KABUL - Patronage, corruption, impunity and over-emphasis on short-term security issues rather than targeted long-term development are exacerbating the already dire poverty affecting more than two-thirds of all Afghans, according to a report published Tuesday by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The report* paints an alarming picture of a population in deep economic distress eight years after the 2002 Bonn Agreement promised a new beginning after decades of conflict. Despite an estimated injection of some USD 35 billion during the period 2002-2009, some nine million Afghans (36 percent of the population) are believed to live “in absolute poverty” and a further 37 percent live only slightly above the poverty line.

This, the report says, “makes them extremely vulnerable to any adverse event, such as drought, floods, earthquakes or a nearby health facility running out of medication.”

Afghanistan has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world and the third highest rate of child mortality. Only 23 percent of the population have access to safe drinking water, and only 24 percent of the population above the age of 15 can read and write, with much lower literacy rates among women and nomadic populations.

“Poverty is neither accidental or inevitable in Afghanistan,” the report says. While the continuing conflict and insecurity are contributing factors, the report attributes much of the blame to “a massive human rights deficit including widespread impunity and inadequate investment in, and attention to, human rights.”

The report, which drew on a survey carried out among some of the poorest communities in 14 provinces, as well a separate series of interviews of experts at the local and national level, concludes that “Abuse of power is a key driver of poverty in Afghanistan. Vested interests frequently shape the public agenda, whether in relation to the law, policy, or the allocation of resources.” As a result, it says, “the Government is often unable to deliver basic services, such as security, food, or shelter. Widespread corruption further limits access to services for a large proportion of the population.”

It notes that many Afghans perceive international actors as “primarily interested in short-term objectives rather than challenging entrenched and abusive power structures. Afghans are acutely conscious that opportunities have been squandered with immediate, as well as long-term, ramifications. This has reinforced a strong sense of disillusionment and growing skepticism about the future of the democratization process among a wide swathe of Afghan society.”

The report concludes that an effective approach to reducing poverty must be holistic and that the effort to restore security should be accompanied by measures to tackle abusive power structures, as well as to create opportunities for the poor to make free and well-informed contributions to decisions that affect their lives. Transparent and accountable decision-making processes need to be established in order to restore the population’s trust in Afghan public institutions as well as in the country’s international backers.

ENDS

* The full report , entitled “Human Rights Dimension of Poverty in Afghanistan,” can be found at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/HRReports.aspx