow through on funds and security for Afghanistan so that Afghans themselves can successfully build toward peace and progress," says Paul Barker, country director for CARE in Afghanistan. "Insecurity in the country remains a major obstacle to large-scale economic rebuilding. Already, some donors are late in fulfilling their pledges."

Several U.N. aid agencies have suspended or drastically cut back programs, including assistance to refugees, because they are running short of money. Nearly 1 million of an estimated 5 million Afghan refugees already have returned home after decades of exile, straining the capacity of the government and aid agencies to respond to the country's needs.

"The most important thing for Afghanistan right now is to build the capacity of Afghans, " says Paul O'Brien, CARE's advocacy coordinator in Afghanistan. "Afghans are eager to rebuild their country, but they cannot do it without significant support on the economic and security fronts. Afghans want peace. If the loya jirga goes well, and the new government gets the international support it needs, they have a chance to move beyond war.

"The next year will be critical," says O'Brien. "And a lot will depend on whether the international community keeps its promises on security and funding. If donors refuse to help guarantee nationwide security on the one hand, and then refuse to fund reconstruction because of insecurity on the other, they will have the country in a Catch 22."

Some donors have been slow in following through on their funding commitments. The insecurity in the country and the uncertainty surrounding the current political process appear to be contributing factors. Lack of support from Washington, London and Paris has confined the international security assistance force to Kabul and kept its mandate short-term. An Afghan army is being trained, but its scope and size are limited, and it is at least one year away from readiness. At the same time, funding is needed for reconstruction.

"The economy is not going to recover on its own from decades of war and several years of severe drought," says Sally Austin, assistant country director for CARE in Afghanistan. "Jobs need to be created and the basics have to be rebuilt: roads, water, sanitation and irrigation systems. Reconstruction comes down to security and funding. Widespread, large-scale rebuilding cannot be carried out without both. Donors and the international community need to deliver on the promises they made in order to keep the country on course and for peace to take hold."

For more information, or to contact CARE, see their website at: www.care.org