Afghanistan

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has witnessed significant shifts in the operational context since August 2021, marked by decreased military operations which has enhanced access to previously hard-to-reach areas. However, this positive momentum has been offset by a notable increase in bureaucratic and administrative interferences (BAI) affecting humanitarian operations, particularly in 2022 and 2023. This surge in BAI-related challenges follows the DfA’s introduction of new procedures and regulations for coordinating humanitarian response. Humanitarian access in 2023 has further been constrained by the issuance of two directives – one in December 2022 and the other in April 2023 – banning Afghan women from working for I/NGOs and the UN respectively. While the almost-immediate granting of nation-wide exemptions for Afghan women working in the health and education sectors have somewhat mitigated the impact of these bans, even these are frequently only partially implemented and subject to conditionalities (e.g. Afghan women must be accompanied by a mahram (male relative), comply with Islamic attire (the hijab), travel to and from work in gender-segregated transport, or conduct their work in static facilities only). These regulatory developments are anticipated to continue to affect the access landscape in Afghanistan in 2024 and will require dedicated and likely enhanced efforts to minimize their impact on humanitarian operations. Looking ahead, the operational space is projected to contract due to:

1. Increased restrictions on programming modalities, including community-based education, child-friendly spaces, and cash assistance, and the participation of Afghan women in humanitarian action.
2. Elevated bureaucratic hurdles, including project registration requirements, programmes targeting women and girls, and delays in project implementation due to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) negotiations and signing.
3. Growing desire from the DfA to be involved in program design and implementation, which could translate into attempts to influence beneficiary selection and project location.
4. Augmented scrutiny and monitoring of humanitarian operations.
5. Increased restrictions on humanitarian movements, involving incidents at checkpoints and the imposition of new movement procedures that greatly affect Afghan women.
6. Escalated violence against humanitarian workers and community volunteers, including detentions and threats.

Between January and October 2023, humanitarian partners reported 1,529 access-related challenges, marking a 21 per cent increase from 2022 and a threefold rise from 2019 figures.¹ Predominantly, these incidents (65 per cent) involved active interference in humanitarian programming, followed by movement restrictions on agencies, personnel, or goods (17 per cent), and violence against humanitarian staff, assets, and facilities (11 per cent). This stark reality is reaffirmed by the third round of access severity mapping, which identified 90 per cent of districts experiencing 'moderate' to 'high' access challenges, and findings from the Afghanistan Community Voices platform, revealing that more than half of the 10,000 surveyed communities reported challenges in accessing aid or services.

DfA interference remains the foremost access challenge, with more than 1,000 incidents reported in 2023.² These incidents encompass the enforcement of the bans on Afghan women working for I/NGOs and the UN, as well as reports of increased interference and bureaucratic obstacles. The latter includes the introduction of new transportation taxation directives and inconsistent processes for completion of MoUs. At the same time, I/NGOs have reported that they are unable to register projects within the Ministry of Economy when they involve Afghan women staff working outside of the two exempted sectors. Between January and June, ³ I/NGO partners reported to the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) and Access Working Group that they were unable to register women staff on project documents with the Ministry of Economy, of which 33 partners informed they were unable to use the word ‘women’ or refer to women beneficiaries in their project documents at all. Contributing factors involve heightened efforts to influence beneficiary, vendor, and staff selection, pressures to share sensitive information, and increased monitoring through entities like the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV), General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), and provincial-level committees established by the DfA.

Humanitarian access faces further hurdles due to movement restrictions stemming from varying requirements for a mahram and approval letter for both men and women at checkpoints in some provinces. The ban on Afghan women working for the I/NGOs and the UN has compromised vulnerable populations' access to assistance provision and services, despite the exemptions and localized arrangements secured. The October 2023 Humanitarian Access Group (HAG)–GiHA survey revealed that 46 per cent of 144 organizations reported significant concerns in their ability to interact with women and monitor humanitarian assistance as a result of the bans. This concern is exacerbated by new directives or procedures further excluding women's participation in humanitarian action. Since early July, the DfA have issued a series of official letters to many WLOs and I/NGOs requesting that women be removed from leadership positions in NGOs (including Director, Deputy Director and Board member roles) and as bank signatories.

Despite the improved security situation, humanitarian staff in 2023 continued to contend with a volatile environment fraught with serious safety threats. Violence against aid workers accounted for 11 per cent of all incidents, with 168 reported cases. Moreover, 170 staff members were detained during the year. While 61 per cent of these detentions were resolved within two days, the remaining incidents (33 per cent) took longer to resolve, underscoring the persistent risks to humanitarian workers – and, by extension, operations – in Afghanistan.