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Afghanistan is suffering from one of the most severe food crises worldwide. According to the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises, Afghanistan is ranked as the third worst crisis country globally, and food insecurity has significantly worsened since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) broke out in the country. The shock caused by COVID-19 comes on the back of 40 plus years of ongoing conflict, displacements, sudden onset shocks and weak social safety nets, which have severely debilitated the coping capacities of vulnerable households across the country. Even before the emergence of COVID-19, Afghanistan had nearly one third of its population in need of urgent food and livelihood assistance.

The COVID-19 public health emergency has rapidly developed into a food and livelihood crisis. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis from May 2020 reveals that the total number of people projected to be in acute food insecurity has increased by around 1 million, from 2.4 to 3.3 million since COVID-19 containment measures were implemented. Further, the World Banks July 2020 estimates indicate a sharp rise poverty in Afghanistan, from 55 percent in 2017 to 72 percent.

The agriculture sector has been adversely impacted by COVID-19, according to a joint-needs assessment conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) in June/July2020. The sector is the main source of livelihood for close to 80 percent of the Afghan population, and marginalized smallholder farmers have expressed a need to gain access to quality agricultural inputs to withstand this shock and safeguard their families food security.

Without time-critical productive assistance, vulnerable farming households food insecurity will worsen further, potentially compelling them to adopt negative coping strategies, including extreme actions like selling productive assets, forced migration and increased gender-based violence. It is therefore critical to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable smallholders and support the recovery of the agriculture sector.

Through SFERA, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributed USD 450 000 to FAO to mitigate the potential adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the food security of vulnerable households in Afghanistan. With Belgiums generous support, FAO will assist 2 900 households (20 300 people) by providing them with season-sensitive agricultural inputs, accompanied by training in good agricultural practices, to improve their food security and nutrition.

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Afghanistan | FAO and Belgium assist food-insecure farming households impacted by the shock of COVID-19 - Afghanistan - ReliefWeb

Viewpoint by Saber Azam

The writer is a former official of the United Nations and author of the recently released book, SORAYA: The Other Princess, a historical fiction that overflies the recent seven decades of Afghan history.

GENEVA (IDN) The US internal serenity is essential to the political and economic stability of the planet. The last four years have been challenging for Americans, their allies, and the rest of the world.

Hardly in the US history, an election such as the forthcoming in November this year will be so crucial. Wizards predict that it would be a game-changer. If the winners of the country's leadership are Joe. Biden and Kamala Harris, many critical issues will be high on their agenda, and the crisis in Afghanistan will undoubtedly constitute one of them.

To bolster the claim of "foreign policy success" for his re-election campaign, President Donald Trump has already made a deal with the devil, the Taliban, who form a notorious terrorist organization. It is a tragedy that the most powerful democracy on earth pitilessly ignored the fundamentals of human rights and accountability.

When the Soviet Union was crushing Afghans, they established a bond with their "friend," Ronald Reagan. As a result, the free world defeated the communist giant; and the Soviet Union dismantled subsequently! Martyrized and fearful that they will face a horrible destiny at the mercy of the Taliban, Afghans seek the "friendship" of Biden and Harris to overpower terrorism.

The endeavours of the former Vice-President of the US are his credentials. The Obama Administration terminated the unconditional favour and protection that the Bush Administration had granted to Kabul's corrupt ruling authorities. Biden was at the front line of seeking accountability from President Karzai and other muggers of the regime.

Afghan women would look at Harris with much expectation that she would understand their agony. Afghans are desperate to find a lasting peace after over forty years of bloody wars, during which they suffered enormous losses. They hope that Harris and Biden would consider the following:

Undoubtedly, there are serious questions as to whether the West, in general, but the US in particular, are in the process of losing the trust of the rest of the world in exemplifying democracy, human rights and fairness, the basic principles of the western political, social, and economic models. US-led Western interventions in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and elsewhere have been enormous failures.

