Letter from the Chair

Transcription

1 DISEC

2 Letter from the Chair Dear Delegates, It is my pleasure to welcome you to the second Amity Model United Nations, and more specifically to my committee- DISEC. I hope to make the three days of the second Amity Model United Nations an unforgettable experience for you. This background guide is by no means a comprehensive assessment of the topic, the situation in Afghanistan. It is merely a compass to help guide and align your research in the right direction. Apart from the nitty gritty of the Agendum, you are also expected to be well versed with your country s foreign policy. You will be allowed the use of laptops in committee, but you may only access data stored locally. This means no internet connections will be allowed. Any delegates caught using the internet shall immediately be gagged. Now you must all remember that the aim of participating in an MUN is not to win an award, but to do the best you possibly can, and develop memories and experiences you will cherish all your life! Best of luck, and have loads of fun! Dhruv Talwar!!! Kavya Bhargava!!!! Pritika Kohli President!!! Director!!!! Assistant Director! 2

3 Statement of the problem: Afghanistan has long had a reputation through its history of being an ungovernable land of warring tribes where local power struggles and customary or traditional law was maintained by village courts and the use of guns. Afghanistan is rife with issues ranging from illegal arms trade, human trafficking, drug trafficking, Taliban etc. One of the major causes of the issues in Afghanistan is the Large scale drug trafficking in the region. The effects of this trade are far reaching. It is speculated that drugs trafficking is responsible for financing the activities of the Taliban. Drugs are also often exchanged for arms, leading to wide spread arms proliferation in the region. Another heinous side effect of the drugs trade is human trafficking. One of the main drugs cultivated in Afghanistan is Opium. Opium Cultivation The opium poppy has long been intertwined with human history. Opium poppies are a crop on which history has turned, causing men to lose their lives and fortunes in pursuit of this flower and its products. The poppy is a plant with a multitude of uses, such as food and ornamentation. The most common application of this plant, however, is in the production of opium, a narcotic and precursor of morphine and heroin. These drugs are used therapeutically, most notably for pain relief, but have an extremely high potential for abuse as they are highly addictive, widely available, and consumed as street drugs. The United Nations (UN) takes opium production very seriously, placing opium in its highest category of drug prohibition, Schedule 1. According to a UN survey, as of 6 February 2008, Afghan opium production is shockingly high. Although provinces in the northeast of Afghanistan are largely opium-free, cultivation remains high in the southwest provinces, which are under Taliban control. In 2008, the number of opium-free provinces increased by nearly 50 percent from 13 percent to 18 percent. Nearly 98 percent of all Afghani opium is grown in just seven southwestern provinces: Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Farah, Nimroz, and, to a lesser extent, Daykundi and Zabul, where there are significant bands of Taliban fighters. Most opium production occurs in areas outside of government control the government does not have the resources to fully monitor and maintain every region. The best example of this is Helmand province, where nearly two-thirds of Afghanistan's opium is produced. If Helmand were a country, it would be the world s largest narcotics producer. Opium is one of the Taliban's major sources of income, generating close to 100 million USD. Hence, eliminating the opium trade will be an important part of defeating the Taliban insurgency and restoring order in Iraq. Ironically, the Taliban once promoted a strict policy prohibiting opium on grounds that it was against Islam, since drugs are heavily forbidden in the religion. However this objection was largely curtailed when it became a matter of expediency to grow opium for profits. Today, according to Afghani Lieutenant General Mohammad Daud-Daud, there has been a coalition between the Taliban and the opium smugglers. This year, they have set up a commission to tax the harvest. Additionally, Afghanistan is now considered the world s largest producer of cannabis, producing roughly 173,000 acres this year, primarily for export through the southern border. Like with the opium trade, the Taliban provides protection and safe passageway to cannabis producers, in return for a hefty price. As with opium, most cannabis cultivation takes place in the south of the country where the insurgency is strongest, the UNODC has reported, with more than two-thirds (67 percent) of cannabis farmers also growing opium. There is a clear link between opium and cannabis production. Though opium production and the drug itself is considered to be more dangerous, we must focus attention on the other drugs present in the region. Three times cheaper to cultivate than opium, the net income from a hectare of cannabis is 3,341 USD compared to 2,005 3

