Universiteit van Amsterdam Semester 1 (2009/ 201099 Course: UNISCA Assignment 1 Date of Submission: November 30, 2009

Position papers
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Name Universiteit van Amsterdam BA (year 3) Student number: Participation number UNISCA: Representing: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan In: General Assembly 3 Email:

1. Country Profile PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 1. Official name of country: Islamic republic of Afghanistan 2. Climate Type of climate: Rainfall: Vegetation: 3. Map Location absolute: Neighbour states: Physical features: 33 N, 65 E Iran, Pakistan, Peoples Republic of China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan mostly mountains, plains in the north and west, parts of desert in the south, no coast line 250 sq mi/ 650 km

continental climate (arid and semiarid) biggest spectrum of temperature of the world (-50 - 50C) dry summers and cold winters; summer monsoon fall in the east mostly sparse vegetation; steppe plants

Size of the country:

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY 4. Government Islamic republic with presidential system President (Head of State and Head of Government): Hamid Karzai Parties: Islamic Party (Hezb-e Islami) Republic Party of Afghanistan (Hezbi Jumhori Afghanistan) Islamic Society (Jamiat-e Islami) Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Harakat-e Islami-yi Afghanistan) Afghan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Mellat) Islamic United Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Wahdat Islami Afghanistan) Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan (Ittehad-I Islami Bara-yi Azadi Afghanistan) 5. Capital: Kabul

6. Major International Organization affiliations ECO (Economic Cooperation Organisation) FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) ICC (International Criminal Court) IDB (Islamic Development Bank) IMF (International Monetary Fund) Interpol IOM (International Organization for Migration) SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) 1

UNO (United Nations Organisation) WFTU (World Federation of Trade Unions) WHO (World Health Organisation) WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) World Bank WTO (World Trade Organisation): observer status 7. Size of armed forces: Afghan National Army (ANA): 90 000

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 8. Languages, ethnic composition and major religions Official languages: Persian (Dari): 50% Pashto: 35% Other spoken languages: overall 49 languages and over 200 dialects Ethnic composition: 40,9% Pashtun 37,1% Tajik 9,2% Hazara 9,2% Uzbek 1,7% Turkmen 1,9% other Major religion: over 99% of the population are Muslims 9. Population Population: Population growth rate: Population distribution:

28.400 million (2009 est.) 2.6% (2009 est.) 80 % live in the country, 20% in the cities

10. Major cities (in order of size): Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad 11. Infant mortality rate and average life expectancy Infant mortality rate: 152 deaths/1000 live births Average life expectancy: 45 years 12. Teaching and Health Quote of illiterates: Doctors:

70 % 1 for every 50,000 people

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY 13. GDP: total $21.388 billion/ per capita: $760 14. 12,13% of land that is arable used for agriculture 15. Natural resources: barites, chromites, coal, copper, gas, gold, iron ore, lead, precious stones, salt, solver, sulfur, talc, uranium, zinc 16. Major agricultural and industrial products Agricultural: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, animal skins Industrial: textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement, carpets 17. Major export and import products 2

Export: Import:

opium, fruits, nuts, carpets, wool, cotton, hides, pelts, precious stones capital goods, food, textiles

18. Currency: 1 US $ = 48, 7 Afghani 20. Balance of Trade Imports: $4.85 billion (2007) Exports: $327 million (2007) 21. Major historical events since 1980 1979 1989: War between Soviets and Islamic Mudschaheddins supported by USA 1995: Taliban come to power 2001: Invasion of the US Troops and downfall of the Taliban 2001: Agreement for a process of democratisation of the country 2002: Provisional government under leadership of Hamid Karzai 2004: Constitution: Islamic republic with presidential system 2005: First free election of the Parliament since 1973 2009: Latest election of the President (Hamid Karzai)

You have written the facts and events thoroughly, but where did you find this information? You really should refer to the sources you have used. It is an academic paper!

Topic:

