Afghanistan: Getting Disarmament Back on Track

Kabul/Brussels  |   23 Feb 2005

Disarmament in Afghanistan is in danger of derailing, putting at risk both the authority of the central government and the stability of the democratic process.

Afghanistan: Getting Disarmament Back on Track,* the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines the two-year-old process of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of forces, known as the Afghanistan New Beginnings Program (ANBP). Despite some significant ANBP successes, the Program has worrying gaps and weaknesses: if these are not addressed soon, militia networks will remain a key destructive element in the country's political and economic life.

"DDR is vital for Afghanistan, but the ultimate fate of the process is now under serious question", says Robert Templer, Director of Crisis Group's Asia Program.

Launched on 6 April 2003, the ANBP is a voluntary process managed by the UN Development Program. Thus far, it has helped decommission or reduce most of the officially recognised militia units in Afghanistan, and with the support of the Coalition and the International Security Assistance Force, has collected the bulk of their heavy weaponry.

It is failing on several fundamental counts, however. The ANBP has not made significant inroads in disarming the powerful Tajik-dominated units in Kabul and the Panjshir. It has also not kept pace with the evolving nature of Afghanistan's militia structures, many of which have re-emerged as police forces or private militias associated with governors or district administrators. And it is only now beginning to make tentative plans for tackling the threat posed by unofficial militias, which have been outside its mandate. These militias are maintained by most contending regional and local forces, including registered political parties.

The central government and its international supporters have been partially complicit in maintaining the power of these militia commanders. The U.S.-led Coalition has relied on such commanders in its operations against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, empowering its local allies militarily and economically at the expense of central government.

"The Coalition must not give political, military or economic support to any commander who refuses to accept Kabul's authority", says Samina Ahmed, Crisis Group South Asia Project Director.

The Karzai government's initiative to disarm militias is at the core of its effort to establish its authority in the provinces. It is crucial for reconstruction of the Afghan state and the establishment of rule of law.

"The disarmament process is not solely about collecting weapons", says Ahmed, "it is also about transforming Afghan lives".