4 USD for opium. Opium trade is currently more prevalent in Afghanistan overall than cannabis, but the fear remains that if an opium production eradication is successful, farmers and corrupt governments will turn to cannabis production in lieu of opium profits. There must be a way to sustain a farming industry that promotes drug-free farming and production. Many steps will be necessary, from the eventual complete eradication of the drug, to handing the Taliban s control of the industry and finally in dealing with the rampant corruption linked with drug production in Afghanistan. As previously mentioned, the drug problem in Afghanistan is compounded by corruption and weakness in the Afghani government. Corruption, in addition to violence and drug production, were among the problems discussed during a meeting of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, the body in charge of monitoring the rebuilding of Afghanistan. This body noted that [the] Taliban, related armed groups, terrorism and narcotics continue to pose a challenge, inhibiting the peace process; and governance has been challenged by capacity constraints, weak rule of law and corruption. This body further agreed to increase efforts to deal with narcotics production and enhance the government's ability to control the territory over which it theoretically rules. Corruption is extremely widespread, and according to a recent paper, "Corruption associated with the opium economy has spread to all levels of the Afghan government from the police to the parliament, and is eroding the rule of law. Farmers are able to bribe enforcement personnel to ignore poppy production, and drug traffickers are able to similarly bribe police to ignore or even aid their operations. Afghan government officials are believed to be involved in at least 70 percent of opium trafficking. However, not all news is bad. According to the 2008 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) executive summary of the Afghanistan Opium Survey, The opium flood waters in Afghanistan have started to recede. According to the survey, the record breaking [476,911 acres] of opium cultivated in 2007 has dropped by 19 percent to [387,955 acres]. The report further states that opium production has dropped by about 6 percent. Unfortunately, 4

5 this eradication was very costly in terms of human lives. Human Trafficking Trafficking in persons is a crime that can impair a personality and even destroy a human life and it gravely affects today s Afghanistan as a source, transit and destination country. The traffickers ruthlessly exploit men, women and children by violating their basic human rights and this modern-day form of slavery continues to thrive with impunity. After trafficking of drugs and guns, trafficking in person is now the world s number three most lucrative crime. Most victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, prostitution, producing of sex films and other forms of sexual exploitations. Other forms of exploitation of trafficked victims are forced labor in agriculture, mines, factories and workshops, and other places, as well as sale and trafficking of narcotics, military soldier and forced participation in the wars, working as domestics etc. There are numerous factors making Afghan people extremely vulnerable to trafficking: more than two decades of conflict and the subsequent loss of lives and livelihoods, prolonged economic instability and deteriorating insecurity, to name a few examples. There are additional factors such as the common occurrence of violence against women, including forced marriage, rendering women particularly vulnerable. The purpose of trafficking has mostly been sexual exploitation (72 per cent) while a significant number of cases (22 per cent) involved labour exploitation. Children and young women are another large pool of potential targets for trafficking with widespread poverty compelling up to one third of Afghan children to work in order to augment their family income. Human traffickers often promise a better life through employment (67 per cent), marriage (2 per cent), educational opportunities (1 per cent) or others (6 per cent). The remaining cases (24 per cent) involve forcible means such as kidnapping and sale. Some families give children to adults, often relatives, who promise education and opportunity but sell the children into exploitative situations. A tradition called bacha bazi where boys as young as 11 are dressed in woman's clothes, taught to sing and dance for the entertainment of male audiences, and then sold to the highest bidder or traded among the men for sex is prevalent in the country. Afghanistan is also facing a mass population displacement. Many of the displaced persons have no secure place to stay and end up living in camps or open areas deprived of any basic social services or means of livelihood. Women and children living under these conditions are particularly at risk of being trafficked. In addition to factors related to the supply of potential victims, Afghanistan offers an environment favorable to facilitating the process of trafficking. Afghanistan shares borders with six countries and some parts are very difficult to control due to the terrain and trans-border tribal structures. In the absence of modern border management and a weakening of law and order, racketeers freely cross borders to traffic or smuggle people to or through neighboring countries. With poppy production and smuggling of narcotics flourishing in the country, the tactics of criminal groups are more sophisticated than ever and their well-established networks contribute to cross-border trafficking operations. Over the years, Afghanistan has made no clear progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Afghanistan does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, but the government 5