Effects of the Global economic downturn on migration/ remittances flows

2. Topic Background During the last decade, the numbers of migration and therefore also remittances flows have increased. The world is expected to have 214 million international migrants in 2010 and in 2007 the worldwide amount of remittances lay by US $ 380 billion.1 The evaluation and handling of these movements in sending countries is rather difficult and goes from optimistic views (money transfer leads to economic growth and modernization) to pessimistic ones (communities become too passive, dependent and unequal). Research shows that the influences on economy, equality and well-being are ambiguous and depend on history, social and economic position etc. of the country. Besides, short-term negative can lead to long-term positive effects over time. Migration and remittances have the potential to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty directly and indirectly, but can neither be only responsible for the lack nor the take off of development. In the receiving states, migration is often seen as problem, but neither its restriction, nor smart solutions (such as development aid, trade liberalisation and temporary migration against migration) could stop the movement. Due to the growth of trans-national communities, the greater importance of remittance money and the still incoherent handling of migration in western countries, the dependencies between the worlds nations have increased. This can lead to possible discrepancies, but should encourage more cooperation in order to deal with the existing problems. International organisations, such as the ILO (International Labour Organization) or the IOM (International Organization for Migration) provide help for coordination and serve statistics and data.2 3. UN Involvement The issue of international migration and development remains high on the agenda of the United Nations. Numerous conferences and summits took place, such as during the last three years three UN meetings of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (informal and voluntary). Besides, the UN is involved in the topic of (regulating) migration flows and help of assimilation through several organisations and programmes. Examples are the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the Global Migration Group (to promote the application of international instruments and norms in the area of international migration). In order to strengthen the Human Rights in the year 2000, the Human Trafficking Protocol and the Migrant Smuggling Protocol were established, but many Asian states have not signed them yet. 4. Afghanistan position Only 0,3% of the population of the Islamic republic of Afghanistan consists of immigrants, whereas the country has experienced large numbers of people leaving the country because of persecution, war and/ or miserable live conditions. The invasion of the soviets, followed by a civil war and the Taliban regime, and lately the US war led to huge amounts of Afghans above all in Pakistan and Iran. Still there are over four million Afghan refugees and irregular migrants living in these both countries. But due to the help of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and IOM (International Organisation for Migration) more than 5 million refugees have been repatriated and reintegrated to their home country
1

Opmerking [W1]: Which researches? Refer in an academic paper to resources!

Opmerking [W2]: Well done

All numbers and statistics of this paper are to be found on: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/2009Migration_Chart/ittmig_wallchart09.pdf 2 Based inter alia on: Cohen, Jeffrey H.: Remittance Outcomes and Migration: Theoretical Contests, Real Opportunities. In: Studies in Comparative International Development Vol.40, No.1 (2005), pp. 88-112 and de Haas, Hein: Turning the tide? Why development instead of migration policies are bound to fail. Working paper of the International Migration Institute (2006) and de Haas, Hein: Remittances, Migration and Social Development. A conceptual Review of the Literature. Programme Paper of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (2007).

Afghanistan since 2002. The return of displaced person and refugees is also written down in Chapter 7 of our Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS).3 Together with the organisations mentioned above our country successfully creates viable livelihood options next to health and education facilities in order to enforce voluntary re-integration.4 But Afghanistan depends on help and educational system from outside. Money for development programmes is donated from the EU, European governments, the USA or the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). Besides, many Afghan teachers, professor and officials are educated in the West, but come back to help secure the structures in our country. Therefore the Islamic republic of Afghanistan notes with fear the latest reactions to the growth of trans-national migration. Especially after 9/11 Asian Boarders have become obstacles for our migrants and international research promotes that all attempts to stop immigration to western countries with development help do not work. Our country fears a stop of development help and more restrictive policies of especially western states. Therefore, on the one hand, Afghanistan wants to present its Development Strategy as good example for neighbour countries. One the other one, the country will promote and help establishing (exchange) programmes for temporal migration in order to encourage the international cooperation on the field of education. A strengthening of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) would be a helpful step in this direction.

Opmerking [W3]: Clear position.

Topic 1: you have elaborated the background of migration and remittances, UN involvement and the position of Afghanistan very well in this part. No more comments than just, keep up the good working!

3 4

The document is to be found on: http://www.ands.gov.af/ The explanations are based on the articles from the UNHCR (http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/afghanistan) and the IOM (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4a02d8ec6.html) mission sin Afghanistan.

Topic:

Iraq's Cultural Heritage Preserving the past for the sake of the future

2. Topic Background During the contended US war against Iraq in April 2003 a big looting of the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad took place. It revitalised the, actually long existent, topic of (inter-) national cultural heritage and its actual definition. Discussions about the importance of preserving art works in the home country and about how to deal with the still remaining stolen artefacts in foreign museums all over the world make the subject globally important. The Iraqi case shows how weak the international legal framework actually is. Besides, states have to face the new worldwide and more sophisticated dimensions of stealing culturally valuable resources and therefore actually dealing with cultural identity of a people. Directly involved in the topic area are, of course, the Iraq, the USA, countries with smuggle routes, states that receive the stolen works, and on a broader level the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), Interpol, the ICOM (International Council of Museums) and several associations of Art Dealers.5 3. UN Involvement Above all, the 1946 established UNESCO is a very important UN body to protect cultural property in place of origin. Over the last 60 years three conventions dealt with this topic; the 1954 Hague Convention (protection of cultural heritage in armed conflicts) that the USA and UK have not signed, the 1970 UNESCO Convention (broader definition of cultural heritage) and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention with only 20 member states. In the Iraqi case, the Security Council has passed a resolution, which forces all states to return the stolen art works. 4. Afghanistans position The issue of he preservation of cultural heritage is very important for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Especially under the Taliban our country has had similar experiences to the happenings in Iraq 2003. From 1992 1994 70% of the items in the Kabul National Museum was stolen and/ or damaged and thousands of valuable objects were transported to other countries. Ten years later, the Taliban dynamited the Bamiyan Buddhas and sold the debris. Afghanistan is sure that cultural national heritage is a crucial part of a cultural national identity. Therefore, in 2003 the country has begun to restore parts of the museum and, as part of the UNSECO, has got the support of the organisation to conserve its archaeological remains and to make it a world heritage site.6 The worldwide support and awareness of protecting cultural heritage has to be enlarged and our country requests from UNESCO and Interpol to support the repatriation process of currently smuggled historical and cultural heritage of Iraq as well as of Afghanistan. We expect comprehension and concession of the states that momentarily keep the stolen art works. Hereby, Afghanistan counts on the support of its Asian neighbours states, and especially Iraq. On the other hand we will only rarely favour resolutions against the opinion of the USA, Germany or the EU states. It is important to the Islamic republic of Afghanistan not only to be a victim of looted art works, but it declares to be a big help for the solution of the problem. Many of the
5