Support to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen is shocking. Elsewhere in the Islamic world such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Tunisia, Mali, and many other countries, the West supports corrupt regimes and dictatorships. The situation with non-Muslim countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa do not seem to be better, though there are some rare exceptions.

With current information exchange tools, the world populations perceive that Western slogans and actions are contradictory. Without immediate and tangible measures, the US and its allies will soon lose their moral, political, and economic leadership.

They need to prove their honesty of thoughts and deeds to remain credible. Finding the right solution for Afghanistan constitutes a perfect opportunity that the Biden/Harris Administration should seize.

Speaking of post-Taliban Afghanistan in particular, the Bonn Agreement of 5 December 2001 did not reflect the war-torn country's realities and the wish of its people. It was de facto a deal among "political traders."

The Bush Administration and the United Nations leadership opted for a quick fix, ignoring political, social, and cultural transformations during harsh years of struggle against communism and Soviet invasion, inter-factional fighting among the Mujahidin groups, and the dark years of the Taliban rule.

While B-52 bombers and the US elite troops pushed the Taliban out of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, who had no leadership aptitude, was parachuted in central Afghanistan to run one of the most complex countries in the world, with a devastatingly tangled situation.

Perhaps aware of his serious shortcomings, his protectors brought an exclusive circle of people mostly from the US, UK, and a few other Western countries to assist him. He ruled as a "supreme and irreproachable leader."

Systematic large-scale corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and inefficiency followed, making the effects of trillions US dollars aid futile; former warlords claimed their share of the cake and became part of the regime nobility.

Ashraf Ghani, the so-called "second brilliant brain of the world," installed in the country's realm in 2014, followed Karzai's example and proved worse. He excelled in the art of empty promises to the people and promoted further divide in a country that was already fractured. Afghanistan is now crippled and gangrened at multiple layers; any possibility of good-governance and hope for a better future with former and current political leadership is pointless.

It is a perfect example of failing to amend the mess in a country where evil forces dispose of every liberty to subdue democracy, human rights, and good governance. The Afghan people, National Army, and the US and other troops providing countries' servicewomen and men sustained heavy losses. No one should ignore their sacrifices.

The US intervened for the right reasons in Afghanistan to "smoke out" terrorists, mainly Al-Qaeda and their disgraceful hosts, the Taliban. However, the Trump Administration would like to leave it for the wrong reasons.

The US neither defeated Al-Qaeda nor "smoked out" their protectors. No need to underline that while negotiating with the US, the Taliban terrorist organization continued to commit systematic killing of innocent people, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. They still perpetrate acts of inhumanity.

The US's so-called "peace deal" with the Taliban, has already sent a strong message to similar violent bodies that the evil force of terror can defeat democracies and superpowers. Other groups in Asia and Africa feel empowered. No one can exclude the fear of many fragile countries crumbling under the yoke of terrorism.

Moreover, the Taliban have not conceded to any red line that sound democratic administrations should not cross. These include respect for democratic principles, equality of rights and opportunities, promotion of diversity, women rights, and freedom of expression.

They have not agreed to hand over their brutal leaders who ordered massive killings in Afghanistan and whose hands are tinted with the blood of American soldiers.

Finally, no administration in the world can forgive the pains inflicted on Afghans by the terrorist organization. It is their sovereign right to decide upon within the framework of a national reconciliation strategy and when a government and political system of their choice are in place.

Based on expert opinion, the "agreement" between the Trump Administration and the Taliban is synonymous with "submission" of democracy to the forces of tyranny. It is an incomprehensible enterprise ever undertaken by the world leader that can have serious negative consequences on the world's peace and stability.

The association of the Taliban and the Afghan government will produce nothing tangible. The current expectation that a profoundly fractured society will come together without hurdle is mascaraed. Recent theatrical traditional Loya Jirga (grand assembly) became Loya Jagla (grand fight).

The possibility of a government of "national unity" with the presence of the Taliban seems utopic. In a deeply divided country along ethnic and religious considerations, they represent an additional burden to peace and security. Earlier such formula did not achieve its objectives.