6 relies on kidnapping and other statutes to charge some trafficking offenses. Both the Ministry of Interior and the Attorney General's Office reported data indicating that traffickers had been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted, but they were unable to provide disaggregated trafficking data from other related law enforcement data. The government did not demonstrate any efforts to investigate, arrest, or prosecute government officials facilitating trafficking offenses despite reports of widespread complicity among border and highway police. Arms Trafficking The annual value of small arms and ammunition imports to Afghanistan is reported to be US$7,051,3768 (2009) while the annual value of small arms and ammunition exports from Afghanistan is reported to be US$6,6838 (2009). What needs to be understood here is that Drug traffickers have a symbiotic relationship with insurgents and terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al-qaeda. Instability makes opium cultivation possible; opium buys protection and pays for weapons and foot soldiers, and these in turn create an environment in which drug lords, insurgents and terrorists can operate with impunity. Opium is the glue that holds this murky relationship together. If profits fall, these sinister forces have the most to lose. It is suspected that the big traffickers are hoarding surplus opium as a hedge against future price shocks and as a source of funding for future terrorist attacks, in Afghanistan or elsewhere. The most common route for getting weapons is from Pakistan. Extensive arms markets and a local industry grew up in the Tribal Areas in the 1980s when there was Pakistani, American and Saudi support for the anti-soviet Jihad. The open border and the influence of Taliban in Pakistan make it easier to supply arms. The border areas especially those along Khyber- Pakhtunwa (K-P) and Balochistan are extremely porous. The weapons used are not only leftovers from the Russian times but are also bought from different sources including Pakistan, Russia and Iran. The sellers also include the mujahedeen commanders and the Northern Alliance in northern Afghanistan which supply arms to the Taliban. There have been reports that the arms supplied by the U.S. to Afghan government have fallen into Taliban hands. Role of Taliban The Taliban is a radical Sunni Islamist movement with deep ties to Afghanistan. They once governed Afghanistan legitimately, with the support of the Afghani people. Its original mission was dedicated to purifying Afghanistan, which brought relief to many Afghan citizens, tired of the corruption and brutality of the warlords who had fought for control in the years after the end of Soviet occupation., While in power, the Taliban held to a very strict ideology, criticized by many international bodies especially for its regard toward women. The Taliban is most well known for its support of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the extremist group al-qaeda, and the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. By the mid 1990s, the Taliban had gained control over Afghanistan and was determined to impose an extreme interpretation of Islam in the country. One result of this newly imposed religion, aside from massive human rights violations mainly directed toward women, was a massive decrease in opium production. The Taliban declared that growing poppy plants was in fundamental opposition to Islamic practice and religion, resulting in one of the most successful anti-drug policies of all time. The United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) recorded that during the Taliban rule of Afghanistan, poppy production decreased by nearly 91 percent. After the events of 11 September 2001, NATO forces removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. By the end of the year 2001, as a result of the political turmoil of the country, the Afghani economy was in the midst of a 6

7 result of the political turmoil of the country, the Afghani economy was in the midst of a collapse. To no one s great surprise, the Afghani people returned to the one thing they could count on for individual revenue: poppy production.in more recent years, the opium production in Afghanistan reached an all-time high. For the most part, international presence in Afghanistan was meant to decrease production and penalize smuggling, but as a result of international presence, the Taliban, now a rogue force in the region, changed its position. Rather than berating the practice, Taliban leaders began to form ties with opium smugglers. One must recall that Opium production now provides a revenue stream of $100 million a year to the Taliban. The Taliban has been negotiating deals with opium producers, offering protection from government and international efforts to eliminate opium production in Afghanistan. The new strategy provides two advantages for the Taliban: while gaining money for the protection they promise, they simultaneously garner support from the farming communities, helping farmers to organize and grow their cause. The Executive Director of the UNODC articulated the effects of the political instability on opium production in Afghanistan best: Drug traffickers have a symbiotic relationship with insurgents and terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al-qaeda. Instability makes opium cultivation possible; opium buys protection and pays for weapons and foot soldiers, and these in turn create an environment in which drug lords, insurgents and terrorists can operate with impunity. Taliban s role in human trafficking in Afghanistan is concentrated to sex slavery and recruitment for militants. Young women are systematically kidnapped from their homes by Taliban insurgents, seen as rewards for victorious battles. Women victims tell of being forced to wed Taliban soldiers and Pakistani and Arab fighters of Osama bin Laden's al- Qaeda network, who later abandoned them. These marriages were tantamount to legalized rape. Many of the women did end up in Pakistan--but were sold to brothels or kept as virtual slaves inside homes. Even if they could escape, these women would probably calculate that their families would no longer welcome them. Some were even sent to military training camps. The Taliban also uses children between 12 to 16 years old as suicide bombers. Some children have been tricked or forced to become suicide bombers. Others are heavily indoctrinated or are not aware that they are carrying explosives that are then set off remotely without their knowledge. Some child soldiers used by insurgent groups were sexually exploited. Boys are sometimes promised enrollment in Islamic schools in Pakistan and Iran, but instead are trafficked to camps for paramilitary training by extremist groups. Past UN & International Actions Until recently, opium production in Afghanistan barely saw any kind of regulation or control. The trade was, essentially, a freefor-all-system, available to any farmer who was willing and able to produce and distribute the plant. The first real anti-drug policy in Afghanistan came when the Taliban gained control over the country in Toward the end of the Taliban s regime, with the poppy production tagged as Anti-Islamic, the trade was at an all-time low. The UN has taken various actions in response to opium production in Afghanistan. In 2001, the Security Council authorized the U.S. to overthrow the Taliban and begin an offensive against al-qaeda. The overthrow of the regime saw a sharp spike in production, a trend that seems to repeat itself whenever Afghan rule or political machine is changed. In March 2002, the Security Council created the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) to manage humanitarian missions. Included in this mission is the National Drugs Control Strategy, which focuses a large part of its effort on the opium problem in Afghanistan. It has proven to be immensely difficult to establish effective drug policy in Afghanistan, 7

