Angelique Felicia Yohanes (TP061650)

Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)

Christhoper (TP058846)

Case Study: Afghanistan Refugees Crisis

Introduction/Background

Afghanistan has the hallmarks of humanitarian catastrophe (Loft, 2021). Four decades

since the outset of the Afghanistan refugee crisis, seemingly the situation has adversely

deteriorated into its nadir. Monsutti (2005) suggests that in the extent of its scale and duration,

the Afghanistan refugee crisis could be considered as the gravest humanitarian debacle in the

second half of the twentieth century. UNCHR (2023) figures have expounded that there were

approximately 8.2 million of Afghans had been displaced from their home, which were

dominated by woman and children. Similarly, roughly 28 million of people are in acute need of

humanitarian assistance. Therefore, this crisis has to be urgently addressed and resolved. Within

this essay, we would empirically and holistically outline the background of the crisis, underlying

factors and variables, reckon the aftermath of the crisis, and eventually drafting the possible

short-term solutions and long-term solutions to tackle the precarious condition.

Causes of Forced Migrants in Afghanistan

Historically, the invasion of Soviet Union to Afghanistan in 1979 had become a

watershed moment to the heightening of unprecedented refugee crisis in Afghanistan. The

invasion by the Soviet Union had catalyzed the swift growth of armed groups and sparked an

overarching unrest amongts the society, which is never been thoroughly solved until today. Even

after the end of Soviet Union’s invasion, the stability within the nation was never reinstated,

otherwise, worsened. UNHCR (2022) discovers that for 15 consecutive years since 2005, the

amount of internally displaced people have exponentially grown, moreover, after Taliban’s

takeover in 2021, a more alarming crisis, persecution and violence crackdown exploded within
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Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)
Christhoper (TP058846)

the nation. It is expected that the refugees’ number in 2021 alone skyrocketed to 1.6 million of

people. In other words, power politics and external aggression act as the prime factor that fueled

a forced migration in Afghanistan. Conte and Migali (2019) justify that external aggression is an

essential factor of the exodus because naturally people flee out of terror to seek security and

survival which they could not have in their home country. Similarly, Fielden (1998) study figures

out that the external aggression towards Afghanistan had caused a significant downturn and

forced millions of people to migrate to its neighboring countries like Pakistan and Iran.

Afterwards, Ruiz (2004) asserts the insurgence of Taliban, armed groups, civil conflicts, and civil

wars have galvanized a more considerable waves of refugees fleeing due to the more evoking

and erratic scale of violence and persecution.

According to Ali, Imana & Ocha (2017), an unmatched influx of refugees’ growth are

intensified by the miserable economic condition within their home. Inextricably, the dire

economic condition is yet another convoluted issue that is entangling Afghanistan for decades.

Rother et al (2016) accentuate that the biggest contributor to the damaged economic governance

is owing to the frail and defunct critical economic institutions domestically. Additionally, the

economic development issue in Afghanistan had a spillover effect, predominantly to the colossal

amount of unemployment and poverty. The rampant of unemployment and poverty compel the

Afghans to migrate to pursue for a better livelihood to provide their fundamental needs. In 2016,

IMF has extrapolated that refugee crisis in Afghanistan would escalate into a bigger scale, if the

economic condition is not resolved. HRW (2022) evinces that since August 2021, 4 out of 5

households in Afghanistan have suffered a notable decrease of income, millions of dollars of

income are lost, spiking inflation, GDP contraction, soaring prices, and collapse of the country’s
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Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)
Christhoper (TP058846)

banking system. In addition, Afghanistan’s economy growth is highly reliant towards foreign

direct investment, nonetheless, according to Lloyds Bank (2023), the amount of FDI that the

nation received had shrunk 85% in total within the span of 1 year. With that being said, lack of

FDI has become a major impediment that deters the growth of the domestic’s economy and

eventually, preclude the job creation and paralyze the economy.

