DAIMG suggestions for IEA Response to Humanitarian Response Plan (

DAIMG’s suggestions for IEA Response to Humanitarian Response Plan (June – December 2023) Introduction This paper seeks to identify the strategy underlying the Humanitarian Group’s operation through an analysis based exclusively on the Humanitarian Response Plan for June – December 2023. No other document on the activities of the Humanitarian group is available to DAIMG. Nevertheless we believe the Plan document provides substantive insights into the strategy of the Humanitarian group. While changes may have occurred in details of policy conception and implementation, the overall thrust of the strategy is unlikely to have been altered and broad outlines of a proactive response to the Humanitarian group’s strategy by the Islamic government can be suggested with some confidence. This paper first seeks to identify the strategy implied in the Humanitarian Plan and then presents some suggestions for a proactive response to this strategy by the Islamic government. The Humanitarian Strategy Since all Humanitarian group members are NATO members – led by America – the underlying substantive aim of the Humanitarian Strategy, which must necessarily remain unstated, is the re-conquest of Afghanistan for imperialism. The Humanitarian group is an instrument for the exercise of “soft” imperialist power. It seeks to do this through a “bottom up” strategy – “the top down strategy”of 2002-21 having failed due to the collapse of the ghaddar governments. The “bottom up” strategy focuses on initiatives to build (and revive) a civil – i.e. capitalist – society in Afghanistan through a legitimation of human rights ideology and the rule of law of capital. This it is hoped will lead in the dominance of capitalist individuation at the mass level which may lead to regime change in the not too long run. Corrupting Afghan women is the central policy target and the Plan will move towards success as it systematically delegitimizes Islamic rule and Islamic social practices (which the plan repeatedly calls “harmful”) at the mass level. The Inter Agency Strategy Committee (IASC) is not sure that this strategy will work. It has authorized a move from an “operational phase” to only an “operational trial period” for the Plan. Funding has been drastically reduced during 2023 and most sectorial allocation Plans had been revised documents not only due to funding shortages but also because of the increasing effectiveness of Islamic governance and social management reflected in the improvement of food security which the Plan reluctantly acknowledges (p. 6). Most expenditure under the plan during the first half of 2023 was funded by 2022 carryover funds (p. 6). If the Plan fails in its (unstated) principle objective of gradually undermining Islamic rule the Humanitarian group and the UN system will withdraw from Afghanistan. We must prepare for this eventual phase out and gradually reduce the national need for imperialist humanitarian assistance. In 2023 the focus of the Plan is on rural districts – 72 percent of the people it seeks to reach in 2023 are in rural areas (p. 6). The Plan identifies many measures for overcoming the ban on Afghan women’s employment in its projects – in particular it seeks relaxation of the ban through negotiations with local government. A technical ministerial committee consisting of several central ministries and Humanitarian policymakers has been setup and the Group hopes that this Committee can be used for a “push towards more sectors wide exemptions from the ban. However the Plan remains deeply resentful of the government attempts to regulate its operations. Throughout the text it calls “regulation”, “interference” (passim). The operational environment has become more “challenging” for the group (p. 19).

The Plan lays great emphasis on the gathering and analysis of disaggregated data and information. During the first six months of 2023 Humanitarian assistance outreach declined by 13 percent. Food delivery declined by 24 percent, malnutrition declined by 20 percent and shelter services declined by 70 percent. Protection services declined by 67 percent. Thus four Plan clusters – food, shelter, nutrition and protection experienced a decline in the first half of 2023. The Water sector experienced a decline in the number of partner deliverers. Engagement with women in the community has been severely restricted (p. 11-12). The overall decline in outreach is attributed to decline in imperialist funding as well as to strict done codes, requirements for mahrams and restrictions on the “movement of women” (p. 12). During the first half of 2023 new tools were developed for NGOs to defeat the ban on women’s employment by ICCT. Local government interaction was intensified. Workshops were held on project accountability and gender “risk” mitigation. Other risks identified involved deterioration of quality of services, “protection” concerns, replacement of female by male employees and the risk that the Islamic government’s policy might serve as a precedent for other Muslim countries. The need for strict application of imperialist gender related standards and codes were elaborated. Measures for effective capacity building among female workers were identified and the need for “female emancipation” advocacy was stressed. An “Afghanistan Community Voices and Accountability Plan” has been established to monitor consistency with imperialist norms. This platform seeks to promote the application of imperialist standards in community functioning. This program is an imperialist tool for monitoring community life and is a source for data gathering. Data will be gathered and used to identify the response and reaction at the community level of the impact of the Ban on women’s employment and organize agitation for its modification and repeal. The emphasis is on localized social assessment, implementation and monitoring tools have been developed to counter the government’s efforts to Islamise gender relations and behavior. The emphasis is also on imperialist advocacy as well as reorganizing community life in accordance with imperialist standards. Initiatives in the education sector for the second half of 2023 include continuation of community based education, teacher training and incentivization and exploring alternative strategies for “reaching out to girls”. Effective adherence to imperialist standards related to assessment and of gender impact of the Ban will be monitored. Community and stakeholder dialogue will be promoted. Funding levels have declined and several community based units may be closed. No cut-backs are envisaged in the distribution of course material. The education cluster will mount pressure on the Ministry of Education “to get all girls back into schools” (p. 20). Local governments will be lobbied for on the ground relaxation in the application of national policies. Currently there are 35 partners associated with the education cluster. International NGOs are the main implementers of the education program. School construction or rehabilitation program has been discontinued.

