Plata O Plomo
Terrorist organisations require strong financial support in order to further their agenda. Shruthi Sundar, reporting from the 1988 Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), traces the trail of debate as the committee discussed the role of the illicit drug trade in financing terror in Afghanistan.
A majority of the delegates considered the illegal narcotics industry to be the primary source of income for the Taliban. The Permanent Representative of Afghanistan voiced the difficulty in defeating the Taliban as a result of their ever-increasing wealth. The share of the Taliban insurgents in this illicit trade is $70 million to $100 million on an annual basis, as estimated by the Delegate of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (Bolivia). The Delegate of the United Kingdom (UK) of Great Britain and Ireland attributed the insecurity and instability in Afghanistan to the thriving drug trade with other countries including Western nations. The Representative of the Monitoring Group went further and labelled Afghanistan a ‘narcotics state’.
The heavy inflow of money from the drug trade caused the Delegate of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to question the reason behind the high demand for drugs. The delegate then answered his own question, blaming unemployment for leaving the people with no choice but involving themselves in drug production and subsequent consumption—a sentiment shared by the Delegate of the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations. The Representative of the Monitoring Group cited the corruption of the Afghan government as a major impediment to countering the drug trade, especially considering the fact that narcotics is a lucrative business.
A number of solutions were put forward by the delegates. The Delegate of the UK suggested rehabilitation for the farmers who currently cultivate opium—a stance similar to that the Delegate of the United States of America (USA). The need to monitor poppy growth and cultivation was emphasised by the Delegate of Bolivia. In addition, the Representative of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) introduced the possibility of having government-controlled bodies overlook the transport of opium in and out of Afghanistan. The Delegate of the FATF considered the possibility of military protection for opium cultivation centres to protect them from the Taliban. Both the Delegate of the FATF as well as the Delegate of the Republic of Kazakhstan reminded the committee that the uses of poppy are not limited to illegal narcotics.
As Interpol has conducted successful drug operations, the Delegate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) stated the possibility of asking for help from Interpol. The need to bring the drug trade to international courts and the importance of international cooperation were voiced by the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan and the Delegate of the Kingdom of Sweden respectively.
The Delegate of the People’s Republic of China (China) urged the committee to discuss enhancing the national capacity of Afghanistan to counter the illicit drug trade, rather than putting the onus on the international community. The rehabilitation of farmers by providing more opportunities was viewed with scepticism by the delegate, as they believed that the Afghan government lacks accessibility to these opportunities. As a part of the conversation concerning the illicit drug trade, the delegate stressed upon the importance of resolving the conflict between the Taliban and the government—a discussion the sanctions committee is yet to hold.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
An Occasion of Urgency
With the Afghan presidential election approaching in July 2019, discussing the current issues with the democratic process in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Afghanistan) was considered pertinent. Shruthi Sundar, reporting from the 1988 Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), provides the views expressed by the delegates while discussing the same.
According to the Delegate of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Equatorial Guinea), a democracy can be loosely defined as a system in which ‘the people have the first say in how the government functions’. The delegate, along with the Delegate of the Kingdom of Sweden (Sweden) believed that the major impediment in the electoral process in Afghanistan is a lack of political consensus owing to different opinions. As stated by the Delegate of the United Kingdom (UK) of Great Britain and Ireland, there are a multitude of tribes and ethnicities spread throughout the country, and it is difficult for the government to approach them all owing to a lack of geographical connectivity within the country.
The success of the electoral process depends upon the faith of the voters in the democratic system—a sentiment many delegates felt was lacking amongst a majority of the Afghan citizens. The Representative of the Monitoring Group pointed out that scepticism amongst the voters had increased. This lack of faith—according to the Representative of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—was believed to be due to foreign intervention. The Delegate of the United States of America (USA) attributed voters’ reluctance to participate in the democratic process to the inability of political leaders to represent the national interests after coming to office. A solution for this, as proposed by the delegate, was to hold the members of Parliament accountable.
The compromised voter security as a result of the actions of groups like the Taliban was considered another key issue. As stated by the Delegate of Sweden, there were two suicide bomb attacks before the election in 2018. In addition, while the Independent Election Commission (IEC) had reported that Afghanistan has 8.8 million voters, the Delegate of the UK blamed the Taliban for dismal voter turnout and threats faced by the IEC.
The IEC, in turn, was criticised for having severe structural flaws. The Delegate of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan) brought to light the management issues within the IEC between the Chairman and Chief Electoral Officer (both of whom are appointed by the Afghan President). The Delegate of Sweden recalled the events of 20 October 2018, when the capacity of the IEC was stretched to its limit due to last-minute technological improvisations. The Delegate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) attributed the compromise of the independence of the body to the alleged intervention of the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Possibilities of providing financial, operational, and logistic aid were considered during discussions. While the Representative of Counter Narcotics advised the committee to provide financial aid, some delegates were sceptical of proper use of this aid by the government, given the Afghan government’s reputation for being corrupt. A solution for preventing the misuse of financial aid, as presented by the Delegate of the People’s Republic of China (China), was government reform. On the other hand, the Delegate of the USA discouraged providing financial aid and voiced their support for providing logistical and operational support instead.
As stated by the Delegate of Equatorial Guinea, since many of the issues, especially with respect to the IEC, seemed to be resultants of the democratic process and different opinions, it is necessary for the committee to focus on removing impediments to the democratic process rather than introducing reforms as a whole.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
In the Way
Shruthi Sundar, reporting from the 1988 Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), posed a question to the delegates present in committee in an effort to understand their stances. The below report provides information concerning the same.
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Afghanistan) has been plagued with violence for decades. During their discussion over the course of three days, the majority of the delegates attributed this widespread bloodshed to the actions of the Taliban. In an effort to quell the violence, several measures and solutions have been proposed in committee. However, there remain formidable obstacles in preventing the spread of violence by the Taliban. These include: improper implementation of existing sanctions; inability of the Afghan government to curb the violence due to its instability; and the steady flow of financial support for the Taliban.
Impediments such as the unstable Afghan government and the improper implementation of sanctions took precedence for a total of 30 percent of the delegates present in committee, each obstacle having a share of 15 percent. 31 percent of the delegates believed that the steady inflow of financial support for the Taliban posed the biggest challenge in quelling the violence that spreads as a result of the Taliban’s actions. Other reasons were cited by 39 percent of the delegates.
The Delegate of the People’s Republic of China (China) felt that the overarching presence of entities that undermine the rule of law contribute to the instability in Afghanistan. In agreement was the Representative of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), who believed that the intervention of foreign government bodies on Afghan soil contributed to the violence in Afghanistan. They also blamed the illicit drug trade for the lack of peace in the nation. Clarity and agreement on the interpretation of the committee’s enlisting criteria was considered a crucial step towards curbing violence by the Delegate of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
The reporter found it interesting that the Delegate of the United States of America (USA) chose to abstain from participating in the opinion poll. Given the heavy participation of the USA in peace negotiations with the Taliban—without the presence of representatives of the Afghan government—the reporter expected the delegate to have an incredibly relevant opinion to offer. Equally compelling was the opinion of the Representative of Counter Narcotics, who believed that the improper implementation of sanctions was the biggest obstacle to achieving peace in Afghanistan. As the representative was highly vocal about the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan and its subsequent aid in providing financial support for the Taliban, one might have expected them to blame the wealth of the Taliban for the violence in the Afghan nation.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)