8 especially with a secular government. In 2005, the Afghani government set out on an Opium War in which they attempted to eradicate the opium trade by burning down poppy farms. As was to be expected, the government experienced backlash from the farming population. Violent revolts took place on certain farms, and some casualties were suffered. Meanwhile, in 2005, international forces, comprised of the U.S., UK and France, began a huge anti- drug program in Afghanistan. The plan consisted of destroying crops (through aerial spraying, rather than burning), arresting smugglers, and helping farmers switch to legal, yet less lucrative, crops. Farmers have proven quite reluctant to switch crops, as none offer the same financial benefits as the poppy plant. Yet, despite these efforts, the production of opium grew in 2006 and reached an all-time high in More recent reports, those of 2008, present a mildly positive turn in events. Though production decreased dramatically in comparison from the previous year, poppy production is still at extreme levels, leaving many doubts regarding the efficacy of the drug programs from within the government and on the international level. It seems as though the only truly successful anti-drug program was that under the Taliban regime, which is not an option for new secular governments. Past actions have thus far either failed in eradicating the problem or, perhaps equally as devastating, highlighted problems in other realms of Afghan and way of life. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a political UN mission established at the request of the Government of Afghanistan to assist it and the people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development. UNAMA was established on 28 March 2002 by United Nations Security Council Resolution UNAMA s mandate currently has the following elements: to support the Government in its efforts to improve critical areas, including security, governance and economic development, and regional cooperation Possible Solutions It is difficult to outline solutions for the opium production problem in Afghanistan. Some find the recent, though not at all comprehensive, decline in production in 2008 to be a good sign. The United States has spent 160 million USD on eradication efforts in Afghanistan, and perhaps it is starting to see results. Others turn to a recent drought in the Northwest region of Afghanistan to explain the decline in production, reluctant to believe international efforts have begun to succeed. The UNOCD has outlined several potential solutions to help decrease opium production, yet none seem to present a true chance for full eradication. The first suggestion is to focus on the western regions of the country. This area of the country has less opium production than that of Afghanistan s South, specifically in the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, and Uruzgan. Nonetheless, it would be a good first step. The western regions provide less resistance to eradication efforts, as insurgency and Taliban presence are significantly less influential. Thus, some claim that it would be easy, in comparative terms, to wipe out opium in the west first and then concentrate efforts in more troubling areas. Yet, this proposition could yield drastic and unintended results. If efforts are focused on the west, it is possible that the already inordinately high production in the northern regions will multiply due to lack of enforcement. It is a question of balancing risk: abolishing the practice in one region while risking a comparative increase in another already volatile region. Another suggestion is to reward good behavior. The UNOCD suggests providing financial incentives to regions and individual farmers who stay poppy-free. It is important for farmers to ally with the government, rather than terrorist organization like the Taliban. However, many farmers are receiving plenty of financial assistance, along with protection, from the Taliban. As long as the Taliban meets their needs, a they are unlikely to feel a strong allegiance to the government in Kabul. Moreover, as the Taliban is unquestionably a 8