In any circumstance, a complete takeover by the terrorist movement would soon follow; the Trump Administration is fully cognizant of the danger. As pointed out earlier, such an uncalculated policy opens Pandora's box for other terrorist organizations to attempt "hold-ups" in numerous countries. No Western power would be capable of stopping the haemorrhage!

Afghans do not trust those who have been at the realm of power since 2001 as they had ample opportunity to serve the country and build a nation. Unfortunately, they busied embezzling to engross their wealth and power base unlawfully at the expense of the existence of Afghanistan as a country. The most honourable way for the US to end their longest war with a feeling of achieving their objectives would be to freeze or cancel the "deal" with the Taliban and support a Transitional Government of incorruptible individuals.

There are many young Afghans within the country who have the required knowledge and experience about good governance. They can serve their nation with honesty, dedication, and fairness. In such a scenario, they will accomplish a few critical tasks within 5 to 7 years, such as the following:

Revision of the Constitution and its annex legal instruments to remedy all dysfunctions of post-2001 regimes.

Elaboration and implementation of a robust nation-building program.

Eradication of corruption and nepotism by instating a robust and functional ethics and accountability mechanism.

Finding a negotiated solution with Pakistan for peace, stability, and security of both countries.

Elaboration of a social, political, and economic development program for the populations' immediate and longer-term aspirations.

Preparation and organization of a transparent election at the end of the transitional period.

None of the Transitional Team senior members should be eligible for future public office to ensure the population's buy-in. After the fair and transparent election, when Afghans earnestly elect the people and government of their choice, they can form the first National Council of Ethics and Good Governance and serve as role models and moral authority to monitor government and private sector actions.

The Biden/Harris Administration could support the Transitional Team based on a friendly, mutually respectful and beneficial relationship. The calendar of a decent withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan could constitute an essential pillar of such a tie. The Afghan population recognizes the hefty price that American servicewomen and men, and soldiers of other troops contributing countries have paid in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

They would like to acknowledge and honour it in a more dignified manner, following which foreign troops could leave Afghanistan, this time around, for the right reasons. [IDN-InDepthNews 30 August 2020]

Photo: Taliban fighters attend a surrender ceremony in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2020. (Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

IDN is flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate.

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Message to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Afghanistan - IDN InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters

The Australian federal police wrote to the decorated special forces veteran Ben Roberts-Smith to tell him it had information, including eyewitness accounts, implicating him in alleged war crimes, a court has heard.

Roberts-Smith is currently suing the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers for defamation over a series of reports suggesting he committed war crimes in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

One of the allegations made by the newspapers was that Roberts-Smith kicked a bound Afghan villager named Ali Jan off the edge of a small cliff into a dry creek bed during an SAS-led mission to the village of Darwan in September 2012.

Ali Jan was then allegedly shot.

Those reports were vehemently denied and labelled defamatory by Roberts-Smith, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, Australias highest military honour, because they portrayed him as someone who broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement. He has previously rejected the allegations of misconduct as malicious and deeply troubling.

As Roberts-Smiths defamation case proceeds through the federal court, a separate, long-running, independent inquiry into alleged Afghanistan war crimes is being conducted by the inspector general of the Australian Defence Force through the former major general and judge Paul Brereton.

An AFP investigation into the allegations was also commenced in mid-2018, following a referral from the then chief of defence force Mark Binskin.

The court heard on Tuesday that police were treating Roberts-Smith as a suspect.

Sandy Dawson SC, acting for the newspapers, told the court that the AFP had written to Roberts-Smiths lawyer in December inviting him to give an interview, saying it had eyewitness accounts that conflicted with his account of the Darwan village operation.

On page two of the letter, Mr Roberts-Smith is told through his lawyer that the AFP has obtained contemporaneous ADF reporting and associated documentation in relation to this ADF [Special Operations Task Group] operation, Dawson said. The AFP has conducted inquiries in Afghanistan and obtained statements from a number of current and former ADF personnel.

