UN Urges West to Work With Afghanistan 07/08 06:16

   

   (AP) -- It is crucial for Western nations to engage with Afghanistan to 
prevent the country from sliding back into instability that could have 
repercussions far beyond its borders, two top United Nations officials said.

   "The lesson of (the) recent past is that ignoring Afghanistan is not a good 
thing to do," the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, 
told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday alongside the head of the 
United Nations Development Program, Alexander De Croo, during a joint visit to 
the country.

   Although many challenges and difficulties remain, "it's wiser to engage, to 
support and promote the right type of policies to making sure that Afghanistan 
remains safe and secure," Salih said, speaking via video link. "Without it, I 
think we may well risk instability, with all the implications of that 
instability," whether that is drugs, extremism, criminal activity or the 
movement of refugees, he said.

   Afghanistan hit by multiple crises

   After four decades of conflict, the impoverished, aid-dependent country is 
now buffeted by multiple crises, from natural disasters and climate change to 
the largest influx of returning refugees the world has seen in decades.

   "In Afghanistan, there is never a crisis just on its own. It's always crisis 
on top of crisis," De Croo told the AP. "And that you see here."

   Nearly 6 million people have returned to Afghanistan since 2023, the vast 
majority from neighboring Pakistan and Iran since those countries began a 
crackdown on migrants living there. Another roughly 2 million people are 
expected to return this year, the U.N. officials said.

   The returnees have strained local communities, many of which already have 
scant resources in a country where poverty is rife and malnutrition stalks the 
most vulnerable.

   This has been compounded by massive cuts in international aid and a Taliban 
government that has sidelined half of Afghanistan's population, denying women 
and girls education beyond primary school and banning them from the vast 
majority of jobs.

   The country is also internationally isolated. No Western nation has formally 
recognized Afghanistan's government since the Taliban seized power in the wake 
of a chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops in August 2021. Russia was the first 
country to officially do so, in 2025.

   Last month, a delegation from the Taliban government traveled to Brussels to 
meet European Union staff for talks on diplomatic services and the return of 
Afghans from European countries. The meeting symbolized a small crack in 
Afghanistan's diplomatic isolation.

   Progress seen in some areas

   Yet despite the significant challenges, Afghanistan has nonetheless shown 
improvement in some areas, notably in security and combating corruption and 
drug production, the U.N. officials said.

   "I wouldn't close my eyes to the fact that there is progress, and maybe 
progress that no one would have expected five years ago," De Croo told the AP. 
He said drug production was down by 95% in a country that was one of the 
world's major producers of opium and heroin.

   "If now the international community turns its back to Afghanistan, the 
consequences will not only be in Afghanistan. The consequences will be much, 
much broader," De Croo said.

   "The message to Western countries is: if you want to have a stable and 
peaceful society, you are not only achieving that with domestic policy. If you 
want to live in peace and stability, your neighborhood also needs to be at 
peace and stability," he added.

   Draconian restrictions on women and girls remain

   The harsh government-imposed restrictions on women and girls remain one of 
the greatest points of contention between the Afghan government and the 
international community. De Croo and Salih said they had discussed the issue in 
their meetings with Afghan officials during their visit to the country. Both 
said they believed the key to progress was engagement.

   "We hope that constructive engagement will show the way forward in that 
regard," Salih said. "It's important that there is progress, there is tangible 
reforms that will allow for an inclusive system in this country."

   Aid cuts could have lasting repercussions

   The international aid cuts have had "a very tangible impact" on the country, 
De Croo said, noting that 422 medical centers shut down in Afghanistan due to 
lack of funding in the space of a year. "Closed because the funding just 
disappeared. That is more than 3 million people that are impacted, that just 
lose their access to basic medical services," he said.

   Earlier this year, the World Food Program said funding cuts had forced it to 
turn away three out of four acutely malnourished children seeking help because 
it no longer had the funds to feed them.

   The Afghan government launched a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation 
soon after it seized power. But the dramatic cut in drug production was also 
due in part to farmers being given alternative crops to the cultivation of 
opium poppies, De Croo said, noting that funding for such programs had been 
severely curtailed.

   "If we cannot continue working together with farmers in giving them an 
alternative for producing drugs," then drug cultivation could return, he said.

   Although international attention has shifted away from Afghanistan, Salih 
said that while challenges remain, there is now an opportunity for the rest of 
the world to engage with the country.

   "It is vital to remind the world that the price of inaction far outweighs 
action," Salih said. "You cannot ignore Afghanistan, and what happens in 
Afghanistan does not necessarily stay in Afghanistan."