Afghanistan - Taliban Systematically Diverts Aid in Afghanistan, USIP Report Finds / Foreign Policy

A new report by the US Institute of Peace (USIP) has found that the Taliban is systematically diverting aid channeled through United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Afghanistan.

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The report titled "Afghanistan's Dire Humanitarian Situation" was drafted by the US Institute of Peace (USIP). The report indicates widespread diversion of aid channeled through UN agencies and NGOs operating in the country.

The report found that the Taliban is systematically diverting aid through its control of the banking system, customs, and other institutions. The report also found that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worsening, with millions of people facing food insecurity and other hardships.

The report raises serious questions about the presence in Afghanistan of U.N. agencies charged with delivering that aid to those who need it.

The “Taliban appear to view the UN system as yet another revenue stream, one which their movement will seek to monopolize and centralize control over,” the report says. With at least 19 agencies present in Afghanistan, the U.N. has effectively been operating illegally since a December edict from the Taliban banned the employment of women in NGOs; nondiscrimination is fundamental to the U.N. Charter. The USAID report says many nongovernmental organizations are now paying women to stay home, while the Taliban have ordered them to send their male relatives to ostensibly work in their place, even as the displaced women continue to do the heavy lifting.

Assertions from U.N. and government officials that rifts within the Taliban could be exploited to force a reversal on policies such as confining women to their homes and banning girls from secondary education are also debunked.

The playbook of Taliban interference with foreign aid includes intimidation and coercion of local U.N. staff and, as with other NGOs, pushing for “ever-increasing degrees of credit and control over the delivery of aid, especially the more tangible forms of aid,” the report says.

The report casts doubt on the UN’s ability to control the flow of aid.The diversion of aid is occurring at all levels, from the Taliban government to local officials to individual beneficiaries.

The report's findings are a major blow to the Taliban's claims that it is committed to helping the Afghan people. The Taliban's actions are clearly designed to enrich themselves and their supporters, at the expense of the most vulnerable Afghans.

The international community must take steps to hold the Taliban accountable for its actions and to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most.