Afghanistan Is in Bad Shape, and It Could Get Worse

Susanne Schmeidl

Security,

Afghanistan is not well, and perhaps what Iraq tells us is that things could get worse.

Those of us watching Afghanistan were not surprised at the findings of the most recent annual report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in cooperation with the UN Human Rights Office on the "Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict."

Overshadowed by the violence in Syria, news from Afghanistan rarely makes headlines unless it is a reminder of the dire situation there. 

The 11,002 documented civilian casualties (3,545 deaths and 7,457 injured) might be a record high for Afghanistan since 2009 (when the UN started its documentation), but the total is dwarfed by the 20,000 killed in the Syrian war. Then again, there is little bombing in Afghanistan, where air operations account for only 3 percent of all dead and wounded, meaning that nearly all civilian casualties are caused by up-close-and personal brute force. 

Similarly, even if there is currently no Afghan mass exodus as there is from Syria, Afghans still rank second-highest among asylum seekers and refugees in the world, and the war is in its fourth decade. 

Ignoring wars does not make them go away. Nor does simply drawing down international military forces. This is what NATO did in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, when the UN -mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) closed its doors, and with that most international military forces left. Not all foreign soldiers left. Australia and the United States are still contributing nations as NATO launched its Resolute Support Mission (RSM), which focuses on providing “training, advice and assistance activities at the security ministries and national institutional levels and the higher levels of army and police command across the country.” Planned initially for a year, it was quietly extended after the Taliban insurgency managed to briefly conquer the Northern city of Kunduz late last year.

But lets return to the UN report. What does it tells us and, more importantly, what does it not?

Things in the UN Report That Should not Surprise Us