Afghanistan

The Afghan people urgently need support to ensure that basic needs continue to be met. The international community agrees that humanitarian assistance alone is not enough in this situation.

That is why, although the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) suspended its official bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in August 2021, it is still continuing to support the Afghan people – at the community level, without involving the government.

This means that the BMZ is not negotiating with Taliban representatives. Nor is it working with them in any other way.

However, Germany is not leaving the Afghan people to fend for themselves.

The support by the BMZ is aimed at providing basic services and thus contributing to overcoming the humanitarian crisis in the medium to long term. Development activities on the ground are being implemented exclusively via the World Bank, UN organisations and non-governmental organisations without involving the government at all.

The protection of human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, is absolutely central. The BMZ’s involvement is therefore based on the principle “with women, for women”. Where women are able to work in the programmes that the BMZ is financing and can be reached by these programmes, the BMZ will continue its activities in order to maintain basic services for the people.

2021

After the Taliban took power, Germany put together a crisis package in order to reduce the impact of the humanitarian disaster and prevent the region from becoming destabilised. This money has been used for humanitarian aid, transitional development assistance and basic needs. The money went to Afghanistan but also to neighbouring countries, for example to support Afghan refugees and host communities. The BMZ contributed 184 million euros to the federal government’s crisis package to support the Afghan population. All in all, Germany made some 600 million euros available.

2022

In 2022, Germany made 527 million euros available for humanitarian assistance, transitional development assistance and basic needs in Afghanistan, with 187 million euros being provided from the BMZ’s budget (115 million euros for Technical and Financial Cooperation, 72 million euros for transitional development assistance).

2023

In 2023, Germany made 261 million euros available in Afghanistan for humanitarian assistance, transitional development assistance and basic needs, with 92 million euros being provided from the BMZ’s budget (70 million euros for Technical and Financial Cooperation, 22 million euros for transitional development assistance).

The BMZ is continuing its work, applying the principle that the de facto authorities do not get to influence the project design in any way and receive no funding. Moreover, only projects in which women are working and through which women can be reached are implemented. The BMZ is continuing its cooperation with the World Bank, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations, specifically in the areas of food security, education, healthcare, psychosocial support, employment and social protection. In addition, the BMZ is supporting those who were affected by the severe earthquakes in Herat province in October 2023.

The BMZ and other donors have agreed fundamental principles for international engagement in Afghanistan. This includes, for example, not involving the Afghan government and ensuring equal access to support for women and girls.

When in December 2022 the Taliban banned women from working in non-governmental organisations, the BMZ immediately suspended most of its bilateral development cooperation projects and explored options for how to proceed in close consultation with other international donors.

The German government is following the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan very closely, deciding whether and how to adjust its involvement depending on how the situation develops.

Germany wants to keep on doing its utmost to improve the living conditions for the Afghan people. The objectives of Germany’s development activities are therefore

• strengthening the resilience of the people and enabling them to earn a living and
• fostering functioning structures for meeting basic needs, promoting social cohesion and improving the economic situation.

The BMZ is supporting projects in Afghanistan that help to meet people’s basic needs. One focus is on the special needs of women and girls and of other disadvantaged groups. Support in the area of food security involves, for instance, measures to help people grow drought-resistant crops. Kitchen gardens and greenhouses are being set up in schools and women in rural areas are being given opportunities to generate an income (bee keeping or poultry farming).

Support in the area of education includes, for example, non-formal training for women in the health sector, upskilling primary school teachers (regarding, for instance, hygiene for girls or supporting traumatised pupils) and supporting school kitchens.

Even before the Taliban took power, Afghanistan was the country of origin of the third highest number of refugees in the world (after Syria and Venezuela). Most Afghan refugees remain in the local region. Almost 8 million Afghans are currently living in neighbouring countries, in particular in Pakistan and Iran. In autumn of 2023, the Pakistan government announced that all undocumented immigrants would have to leave the country. This announcement affects over 1.5 million Afghans. So far, more than 500,000 Afghans have returned to their home country as a result. Around 3.5 million people displaced from their communities have sought refuge in other parts of Afghanistan.

With a view to learning from the past for future interventions in fragile environments, the lessons learned through the BMZ’s engagement are being reviewed. Other ministries, the implementing organisations (especially GIZ and KfW), civil society partners such as NGOs – including from the Afghan diaspora – and academic institutions are also involved in this process. The final report on the evaluation of civil engagement by the German government in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 was published in December 2023. Numerous lessons learned and recommendations for future work in similar crisis situations have already arisen from the report.

In addition, the German parliament set up a study commission in July 2022 to draw lessons from Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan with a view to optimising the comprehensive approach to security policy in the future. In its first working phase, the commission analysed Germany’s activities in Afghanistan in the period 2001 to 2021 and, in its interim report in spring 2024, presented some initial findings that are of relevance for Germany’s future foreign and security policy.

During the second phase, the commission will explore the comprehensive approach that was adopted, and how military and civilian measures should be combined in international crisis management in the future in order for such measures to be successful. The final report will be published by the end of 2024.