A briefing paper by eleven NGOs operating in Afghanistan for the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, 3-4 April 2009
Summary
1 Protection of civilians
The intensification and spread of the conflict in Afghanistan is increasingly affecting civilians. In 2008 there were over 2,100 civilian casualties, 55% of which were caused by militants. Despite steps to reduce civilian casualties, international military forces (IMF) caused 552 civilian deaths through airstrikes in 2008, which is up by 72% on 2007. IMF have also carried out or supported raids and search operations, a large number of which have involved an excessive use of force, including loss of life, physical assault, damage to property and theft, as well as aggressive and improper treatment of women. Such conduct not only generates anger and mistrust towards foreign troops, but is steadily eroding popular support for the international presence in the country. Furthermore, many individuals detained by Afghan and US forces are held for long periods without charge or trial, and there are allegations of mistreatment and torture.
Social protection and access to basic services is also being adversely affected by the widening conflict, with significant levels of displacement and severe disruption to health and education services. Yet such considerations are not being adequately factored into international security strategies. Planned increases in troops and military operations during 2009 are likely to lead to higher levels of displacement, further restrictions to social services, and greater impediments for aid agencies to reach civilians in need of protection and assistance.
Recommendations: Significant further steps are required to minimise harm to civilians and damage to their property; rules governing the escalation of force and execution of airstrikes should be further tightened; military intelligence should be subject to more rigorous scrutiny and cross-checks; rules governing night raids should be clarified, with regular law enforcement operations used wherever possible; stringent new measures are required to ensure special forces operate lawfully and are subject to rigorous oversight; and field commanders should take further steps to ensure that all soldiers demonstrate an awareness of and respect for Afghan culture, religion and customs. IMF should take further measures to work with the Afghan government to end abuses by Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) against civilians. IMF and Afghan forces should ensure that detainees are not subjected to torture or other mistreatment and are afforded their due process rights under international law, and that monitoring organisations have a greater level of access to detention facilities. ISAF and the US Department of Defense should each create a high-level position with responsibility for reducing civilian casualties, and for ensuring rigorous compliance with international humanitarian law.
In all operations, policies and strategies IMF should prioritize protection of civilians, especially vulnerable groups such as women and children; they should also work with the Afghan government to ensure that the activities of international and Afghan soldiers and police are in accordance with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 on women, peace and security and 1820 on sexual violence in conflict. IMF should also seek to ensure that their activities do not adversely affect access for aid agencies, lead to forced displacement or disrupt the right to freedom of movement and right of return of Afghan refugees.
2 Transparency and accountability
With regard to many incidents involving loss of life, injury or damage caused by pro-government forces there is a lack of transparency and public accountability. Although a civilian casualty tracking cell has been established by ISAF and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) there is still no comprehensive system for tracking and communicating to those concerned information regarding the status of investigations, disciplinary proceedings and prosecutions.
Recommendations: The ISAF-OEF civilian casualty tracking cell should ensure rapid communications to affected civilians and, where possible, the wider public, on the identity of military units involved in alleged incidents, the status and findings of their investigations, and any national disciplinary or legal action which follows; and a similar unit for ANSF should be established. To enhance credibility, the tracking cell should also ensure that qualified, independent civilians are given access to their activities. The Tactical Directive issued by the Commander ISAF / US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A)2 on 30 December 2008 should be revised to include clear commitments to greater transparency and accountability in respect of both the process and outcome of investigations.
3 Compensation and ex gratia payments
There is no unified or systematic mechanism for compensating civilians for loss or damage caused by military operations; processes are opaque, ad hoc, and vary from nation to nation. Many Afghans are unaware of processes by which they can obtain compensation or ex gratia payments; face obstacles in accessing appropriate military or other officials or identifying the military unit responsible; and in some cases verification and approval procedures are excessively cumbersome and time-consuming. Ultimately, the nationality of the troops concerned determines the prospects of obtaining a compensation or an ex gratia payment, and if so, the amount awarded. The US government's civilian assistance programme is significant but slow, while the Afghan government's programme is administratively inconsistent and hindered by corruption.
Recommendations: ISAF and OEF should establish a unified mechanism which ensures a streamlined, consistent and fair approach to compensation or ex gratia payments throughout Afghanistan. In particular it should: coordinate and liaise with all IMF/ANSF units and the civilian casualty tracking cell; ensure that the claims process is widely accessible and understood; develop clear, consistent rules on eligibility; ensure that all payments are sufficient and proportionate to harm caused; and maintain full records. In the absence of such a mechanism, IMF should each closely align their compensation and ex gratia payment processes to achieve these objectives. The Afghan government compensation and ex gratia mechanisms should be reformed to ensure greater transparency, coherence and consistency; as well better alignment with IMF mechanisms. All units should, wherever feasible, proactively seek to establish losses, accept responsibility, provide an explanation and apology, and give support to the claims process. Further, a training programme should be instituted on best practices in the provision of compensation and ex gratia payments, which could help to ensure greater overall alignment and consistency.
4 Provincial Reconstruction
Teams Although PRTs have an interim security and stabilisation mandate, they have undertaken extensive assistance activities, including infrastructure projects and in extremis support. However, when security and other conditions exist which allow specialised civilian development actors to operate, the military should not be engaged in activities in the development or humanitarian sector. PRT engagement in development activities is neither effective nor sustainable for the following reasons: (1) Being military-led, PRTs are an inherently unsuitable means to promote development. (2) Given the particular cultural and social mores of Afghanistan, and mistrust of foreign forces, Western military-led institutions are unable to achieve a sufficient level of local engagement and ownership necessary for effective long-term development. (3) PRTs divert funds away from Afghan civilian development processes and institutions, whose weaknesses ultimately prolong the military presence: annual funding available to US PRT commanders exceeds the Afghan national budget for health and education. (4) As highly variable and intrinsically unsustainable institutions, PRTs are an impediment to the establishment of a coherent and consistent national development framework, and have resulted in major geographical disparities in the distribution of aid. (5) The PRTs' hearts and minds approach to assistance, drawn from counter-insurgency doctrine, is not only at odds with accepted principles of development, but, given that it is so often ineffective and unsustainable, it is highly unlikely to achieve its intended security objectives.
Recommendations: While opposing military engagement in development activities for the above reasons but accepting the current reality of extensive PRT engagement in the development sector, PRTs should seek to enhance the quality, impact and relevance of their assistance; improve information-sharing and alignment with national and local priorities; and develop greater country-wide consistency and coherence. As recommended by the US Government Accountability Office, PRTs should also be subject to greater levels of oversight, monitoring and evaluation, including of the sustainability and impact of interventions. A medium- to long-term PRT transition strategy and implementation plan should be developed which sets out the conditions and modalities for a sequenced change of emphasis from providing assistance, to promoting security and security sector reform, and which progressively re-routes a greater proportion of international funding to civilian institutions. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) should correspondingly expand its provincial capabilities and fulfill its UN Security Council mandate to coordinate, support and enhance the international effort at local level, which should be supplemented by a sequenced and coordinated expansion of Afghan government responsibilities. A comprehensive national assessment should be carried out on the geographical configuration of assistance, so that donors can minimise disparities and ensure levels of assistance more closely correspond to levels of need.