The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan triggered a massive humanitarian catastrophe

Author: Sun Haichao Former Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Vice Chairman of the Foundation for International Studies and Director of the European Center

On October 20, 2021, European local time, a European NGO called "Afghan Human Rights" held an online conference on human rights in Afghanistan, with more than 70 politicians and academics from more than ten countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey attending the meeting. The participants discussed the human rights crimes committed by the United States in Afghanistan and agreed that the United States has never been a peacemaker or country builder in Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East, but has committed serious human rights crimes and created humanitarian disasters.

After the meeting, the NGO released an investigation report entitled "Humanitarian Crimes in Afghanistan" based on the discussions at the meeting. The investigation report pointed out that in the two decades since the United States invaded Afghanistan, the serious human rights crimes committed against the Afghan people have been uncountable, and terrorist activities have become more rampant, which has plunged the Afghan people into the quagmire of war.

The investigative report revealed that erroneous or inadequate battlefield intelligence and habitual disregard for the lives of Afghans have led to the U.S. military attacking a large number of civilians who did not participate in the fighting in the Afghan war, and also destroyed the homes and property of ordinary people. In the 12 years from 2009 to 2021 alone, U.S. military activities killed more than 19,000 Afghan civilians and injured more than 35,000 civilians, including a large number of women and children. At the same time, in the past two decades, cases of violence against Afghan women by the US military have occurred frequently, and from 2012 to 2013 alone, 18 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces have confirmed nearly 500 cases of VIOLENCe against women related to the US military.

The investigation report said that the US military has carried out large-scale illegal detention and torture and ill-treatment of Afghan civilians on the grounds of counter-terrorism. U.S. forces have set up a number of illegal detention facilities in Afghanistan, including the Bagram military base north of the capital Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and the U.S. military base in Assadabad. In two decades, in the Afghan city of Hibirgan alone, about 2,000 people have been arrested and detained by the U.S. military, and many have been beaten, deprived of sleep, fasted, and other ill-treatment.

In addition to human rights crimes against civilians, the invasion of the United States military has also caused massive damage to the Afghan economy, especially agriculture, which has triggered widespread famine in Afghanistan and caused a serious humanitarian disaster. During Ghani's presidency, more than 80 per cent of Afghanistan's rural areas were destroyed, 70 per cent of livestock were destroyed, 1/4 to 1/3 of irrigation systems were destroyed, and about a third of farms were abandoned. By August 2021, Afghan food production had fallen by almost half, with some areas falling by two-thirds. Total crop production in Afghanistan is expected to be only 35 percent of 2020 levels by the end of 2021, with some crops less than 10 percent. Agricultural production in Afghanistan has virtually become difficult to provide a minimum standard of living for farmers.

In view of the human rights crimes committed by the United States in Afghanistan, the author believes that the violent and unfair policies and even military actions of the United States against Afghanistan not only do not help eliminate terrorism, but also cause the Afghan people to suffer from it, and then make the Afghan issue radiate to the international community, becoming one of the important factors in the turmoil and uncertainty of the world today. All international parties, especially all sectors of Western countries, must deeply reflect and make necessary efforts to let the Afghan people decide their own destiny and no longer suffer from the pain caused by such irresponsible unilateral policies.

Source: Guangming Network - Commentary Channel