Opmerking [W4]: Good!

Based inter alia on: Blake, Janet: On defining Cultural Heritage. In: International and Comparative Law Quarterly Vol.49 (2000), pp. 61-85 and McCalister, Andrew: Organized Crime and the theft of Iraqi Antiquities. In: Trends in Organized Crime Vol.9, No.1 (2005), pp. 24-37 and Phuong, Catherine: The Protection of Iraqi Cultural Property. In: International and Comparative Law Quarterly Vol.53 (2004), pp. 985-998. 6 The statements above are based on Feroozi, Abdul Wasey: The Impact of War upon Afghanistans Cultural Heritage. In: Archaeological Institute of America (2004) and http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-andOceania/Afghanistan-LIBRARIES-AND-MUSEUMS.html.

increasingly sophisticated and organised groups use their own infrastructure to bring goods over the boarder. These trade routes are often also routes for drugs and go through our country. A broader cooperation between border controls, drug control next to an extension of the Interpol database for publishing stolen items could here lead to huge and enduring effects. But our country will not agree to any one-sided treaty that only suppresses development and trade in Asia without any reasonable alternative offers. In contrast, a smart collaboration of Interpol, UNESCO and UNODC (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime) is required and supported by Afghanistan. Comment on topic 2: the same as on topic 1, very good!

Topic:

Witch-hunt in the 21st century

2. Topic Background Most notable in Africa, an almost forgotten topic has gained new importance on the nowadays world; the haunting of witches. Independent form education, class, religion and gender the belief in occult forces in rural African areas is very common. Witchcraft belief does not necessarily have to be a problem, but it is often used to expel the most vulnerable members of a society. As an instrument against (political) enemies, as justification of natural disasters etc. mostly women, elderly and children are persecuted. Important approaches to solve the problem are not so much technical assistances, but the improvement of health and educational system, legal advice and financial support for girls and elderly women. Research in this field is still in initial stages. Besides, not rarely the accusation of witches appears within families, what makes its combat even more difficult. Another big problem is, that organisations can only difficultly gain ground in the affected countries, because often their governments themselves are involved in these persecutions.7 3. UN Involvement The topic is relatively new, which is why the United Nations has not enacted many concrete protocols concerning the new witch haunting. Mostly it is referred to several resolutions and laws concerning the protection of Human Rights in general. This is surely a lack that has to be filled in the future. Nevertheless, in the field of Human Rights the UN is very active and supports the work of several organisations, such as amnesty international or the INHEU (International Humanist and Ethical Union), which has a special consultative status with the UN. Besides, the 2006 established Human Rights Council wants to concentrates more on issue specific problems, as the witch persecution is one. 4. Afghanistans position The Islamic republic of Afghanistan itself has had problems with accusation against so-called witches in the past. But the number was only very little and in regard to gender equality and the empowering of women our country has shown much effort during the last years. In Chapter 8 of the lately signed Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) the strengthening and protection of the vulnerable members of the society, especially women, is established.8 Afghanistan recognizes the importance of the witch haunting for the world community and is generally willing to sign a resolution that bans the persecution of accused women. But it expects the directly involved countries to show the first effort and the wealthier countries to spend most of the material help and support of special programmes. Nevertheless, the Islamic republic of Afghanistan itself esteems both other topics of the conference agenda (Cultural heritage/ Migration and remittances) as for the country more important and will therefore try to put them on the first discussion places during the conference week. Comments: I can read and see that you have done some good research. I have no comments on the second part, about the three topics. Well done! About the first part, countrys profile: you have to refer within the text to you findings, earlier than you did now. For the reader it becomes more clear where you have find your information. Overall: very good position paper! GRADE: 9
7

Based inter alia on: Miguel, Edward: Poverty and Witch Killing. In: The Review of Economic Studies Vol. 72, No.4 (2005), pp. 1153-1172 and Schnoebelen, Jill: Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights: a review of the evidence. In: New Issues in Refugee research. Research Paper No.169 (2009). 8 The document is to be found on: http://www.ands.gov.af/