The cluster will increase telephone monitoring, set up study circles, employ international female staff and attempt to work through shuras and public school administration. It will employ third party monitoring of its services. In the shelter sector there are 65 partners. Its work during the second half of 2023 is also likely to be effected by funding shortage. There are five active Camp Coordination and Management partner in "informal settlements" in 24 districts. The emphasis is on "reaching marginalized women" especially in women headed households.” "Women's rights groups" are being recruited by shelter centers. Sex and age disaggregated data will continue to be collected. Imperialist standards will be rigorously applied to shelter projects. Community participation will be encouraged. Gender response programming will be undertaken. "Grandmother groups" will be targeted. House level assessments will be undertaken. Attempts will be made to involve religious leaders in project organization. Distribution of shelter services through mosques will be promoted. There has been a decline in the number of individuals reached through shelter activities (of about 60 percent uptil March 2023) mainly due to imperialist funding shortage). Financial requirements for Jan-December period are reduced by 32 percent. Funding has been reduced for all segments of the shelter portfolio - emergencies (77 percent), repair (48 percent), CCCM (44 percent) nonfood deliveries (55 percent). The planned survey for the informal settlements has been postponed. The shelter program mainly targets internally displaced persons and returnees from Pakistan and Iran the CCCM program is being expanded. Advocacy (in relation to female participation in shelter projects) targets local government. Adherence to imperialist (especially human rights) standards is emphasized. Strict application of imperialist gender standards in project work is mandated. Exemption will be sought from local government for this purpose. The food and agriculture cluster has 237 partners. Attempts will be made to persuade local and Central government to relax restrictions on women participation in food and agriculture delivery and project service. Local level agreements will be sought to achieve women’s participation in the food and agriculture cluster projects. Attempts will be made to build up on “positive” examples to achieve gradual overall policy change. Reduced funding however has led to a significant reduction in schemes in food sector project, especially in the first half of 2023. The aid for food distribution services has also declined. Despite having almost 300 partners only 27 NGOs have been active in the first quarter of 2023. UN cash shipments are also likely to decrease in 2023. The individual food basket declined by about 15 percent in the first quarter of 2023. The health cluster has 99 partners. The health cluster coordinates with the Ministry of Public Health and an agreement has already been reached for the “rationalization” of the sector. The Humanitarian health program adheres solely to the imperialist gender and human rights standards in the design and implementation of its services. The Health cluster prioritizes information and data collection. It is particularly invested on “reproductive” health services and is actively promoting the use of contraceptives. Its other major concern is psychological “support” to change individual behavior and eliminate “harmful” (i.e. Islamic) attitudes and practices. Funding shortfalls are severe. Only 20 percent of the project funding requirements for 2020 (including carry over funds for 2022) are currently available.

