An Uphill Climb

Executive Summary

To avoid what is becoming a human rights catastrophe for the women and girls of Afghanistan and a ticking time bomb for a major terrorist resurgence in the nation, the international community must press for the development of an inclusive and sustainable political process to influence the future trajectory of governance of the country. The United States should work with the United Nations (UN) and like-minded nations to support the establishment of a structured process of engagement for Afghanistan’s citizens, inside and outside the country, that leads to a political dialogue with Taliban leaders. While there is presently no significant challenge to Taliban rule pushing the group to consider engaging in such a dialogue, the international community should still use its levers of influence to seek to convince the Taliban of the necessity to engage with non-Taliban groups and individuals.

It is important to consider a leading role for young people in this effort. Engaging this generation in a peaceful political process and finding ways for them to move beyond historical internal divisions are critical to finally writing a new chapter for the country. Equally essential to the foundation of a new political order that young people want is ending impunity for those responsible for war crimes—not only the Taliban but also leaders from previous periods.

Another step toward encouraging a more inclusive political dialogue in Afghanistan is holding the Taliban to account on its human rights abuses, especially toward women and girls. Several international initiatives that aim to hold the Taliban accountable for its treatment of women and girls have emerged in the last few years. These include the establishment of a UN Human Rights Council investigative mechanism, bringing Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice for failing to meet its international obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, issuing arrest warrants at the International Criminal Court for Taliban leaders accused of abusing the rights of women and girls, and codifying the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls as gender apartheid within the Crimes Against Humanity Treaty. These efforts can serve as a stepping stone to launching an inclusive political dialogue.

Pakistan’s frustration with the Afghan Taliban over its support for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has led the Pakistani government to take military action against TTP targets on Afghan territory and host anti-Taliban opposition leaders for meetings in Islamabad. Washington and Islamabad may find increasing points of convergence on Afghanistan that could lead them to cooperate more closely on efforts to press the Taliban to both crack down on terrorism and engage in an inclusive political process.

With increasing repression of women and girls—as well as minorities and those opposed to the Taliban’s policies—and the proliferation of international terrorist groups inside the country and expanding indoctrination of the youth in the Taliban’s extremist ideologies, the United States cannot afford to ignore the situation in Afghanistan. The United States should work more closely with the UN and international partners, including the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to spur an inclusive political dialogue that will help create a more stable and prosperous Afghanistan that is inhospitable to terrorist movements. To facilitate this process, the United States must take the following actions.

Maintain a policy of nonrecognition of the Taliban.

Washington must lead international efforts to continue to refuse concessions to the Taliban, such as diplomatic recognition, unfreezing Afghan assets, or lifting sanctions on Taliban leaders, until the Taliban demonstrates concrete, verifiable, and sustained reversal of its systematic violations of the rights of women and girls, particularly by fully restoring their access to education, employment, and public life.¹

Work within the UN Security Council to pressure the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to support an Afghan national dialogue.

Washington should lead an effort to ensure the quarterly Security Council reviews of UNAMA include reporting on the establishment of an Afghan political process that accords with the Report of the Independent Assessment Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2679, which calls for “a national political dialogue that reflects the views and participation of all Afghans” that leads to “predictable governance based on the rule of law” protecting the rights of all its citizens.²

Provide structured support to Afghan civil society and opposition forces to help them map their areas of agreement onto future governance.

The United States and other members of the international community should support a framework for mapping and internal consultations among Afghan stakeholders. They can do so by funding, protecting, and amplifying platforms to facilitate discussion among the various opposition groups, offering incentives such as high-level diplomatic engagement with these platforms, and urging them to solidify areas of commonality and cooperation.

Catalyze dialogue with nonpolitical sectors of Afghan society, particularly the youth.

Considering lessons from the South African and Colombian peace processes regarding the vital role of youth, business, community councils, and religious communities in establishing conditions for peaceful political dialogue, Afghan political and civil society leaders and the international community should engage with these sectors within Afghanistan.³

Find new ways to work with Pakistan on Afghanistan.

Considering that Pakistan’s policies are significantly changing toward the Taliban, U.S. officials should examine areas of convergence and how the two sides might cooperate toward mutual objectives of an Afghan government that provides for its people economically and is strongly motivated to reject extremism. For example, Washington can incentivize Pakistan to support peaceful anti-Taliban opposition groups, media, and other individuals; protect them from deportation; and even help to fund conferences and meetings of these groups inside Pakistan. U.S. officials should also explore working with Pakistan within the UN sanctions committee on al-Qaida through UN Security Council Resolution 1989 to designate the Taliban for hosting and supporting the TTP.

Introduction

Five years after taking Afghanistan by military force, the Taliban holds a firm grip on power and faces no credible threat from the opposition. Meanwhile, the Taliban regime is engaged in systematic human rights abuses, especially toward women and girls, who are slowly being erased from society and increasingly face gender persecution and possibly even crimes against humanity. At the same time, the Taliban continues to harbor terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and dozens of others and is inculcating its extremist ideologies into a new generation of young Afghans by expanding the number of jihadi religious schools (madrassas) throughout the country.⁴ Those Afghans in opposition to the Taliban’s totalitarian policies have no way to protest without risking harm to themselves or unlawful detention.