He is also told, your honour, that the basis for the AFPs conclusion as to suspicion of Mr Roberts-Smiths involvement is predicated on the fact that Mr Roberts-Smith has contended that Ali Jan was a spotter and was therefore legitimately killed, whereas the information in the possession of the AFP, which includes eyewitness accounts to the contrary, implicates Mr Roberts-Smith in the conduct which is alleged, namely the two war crimes I have referred to.

Details of that letter have not been revealed publicly until now.

The court heard Roberts-Smith has participated in an interview with the AFP.

The AFP was preparing to release about 320 documents to Dawson and his legal team as part of the defamation case, the court heard.

The hearing on Tuesday was held because the IGADF is currently resisting an attempt by lawyers for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age to gain access to documents it holds.

The newspapers are seeking IGADF documents to help bolster their defence of truth, including any IGADF notice issued to Roberts-Smith that he is a person potentially affected by its inquiry.

But the IGADF, represented by Anna Mitchelmore SC, has made a claim of public interest immunity over the documents, arguing their disclosure will do real harm.

Mitchelmore said the inquiry has so far been conducted completely in private and is governed by a comprehensive range of suppression orders.

She said the results of the inquiry may never be released publicly by the assistant IGADF.

When it was initially directed, the inquiry was mandated to be a private inquiry and since that time the assistant IGADF has continued to conduct it as a private inquiry, she said.

The results of the inquiry may never be known to the public or may not be known to the public for some time, either in whole or in part.

But Dawson said that submission was a distraction and that the court should not assume the report will not be released.

He said the process dictated that the Brereton report would be provided by the IGADF to the defence force chief Angus Campbell. Campbell would then, in consultation with government, decide whether the report was released.

Its more likely, we would respectfully submit, that major general Brereton has decided to leave the question of whether there should be public release of the report or any of it to the inspector general or to the chief of the defence force, he said.

Dawson noted that the defence minister was already on record as saying part of the report would be released.

We havent burdened your honour with this evidence but the minister is on record saying that the minister intends to release at least part of the report, given the extraordinary public interest in its subject matter, he said.

Now your honour doesnt have any evidence from the inspector general or from the chief of the defence force as to their intentions, let alone from the minister as to the ministers intention about releasing the report.

Your honour is only told that major general Brereton does not intend to make that decision, which it might be thought is a perfectly appropriate position for him to take given the extraordinary public interest in the matters being investigated.

Dawson said it was wrong to equate any release of the IGADF documents to the newspapers legal team with a release to the broader public.

He said the defence was constrained by strict requirements on how it could deal with such material, which would prevent sensitive information being made public.

That is an erroneous way to approach the question, we would respectfully say, Dawson said.

The court heard the IGADF inquiry is in a very real sense an ongoing inquiry. It was expected the inquiry might conclude within months, but that was not a certainty.

Not everyone who is to be issued with a potentially affected person notice, or is likely to be issued with one, has been given such a notice, the court heard.

The report would be provided to the chief of the defence force, who is able to make a decision on whether to release the report publicly in consultation with the IGADF, the court heard.

Justice Craig Colvin has reserved his decision on the public interest immunity claim and will hand down judgment at a later date.

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Australian police told Ben Roberts-Smith they had witnesses to alleged Afghanistan war crimes, court hears - The Guardian

Sikh refugees from Afghanistan hold placards as they demand security of their families and religious places in Pakistan and Afghanistan during a demonstration in the northern Indian state of Amritsar on August 27, 2020.Photo courtesy of Narinder Nanu/AFP

Since he was a child, 60-year-old Nidan Singh Sachdeva has never missed a single Saavan mela, an annual religious gathering celebrated by the Sikh community in Afghanistans Paktya province to mark the monsoon season.

The dry mountainous terrains of Afghanistan do not experience monsoons, but these celebrations are a reminder of the minority community's faith.