The nutrition cluster has 64 partners. By May 2023 it had established about 5500 “nutrition centers” partly integrated into the health system. There are in addition, over 700 model health and nutrition units. Capacity building is a major target during the second half of 2023. Funding shortfalls have affected nutrition service delivery. Data collection and qualitative information gathering is emphasized. Anthropometric home data is increasingly evaluated and analyzed. Third party monitoring of nutrition cluster activities is envisaged. The “protection” cluster represents the central core of the imperialist humanitarian initiatives. Its main concern remains the delivery of mental and psychological mentoring to alter individual behavior and delegitimation of Islamic values. The protection program is divided into five segments (a) general protection (b) child protection (c) land and property (d) gender based violence and (e) mines. The cluster has a total of 62 partners. All sub clusters seek to participate in negotiations especially with local governments to seek relaxation of regulation procedures (especially those related to the employment of women and of access to them of project staff.) “Protection” work adheres to imperialist humanitarian standards. Phone and online modalities are extensively utilized for psycho social mentoring and for information collection. Community based children and youth groups are also targeted for psycho social support. A child helpline is operative and gender based “violence” is monitored and responded to. Guidelines have been developed for remote psychological mentoring, similar guidelines are being delivered targeting women and girls. Only 11 percent of the “protection” activity target has been met during January-March 2023. Group psychosocial mentoring of women has proved ineffective. The target for community based “protection” activities has been reduced but the overall target for psychosocial mentoring has been increased by 45 percent for the second half of 2023. Child protection partners have declined from 39 in 2022 to 24 in 2023. The child “protection” program focuses on a limited program of case management. The overall target for gender based “violence” related activity has risen by 40 percent. The Land and Property segment seeks to “rationalize” rural and urban property legislation along capitalist lines. Its 2023 target has been reduced by 50 percent but land allocation procedures will continue to be targeted. Promotion of “protection” activities will be sought through influencing the media (especially electronic and social media). Gender based “violence” incidents will be highlighted, Afghan and Islamic social norms and family values and traditions will be delegitimized. Gender based violence activities will be channeled through the health sector to overcome the Ban and for camouflage purposes. The mining sector program has effectively been suspended due to lack of funding. The protection centers undertake data collection and monitoring of the program of its partners with special emphasis on assessing their outreach to women and girls. They work in close cooperation with AWAZ and provide training to ensure compliance with human rights standards by AWAZ and partner staff. Third party monitoring of production sector projects involving female staff teams will be enhanced in 2023.

The water and sanitation (WASP) cluster has 44 partners. Water supply infrastructure projects have not been affected by the ban on female employment. Sanitation projects are designed in accordance with imperialist standards. Efforts to maintain female presence among WASP service providers is an important objective in 2023. WASP projects will be monitored to compliance with IASC mandated imperialist standards. Attempts will be made to integrate WASP (especially sanitation) projects with the health cluster programs to bypass the restrictions on female employment. The WASP cluster has signed on MoU with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation. Coordination and dialogue with this ministry will be enhanced to the second half of 2023. Funding shortfalls are significant and the strategy envisaged a significant cutback in WASP activities during the second half of 2023. However, efforts will be made to increase contacts with local authorities and with the Provincial Rural Rehabilitation Departments. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintains liaison with the central government and imperialist agencies. The operational head offices in Kabul and its units are located throughout the country. It is organized by Inter-cluster Coordination Team. It undertakes “joint advocacy and has access to civil military coordination” (p. 50). During the second half of 2023 “there is ongoing work to expand the level of coordination capacity at regional and local level” (p. 50). Increasing operational funding in project execution and in the coordination effort is a priority objective for 2023. The project portfolio – equaling 203 at end 2022 under the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund – may be revised for this purpose. A major overhaul of the Camp Management Program seems to be underway. Informal settlements are being assessed in 34 provinces and data gathering has been specialized in association with REACH. ii. Policy Response to the Humanitarian Program: Some Suggestions. The Humanitarian Program is designed to serve as an instrument of imperialist soft power. Humanitarian intervention – through arms and through policy change – has been an imperialist tactic since the first Gulf War (1991) and since the adoption of the Right to Protect (R2P) declaration in the UN General Assembly (2004). Armed and policy humanitarian interventions have taken place in several countries (Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Nicaragua) and have been planned for several others (Venezuela, North Korea, Cuba) in the last few decades. The objective of the Humanitarian programs has always been to undermine the authority of incumbent governments and to re-incorporate the targeted country in the global imperialist order. This is also the objective of the Humanitarian program in Afghanistan. The program is designed to gradually construct a capitalist civil society and nurture capitalist hedonistic individuality especially among women and girls and many relatively alienated minorities by taking advantage of Afghanistan’s existing economic and social imbalances.

