The success of Afghan NGOs

Abstract

During the 1990s, and as part of a broader drive towards the “Afghanisation” of humanitarian assistance in Pakistan, Afghan NGOs became key implementing agencies supporting refugee-related and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan. This paper provides a detailed account of their emergence and consolidation, with a twofold objective. First, it complements and contributes to recent studies on Afghan NGOs and Afghan civil society, by providing historical insights on their trajectory. Second, it assesses such trajectory as a way of engaging with broader discussions on the role of NGOs within humanitarian operations.

Le succès des ONG afghanes

Durant les années 1990, et dans le cadre d'une initiative plus générale vers l’« afghanisation » de l'assistance humanitaire au Pakistan, les ONG afghanes sont devenues des agences clés de mise en œuvre soutenant des activités de reconstruction et d'aide aux réfugiés en Afghanistan. Cet article propose un compte rendu détaillé de leur apparition et de leur consolidation, dans un double objectif. En premier lieu il complète et contribue à des études récentes sur les ONG afghanes et la société civile afghane, en donnant un aperçu historique de leur trajectoire. En second lieu, il évalue cette trajectoire dans le but de prendre part à des discussions plus larges sur le rôle des ONG dans les opérations humanitaires.

El éxito de las ong afganas

Como parte de un esfuerzo dirigido a “afganizar” la asistencia humanitaria en Pakistán durante los años noventa, las ong afganas se volvieron agencias operativas clave para el apoyo de actividades vinculadas a los refugiados y a la reconstrucción en Afganistán. El presente artículo proporciona una historia detallada de su aparición y de su consolidación y tiene dos objetivos. En primer lugar, complementar y contribuir a los estudios recientes respecto a las ong afganas y a la sociedad civil afgana, esclareciendo su trayectoria histórica. En segundo lugar, realizar una valoración de dicha trayectoria como una manera de participar en el debate más amplio en torno al rol jugado por las ong en el ámbito de las operaciones humanitarias.

O sucesso de ONGs afegãs

Durante a década de 1990, como parte de uma orientação mais geral para a “Afeganização” da assistência humanitária no Paquistão, ONGs afegãs tornaram-se agências implementadoras cruciais que apoiam atividades relacionadas a refugiados e à reconstrução no Afeganistão. Este artigo oferece um relato detalhado sobre o seu surgimento e consolidação, com um duplo objetivo. Primeiramente, ele complementa e contribui para estudos recentes sobre ONGs afegãs e a sociedade civil afegã, fornecendo informações históricas sobre sua trajetória. Em segundo lugar, ele avalia tal trajetória como forma de engajamento com discussões mais gerais sobre o papel de ONGs dentro de operações humanitárias.

Keywords:

• Civil society – NGOs
• Conflict and reconstruction – Forced displacement
• Aid – Aid effectiveness
• South Asia

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Corrigendum

Acknowledgements

I want to thank Subir Sinha for planting the NGO “ordinance” in my head, Yvonne Tingyu Huang for detonating it, and Ale for gently forcing me to transform the pieces into a finished product. I am grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and insights. My friends Mujahid Gardaizi and Roberto E. Facchinelli were always present in my head during the writing of this article.

The author

Paolo Novak is a lecturer in development studies at the SOAS, University of London. <[email protected]>

Notes

1. Afghan refugees are still present in Pakistan, yet they have faced an increasingly worsening protection climate. Assistance operations have progressively been winding up since the middle of the 1990s. Since 2002, most Afghan NGOs have moved to Afghanistan, and this is used as a cut-off date for this study.

2. UNOCA was created in 1988 with the mandate to provide central coordination of various components undertaken within the UN system on behalf of the Secretary General, operating in relation to Afghanistan. From 1993 UNOCA's designation changed to UNOCHA and the new mandate constituted it as an agency operating on behalf of the UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, with the objective of undertaking consultations with all sides in the conflict and neighbouring states, to ensure a smooth transition from humanitarian to development and reconstruction activities, as well as continuing coordination activities for all assistance agencies involved (Stockton 2002).

3. These claims are still put forward by Afghan NGOs' directors and staff.

4. See, for example, the World Bank: http://wbi.worldbank.org/wbi/about/topics/public-private-partnerships (accessed 9 April 2013).

5. There are four coordinating bodies: ACBAR, SWABAC operating out of Quetta, ICC of a more religious inspiration, and ANCB. Data presented here refers to NGO members of ACBAR, the largest of these bodies. Figures related to Afghan refugees are highly questionable and subject to debate. Indeed, even data collected by ACBAR about their members shows inconsistencies over the years. Their numbers are to be considered only as a good indicator of changing trends at sectoral level.

6. Despite many refugees remaining in Pakistan throughout the 1990s, more than one million Afghans registered for the mass repatriation drive of 1992, clearly affecting allocations.