On June 22 this year, Sachdeva was at Gurudwara Tala Sahib, a 400-year-old temple in Paktya for the Saavan mela festivities when local Taliban insurgents kidnapped him.Sachdevas cousin, Charan Singh, believes that a land dispute led to the abduction.

The land surrounding the temple belonged to the Sikhs for centuries, but was illegally captured by some local strongmen. We have been fighting this case for a few years, Singh told VICE News.

Sachdeva, born and raised Sikh in Afghanistans Khost province, returned to his family on July 19, but the ordeal made them leave the country. Afghanistan is predominantly a Muslim country.

Sachdeva belongs to the quickly disappearing minority that was 200,000-strong before the start of the Afghan conflict in 1979.

Afghanistans had a vibrant diversity including Sikhs, Hindus and Jews, before the start of the conflict, Inderjeet Singh, author of the book Afghan Hindus and Sikhs told VICE News. These are Afghans who speak local languages and share cultural similarities with their Muslim counterparts.

Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were known to have largely worked in trade and financial sector. Many were involved in money-lending, informal banking and trading of spices, herbs and medicines.

After decades of war and targeted persecution from the extremist Taliban regime, they have been leaving their homeland searching for asylums.

As of 2017, rights activists estimated that there were about 3,000 Hindus and Sikhs left in Afghanistan. As violence against the minority group increased, these figures further dwindled. Last year, I was informed that there were about 800 to 900 remaining, but those who have seen the most recent list [population break-up] say that there are only 650 [Sikh and Hindus] left, said Inderjeet Singh.

The Sachdevas, a family of five, relocated to New Delhi, the capital of India last month, where they now live in a Sikh temple. They sold the family shop to a local in Afghanistan.

We have no idea what the future will be like. We are in the process of figuring out, Charan Singh told VICE News from New Delhi over the phone.

A brutal attack, claimed by the Islamic State insurgency earlier this year on a 400-year-old Gurudwara in Kabul claimed nearly 25 lives, triggered a fresh exodus of minorities. Every Hindu and Sikh family has had at least one casualty of violence in the past five years, said Tanweer Singh Khalsa, who left Afghanistan in 2019 .

With the help of the Indian government and several Sikh associations and donors, Khalsa has been facilitating the exit of the last remaining Sikhs and Hindus. A country is like a mother, but having faced so much violence and hate, we are left with no other option, he said.

Khalsas brother was murdered by the gunmen last year. Khalsas family could trace the corpse of his brother two months after police buried him in the communal graveyard. The body was exhumed so the family could identify him.

We couldnt give him a proper funeral for two months, until we were able to trace his body. It was the most traumatic and hurtful experience of my life, said Khalsa.

Around 200 people have left for Delhi in the last three weeks. Khalsa expects another 300 to make the journey in September.

Meanwhile, the absence of an entire community can be strongly felt in Kabuls markets. Hundreds of familiar faces with large, colorful turbans have gradually disappeared from the shops selling herbal medicines and spices in the Asmayee area of Kabul, believed to be named after a Hindu temple.

After the last attack, the majority of the sardars [sikh men] who owned businesses here left the country. I am also taking care of this spices and herbs shop for Jaktar Singh who may be leaving soon, said 32-year-old Hamid.

When Hamid was seven, Jaktar Singh started mentoring him and eventually, they became business partners.

Jatkar Singh treated me like his son. It didnt matter to him that I was a Muslim and he a Sikh. It pains me to see them leaving, he said.

As they depart, the community also worries about the upkeep and care of their historical structures. There are over 60 temples and Gurudwaras in Afghanistan, apart from historical sites that need to be preserved, Khalsa said.

In the end, we just hope our Afghan brothers will keep our history and heritage safe till we can return, Khalsa said.

Follow Ruchi Kumar on Twitter

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Heres Why Sikh and Hindu Minorities are Leaving Afghanistan - VICE

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented health, economic and social shock. In Afghanistan, this has affected all facets of modern life, including shutting downeducation institutions across the country in mid-March.