Therefore we must see the Humanitarian program as a continuation of the war of 2002-21 and must develop and operationalize a strategy for protecting our vulnerable groups (especially women and girls) so that they do not become unconscious partners of the enemy’s war plan. Winning the war against humanitarian intervention is essential for the survival of the Islamic government. It is also necessary for the flourishing of Islamic individuality and society in Afghanistan. DAIMG suggests that the following steps be taken to contain and counter the Humanitarian war effort. 1. Delegitimizing Human Rights Ideology: It is most important to develop a national awareness that human rights are an imperialist tool legitimating capitalist social order and capitalist governance. Human rights are the obverse of حقوق العباد and means for the promotion of hedonistic values (حرص، حسد اور تکاثر) inducing on individual to revolt against Allah’s commands and develops a commitment to self-determination and obeying the commands of the نفسِ امارہ. A vast literature exists exposing the reality behind human rights ideology as a tool of imperialist rule. Some of this literature is summarized in our books Capitalist Values and Ideologies (Chapter 3 and Appendix 5) and دروسِ سرمایہ داری (Chapter 4 and its Appendix) and a paper is being prepared contrasting human rights with حقوق العباد by DAIMG. A long term nationwide campaign against human rights ideology must be immediately launched through mosques (Khutbas), schools, universities, hospitals, print and electronic media (including social media), mohalla, bazzar and government offices. The campaign must especially address (a) women and girls (b) students (both madrassah and school and universities (e) journalists (d) national and local government policymakers and (f) ulema (imam masjid) and school and university teachers. 2. Extending Da’wah among women and girls. An extensive da’wah effort addressing women and girls must be urgently organized which must be able to cogently explain to women the case for their relative exclusion from public life. Heads of families, clans and tribes must be educated and induced to play their role. Secondary schools must be substituted by female madrassahs and women ulema must be trained. More mosques must be opened to women and girls. Employers must be encouraged to provide facilities for women in the health and education sectors to work from home. Mandated targets should be established in this regard. The system of kifalat at family level must be revived to ensure that female headed households are gradually reduced. 3. Estimating Need for Concessional Aid Flows A national plan must be developed to estimate need for foreign concessional assistance in the health, shelter, food security, nutrition and WASP sectors for the 2024-2027 period in light of planned output and investment targets in these sectors. It must be realized that humanitarian inflows are declining – commitments and disbursement in 2023 will fall significantly in comparison to the previous years. The basic cause of this decline is our success in stabilizing the economy as inflation has fallen (especially food prices) and growth has continued. Food scarcity has declined as has the number of IDPs. The regulatory authority and writ of the Islamic government has also increased at the local level hence the imperialist agencies repeated complaints of “government interference” hampering their project work. As Islamic government strengthens humanitarian financers will become increasingly frustrated.

We must therefore prepare for a gradual phase out of humanitarian aid and UN concessional aid programs over four years and develop a strategy for substituting national resources for concessional aid flows over the next quinquennium The following measures are necessary for a gradual elimination of concessional foreign inflows: a) The development and implementation of a national resource mobilization strategy in the context of an all-encompassing national economic plan. b) The creation of a mass based supply network which assesses demand/supply balances of essential commodities (especially grain) at district level and arranges for transfer of supplies from surplus to deficit region. c) The development of a tamveeli system with issuance and circulation of currency linked to production targets through comprehensive currency and credit planning. 4. We propose that during 2024-27 the following sectoral policies be adopted: 4.1. Education. Proposed activities in the Humanitarian Plan to be allowed to continue except their distribution of textbooks and related materials since they are a means for ideological mentoring of pupils. All textbooks used in schools should by 2025 be approved by the Islamic government. Ministry of education should set up a Textbook Approval Board. Textbooks may be printed by private firms and tenders should be issued for this purpose. The ongoing cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Humanitarian Group for getting girls into schools should end immediately since this is likely to be a means for the exercise of imperialist soft power among girl students. Girl students should be encouraged to attend madrassahs which should be set up. Government approval must be mandated for the functioning of the Community Based Education selected hub and formal school program of the Group. Dawah work among teachers and administrators in the Group’s Community based education programs should be intensified. An Alim should be required to be a member of every CBE unit. Propaganda activities – concerning human rights advocacy – by the Education clusters among students, teachers and administrators including those in the Ministry of Education should be closely monitor and restricted. 4.2. Shelter. Activities planned for 2023 should be allowed to continue but female employment in these projects should be strictly banned. Attempts must be made to disrupt communication systems involving women set up by this cluster. This is especially important with regard to women headed households. Women’s “rights” organizations should not be allowed to join the cluster or participate in its activities. Community participation in Shelter sector schemes should also be discouraged. The cluster should not be allowed to set up local women or “grandmother” groups. Access of the cluster to hospital, school and mosques should be restricted and its intelligence gathering activities (through phone and SMS and email services) should be closely monitored and disallowed. Communication networks established at local and regional levels should be gradually dismantled and communication must be restricted to the central level only. Female employment in Camp Management program should be forbidden. Expansion of the Camp Management program should be strictly forbidden.