9 dangerous force, any solution must provide for the safety of individual farmers. It is possible that a poppy farmer, currently aligned with the Taliban, could be deterred from complying with the government by threats from the Taliban. Another pressing issue is that of transparency of the Afghan government. Transparency is vital to ensure the appropriate channeling of possible financial aid in the region. It has been suggested that officials of organizations like Transparency International be stationed at certain areas with high drug production, and submit regular reports. There is, however, the pressing fear hat Afghani officials could corrupt these inspectors, or that Afghanistan would be reluctant to comply with such an organization. Of course, the safety of the inspectors themselves is also a worry. The most obvious, but perhaps most harmful, solution is to destroy the poppy plants, either by burning or aerial spraying. This solution presents two potential advantages: the current crops would be destroyed and the land could not be re-used to grow more poppy plants. While providing an immediate solution to the problem, this could cause more harm than good in the end. The process of eradicating the fields alone is a dangerous one; people on both sides of the field would undoubtedly be injured, if not killed, by the process. An extreme amount of money would have to be spent in order to eliminate even a fraction of the poppy fields in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the Afghan government and the international bodies in Afghanistan would certainly face an extreme amount of backlash. Without a program to help them in the aftermath, farmers affected negatively by these eradication efforts would lose their way of life. Furthermore, poppy production alone is not the sole problem. The trafficking of the poppy once produced in Afghanistan is of equal importance. Any solution most consider the path of the poppy plant once produced and attempt to prevent the trafficking and transport of the substance. Legislation must be enforced regionally and internationally on controlling opium trafficking. There are several options for this type of legislation. This body could call for the further strengthening of current eradication forces or for the creation of a new organization to monitor both production and transport of the poppy plant. Stronger border control might prevent opium from leaving Afghanistan, especially to its neighbors, Iran and Pakistan. Other disincentives and punishments could be established targeting opium trafficking specifically. These punishments might include fines, imprisonment or expulsion from the country, all depending on the severity of the crime. It is important for the Afghani government to establish strict enforcement against trafficking, so to make sure to tackle all angles of the dire situation at hand. The Afghani government must be careful in its attempt to curtail poppy production, however, as it could suffer possible backlash from the Afghani people, further pushing the popular opinion in favor of non-governmental forces, such as the Taliban. Some have made a more radical proposal: the United States or the UK can buy all poppy produced in Afghanistan and convert it to morphine. Those who defend this tactic make the argument that with so much money wasted every year trying but failing to enforce drug laws in Afghanistan, buying the entire Afghanistan poppy crop would save money in the end. The morphine, created from the opium bought, could provide relief on an international scale for people suffering from a multitude of diseases ranging from cancer to AIDS. Both the American and British governments have made it clear that they are against this plan. Both countries believe that eradication and encouragement to grow other crops are the best solutions for the opium problem. Others question the viability of the plan; they assume that smuggling would still occur if outside buyers drug producers were willing to pay more for the crops. Once a solution is carried out, governmentchanneled foreign aid for the building of infrastructure and improving welfare systems in order to ensure the quality of life for farmers in a poppy-free habitat would be of the utmost 9

10 importance directly after new legislative regulations were put in place. It cannot be expected that these farmers, if they do decide to comply with Afghani and international wishes, will not be reluctant to do so. It is important to sustain a political climate and incentive program that would encourage farmers not only to change to a farming system without poppy growth, but also to maintain a poppy free industry. Steps to eradicate poppy production will be fruitless if the eradication is only temporary. This body make sure that any solution is a long term one, that will not allow for poppy production to renew itself in the future. It is clear that there is no obvious solution to this ever-growing problem. Whatever is decided will take time and effort and, inevitably, compromise on the part of several entities: the DISEC, the Afghani government, Afghani farmers and those in demand for the drug. Questions to be Considered by Delegates 1. How can the DISEC address the problem of instability and insecurity in the government of Afghanistan? 2. What can the United Nations do to more efficiently deal with problem of Human Trafficking? 3. What can member states do to cooperate more effectively with the United Nations in preventing human trafficking? 4. Stronger Export and Border Controls.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5. Safeguarding or Destroying of Arms and Drugs Stockpiles 6. The relation between drugs, arms and human trafficking. 10

11 Bibliography: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, The Commission on Narcotic Drugs: its mandate and functions UNODC: CND United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Afghanistan Opium Survey 2008, Executive Summary. WORLD WIDE WEBSITES Azar, Ibrahim. "Afghanistan Opium Survey Global Policy Forum, UN Involvement in Afghanistan. GlobalPolicty.org. security/issues/ afgindx.htm Frost, Patrick For The US Opium a Target. Foreign Policy Blogs. afghanistan.foreignpolicyblogs. com/tag/ opium-eradication/ Patience, Martin UN reports Afghan opium decline. BBC Online. hi/ stm Sarwary, Bilal. "Inside an Afghan opium market." BBC Online. hi/south_ asia/ stm UN News Center, "UN survey: Afghan opium production remains shockingly high ". www. un.org/apps/news/story.asp? NewsID=25523&Cr=af ghan&cr1=drugs "Afghanistan's Role in Iran's Drug Problem." Council on Foreign Relations Web. publication/11457/#p3. "CIA - The World Factbook -- Afghanistan." Welcome to the CIA Web Site; Central Intelligence Agency. factbook/geos/af.html

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