As part of lockdown measures, the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector saw the closure of 300 TVET schools and institutes. Workplace closures had also meant that apprentices under in-formal training known as the Ostad-Shagerdi system had lost both training opportunities and livelihoods. While learning loss is a concern for the education community as a whole, TVET systems are disproportionately vulnerable given the higher share of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the remoteness of many students. Prolonged disengagement could increase the risk of attrition and dropouts.

To mitigate the impact of school closures, distance learning approaches have emerged as a popular solution. Countries around the world have pivoted towards a mix of online, television and radio broadcasts to allow learning continuity for students. Despite high hopes, however, there is a growing recognition that the digital divide is widening pre-existing gaps across wealth and geographical lines, often leaving the most vulnerable students behind.

In Afghanistan, many students especially those in rural areas have limited or infrequent access to communications infrastructure. A 2019 Asia Foundation survey found that household internet penetration remains low (31% in urban and 9.0% in rural), while the share of television (91% vs 57%) and radio (62% vs 42%) ownership is higher, but not universal. While most households have at least one member with a mobile phone, many students may not have access to these devices for educational purposes.

TVET delivery through a distance learning is further complicated due to its focus on hands-on training. While the theoretical elements of the curriculum are suited to media broadcasts, most TVET pedagogy relies on demonstration of practical work, specialized equipment and learning-by-doing.

Getting Ahead of the ProblemFaced with a complex set of constraints, policy makers at Afghanistans TVET-Authority (TVETA) developed an Alternative Learning Plan, to ensure its 60,000 students can stay connected to the TVET system.

The plan, supported under the Second Afghanistan Skills Development Project, adapted many of the global good practices to the Afghan context emphasizing simplicity for quick roll out, localized solutions to account for ground realities, and provision through multiple modalities to reach and meet the needs of heterogeneous, hard-to-reach student groups.

First, it was clear that tech solutions were not the main answer for the large majority of students. Given that many students do not have access to digital devices or Internet connectivity, the immediate response prioritized paper-based approaches. The TVET-Authority quickly mobilized its curriculum experts to develop physical chapter note packages for priority trades with the highest student enrollment. These packages are designed to facilitate self-study, providing additional scaffolding through self-instructional plans, supplementary guidelines, and explanatory notes from teachers. The Authority has identified various ways of distributing them to the students, including establishing collection points such as schools in the provinces.

Second, to compensate for the lack of practical instruction, TVETA is preparing a collection of video tutorials to supplement the chapter notes. This involves filming high caliber lead teachers delivering both theoretical content and practical demonstrations. These are slated to be delivered through a range of television and radio broadcasts, and online channels, but also through the physical distribution of CDs and flash-drives directly to the students.

Third, as part of a broader shift to expand distance learning, TVETA also plans to roll out a learning management platform. The e-learning platform will serve as content repository, while a telephone-based helpdesk will provide support and information to students, families, and TVET teachers, and allow TVETA to track implementation progress.

While online platforms may mainly be accessible to urban students for now, these investments balance the need for an immediate response, while building capacity for future growth of the sector. Afghanistans TVET Strategy (2020 2024) envisions distance learning as key path to introduce flexibility to skills delivery and broaden access to underserved groups. This includes targeted interventions for women and girls, youth with low literacy, returning migrants, ex-combatants and those with disabilities.

The Human Capital AgendaThe skills sector can play an outsized role in fragile contexts. Access to marketable skills can provide young people an opportunity to access better livelihoods, in addition to strengthening social cohesion and resilience.

In the short term, TVET can be an essential part of the emergency response, providing skills required to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic. As countries emerge from lockdowns, the TVET sector will be central to their economic recovery strategy. Ms. Nadima Sahar, the Director General of the TVET Authority in Afghanistan is convinced that skills development is critical to the human capital agenda and national economic recovery and growth in Afghanistan given its large youth population, informal economy and nascent education sector.

See more here:
Multi-modal TVET delivery during COVID-19: Expanding access to continued learning in Afghanistan - World Bank Group