4.3. Food Security. Activities planned for 2023 should be allowed with the following restrictions. Female participation in food distribution system should be disallowed. The cluster should not be allowed to recruit female “volunteers”. Negotiation for regulatory changes with local/district authorities should be disallowed. Data gathering activities of cluster should be regularly monitored. Community consultation and community organization activities should be disallowed. Dawah activities must be enhanced in the communities receiving food packages and to the cluster associated NGOs. 4.4. Health. Activities planned for 2023 should be allowed to continue but the ban on mobile services should be strictly implemented. The Agreement with the Ministry of Public Health may need to be revised. Activity related to the provision of contraception (called “reproductive health services”) should be banned as should be the Mental Health and Psychological Support program activities. Recruitment in health projects of female staff should be strictly regulated and monitored as should community based health programs. Dawah activities must focus on hospitals and on community based health programs. 4.5. Nutrition. Projects for 2023 should be continued except advocacy projects. Interaction between the nutrition sector projects and the “protection” sector projects should not be permitted. Data gathering and communication activities should be strictly monitored. Female employment in nutrition sector projects should be prohibited. 4.6. ‘Protection' 4.6.1. Child Protection: All projects related to child protection – in clusters related to the development of Child Friendly Spaces and those related to the discouragement of child marriages should immediately be terminated. Access of the cluster to children will be prohibited. 4.6.2. Gender based Violence program: All projects under this sub group will be immediately discontinued. 4.6.3. Housing and Property: This is an attempt to introduce and legalize capitalist property relationships at the mass level. All activities under this head will be immediately terminated. 4.6.4. Mining Action: All projects under this head will be allowed to continue except that female employment and participation in the explosive risk education program will be prohibited. Overall the protection segment of the humanitarian program will be closed – with the exception of the Mining Action segment. This is because the main thrust been in the use of psychotherapy networks and techniques to nurture capitalist/hedonistic tendencies at the mass level and to dismember Islamic individuality and community life. Dealing with mental health issues should be the principle responsibility of the Sufia who should be extensively involved in the health, nutrition and community management systems. Dawah efforts must be extended to AWAZ and the national NGO community involved in this cluster should be closed. 4.7. Water and Sanitation Projects undertaken by this cluster in 2023 should be allowed to continue except that female employment in these projects should be prohibited. Collaboration between the WASP and protection

sector projects should be disallowed (especially those related to protection against sexual abuse PSEA). Distribution of nutrition and hygiene kits by women should be prohibited. The WASP must report to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Communication links with local and district authorities must be restricted. Data gathering and remote monitoring activities of the cluster must be closely overseen. 5. Conclusion We must realize that the essential purpose of the Humanitarian program as well as the UN assistance effort is to delegitimize Islamic rule through a “bottom up” strategy which seeks to isolate the Islamic government from its mass base. If we want to preserve and promote Islamic rule we have no option but to attempt to defeat this imperialist exercise of soft power. However we cannot dispense with the humanitarian aid immediately given our existing economic circumstances. Eliminating the need for foreign imperialist assistance must realistically be a medium term objective. Thus planning of the elimination of imperialist assistance by at least 2028 may be a realistic target. This requires both macroeconomic planning and institutional restructuring (changes recommended in this paper are i) implementation of a comprehensive planning system ii) establishment of a mass based supply system for distributing essential commodities from surplus to deficit districts iii) introduction of credit and currency planning through government control over the issuance and distribution of currency (both national and foreign) and credit and iv) the institution of a dawah network at the local and enterprise and market level to promote Islamic values and patterns of community life. The imperialist attack is focused on women and girls – corrupting them is the primary goal of the Humanitarian and UN aid programs. Therefore our response must be to protect women and girls from this attack. Delegitimizing human rights ideology is a key element in our response. We must immediately launch a mass level information and education campaign to debunk human rights ideology and expose the truth about Humanitarian intervention throughout the world. To protect our women and girls we must impose restrictions on UN and humanitarian projects in most sectors (especially the “protection” sector). We must also restrict the access of the Humanitarian and UN program implementation at the community, local, district and provincial levels. Local, district and provincial government authorities must be prevented from negotiating regulatory exemptions from application of national sanctions regulations. The work of the Office of Coordination for Humanitarian affairs must be carefully monitored and their access to provincial, district and local levels must be restricted. The government must demand representation in the Humanitarian team. The Humanitarian UN and World Bank projects portfolio must be examined carefully to identify projects that contribute to national objectives as specified by the national plan. All other projects must be disallowed. Dawah Majlis must be established in each project financed and managed by the Humanitarian groups of UN and the World Bank.