For the past twenty-five years, Afghanistan has been on the receiving end of brutal sanctions imposed by the Collective West. This ongoing economic warfare, spearheaded by the United States, has compounded with the climate catastrophe – bolstered primarily by the U.S. military-industrial complex – to generate dire living conditions for the people of Afghanistan.
During the spring of this year, more than 500 Afghans were killed and thousands more displaced as a result of intense rainfall and subsequent flooding. As underscored by a report published by Afghanistan Analysts Network, the deadly effects of climate change in Afghanistan – one of the world’s lowest emitters of greenhouse gasses – have been “further exacerbated by the non-recognition of the IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan], which means Afghanistan cannot access climate change funds designed to help the least developed countries adapt.”
According to a top UN official: “Humanitarian needs in Afghanistan remain alarmingly high, with over 50 percent of the population – some 23.7 million people – requiring humanitarian assistance in 2024, the third highest number of people in need in the world. Half the population lives in poverty and nearly 3 million children are experiencing acute levels of hunger.”
This economic and political isolation – driven by the U.S.-led asset freeze and sanctions – was placed high on the agenda of the third UN-convened meeting on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, in which the Taliban participated for the first time. Afghan diaspora communities and organizations continue to struggle to support their families and friends in Afghanistan, facing possible criminalization due to the United States’s draconian measures like the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6586, a bill requiring increased scrutiny on aid and other financial support for Afghanistan that also spreads unfounded fears of Taliban influence over the U.S.-controlled Afghan Fund.
Until the United States’ global regime of criminality is defeated and brought to justice, we will continue to agitate for the people of Afghanistan and all victims and survivors of the US/EU/NATO Axis of Domination.
ADDITIONAL READINGS AND RESOURCES
June 28, 2024 by Pedro Labayen Herrera and Michael Gant for CEPR
Afghanistan’s economic isolation–driven by the U.S.-led asset freeze and sanctions–played high on the agenda of the third UN-convened meeting on Afghanistan, in which the Taliban participated for the first time. Afghan diaspora communities and organizations continue to struggle to support their families and friends in Afghanistan due to the United States’s draconian measures the U.S. House of Representatives passed, like H.R. 6586, a bill requiring increased scrutiny on aid and other financial support for Afghanistan that also spreads unfounded fears of Taliban influence over the U.S.-controlled Afghan Fund.
Growing Taliban Normalisation: The Afghanistan Report
July 9, 2024, by The Afghan Eye
Amidst major geopolitical shifts led by the Palestinian resistance, the Taliban have increased diplomatic relations and achieved foreign policy goals with neighboring countries and organizations like the United Nations, attending talks in Doha, Qatar for the first time and increasing economic ties with Russia to bolster essential development projects. However, relations with Pakistan remain fraught and Afghans in both countries suffer as a result of U.S. interference.
Study Predicts Historic Decline in Afghanistan Poppy Cultivation in 2024
July 26, 2024, by Ayaz
Poppy cultivation is expected to drop even further in 2024 to historic lows following the Taliban ban after coming to power. The Afghan provinces in focus include Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Farah in the south and southwest and Nangarhar and Baghlan in the east and north. As chronicled in books like the Afghanistan Papers, U.S. intelligence agencies like the CIA and other U.S./NATO military officials worked to increase Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation, collaborating with extremely violent reactionary forces and local militia leaders while blaming the Taliban.
China Releases Position Paper on Afghan Issue to Help Reconstruction
April 12, 2023, by Liu Xin and Ding Yazhi for Global Times
China’s engagement with Afghanistan offers a stark alternative to that taken up by the United States and its Western allies. In a paper released in April of last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its respect for the sovereignty of the Afghan people, China’s intent to support peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and notes that “by seizing Afghanistan's overseas assets and imposing unilateral sanctions, the U.S., which created the Afghan issue in the first place, is the biggest external factor that hinders substantive improvement in the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.