Podesta (2019) asserts that a large-scale human migration would be mobilized due to

resource scarcity (food and water), extreme weather, natural disasters, disease outbreaks. In

Afghanistan, Holloway (2022) expounds that the country is suffering a disastrous drought and

flood. Savage et al (2009) believe that these issues are being inflicted by the daunting climate

change that could be considered as one of the most prominent factors which is haunting

Afghanistan at its worst since 2009. In fact, the domino effect of the climate changes is mostly

associated with the current socio-economic and food security issue within the nation. Samim and

Zhiquan (2019) study finds out that 53.2% or 11 million inhabitants of Afghanistan are in a

severe need of food assistance. GHI (2022) data displays that Afghanistan’s food security issue

has recorded its all-time low with a score of 29.9, ranked 109 out of 121 countries. The existence

of natural disasters, too, could not be neglected. In fact, vast majority of land in Afghanistan is

being wielded for the agricultural purpose, nevertheless, after the exacerbation of climate change

and floods people begin to lose their livelihood and culminate into a gradual and bigger scale

migration. Above all, all of the contributing factors to a large-scale of human migration is highly

associated between one another, however, within the scope of climate change, this could be

classified as the 3rd largest factor after the war and socio-economic crisis.

Main Actors of Afghanistan Crisis’ Escalation

 Angelique Felicia Yohanes (TP061650)
Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)
Christhoper (TP058846)

Afghanistan's growing refugee crisis is a complicated problem involving numerous

contributors nationally and internationally. Looking back on history, the Soviet Union was a

major player in the Afghan refugee issue in the 1980s which also gave long-term impacts. The

Soviet invasion has started the waves of migration in Afghans (Bhutta, 2002).These comprised

extensive home and livelihood devastation, dread of the Soviet invading army, and a pro-Soviet

government. Afghanistan and the surrounding area suffered a lifetime of consequences from the

Soviet takeover and the ensuing refugee crisis. Numerous lives were lost during the nearly ten-

year conflict, which also caused significant infrastructure damage (Magnus & E, 2002). The

refugee crisis put a burden on assets in surrounding nations and permanently changed the

socioeconomic and political circumstances of the area.

Besides the Soviet Union, the United States has contributed significantly to the refugee

situation in Afghanistan, specifically considering the circumstances surrounding the departure of

American soldiers from Afghanistan. At the start of the Cold War, American concerns about the

threat originating from Afghanistan were centered on Soviet territorial expansion while the US

built its capacity to impose influence there. Through grandiose initiatives meant to convince

Afghans and Soviets alike that the Americans and their way of life could contend for supremacy

throughout the world, they improved the infrastructure in Afghanistan (Crews, 2016). However,

American engineering initiatives proved to be a double burden, depleting the Afghani

government's funds and causing environmental damage. The refugee crisis in Afghanistan is also

worsened by the departure of American and NATO soldiers from Afghanistan in 2021 as security

in the nation quickly deteriorated (Schaeffer, 2022). As a result, the Taliban took back control of

the nation, and many Afghans left, leading to a refugee crisis.

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Christhoper (TP058846)

Lastly, Taliban is one of the main and most responsible contributors. As the country’s

newest governing force, the Taliban must play a vital role in ensuring the security and welfare of

the Afghans while also preserving the rights of women and communities of religious and racial

minorities. Even though they promised to do so, the Taliban have implemented a strict

application of Islamic law (Maizland, 2023). The situation of Afghans is getting terrible a year

after the Taliban took control of the country. The health care system is in disrepair, the economy

is bad, malnutrition rates are rising, women's rights are being restricted, migration and internal

displacement are still occurring, and women's rights are being constrained (Hakimi & Price,

2022). Numerous abuses of human rights have been recorded by the UN mission in Afghanistan.

Following the takeover, the economy has contracted by up to 30%, and there have been

approximately 700,000 job losses. Over 90% of people have been experiencing some kind of

food insecurity (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 2022).

Positive and Negative Implications of Refugees to the Host Country

Hosting an important number of refugees affects host countries in a variety of ways.

Although they might place a range of economic, security-related, and environmental obligations

on their hosts, refugees also contribute significantly to the host country's resource (Baloch et al.,

2017). Through a variety of means, refugees can enhance the economies of their host nations.

They can encourage commerce and investment while bringing skills and adding to the human

capital supply (Khoudour & Andersson, 2017). For example, a large portion of Afghanistan's

livestock, such as camels, cows, and donkeys, also moved to Pakistan with the estimated 2.5

million refugees, which helped improving the local market for meat, milk, and local food

purchases (Anwar et al., 2021). Additionally, refugees may provide job opportunities while
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Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)
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attracting aid and humanitarian investments in, which would help both the refugees and the

society at large. However, refugees may have a detrimental effect on the economies of the host

countries by driving up the costs and demand for necessities and infrastructure (Gomez &

Christensen, 2011). There was a battle for resources and property among immigrants and locals

not long after Afghan refugees arrived in Pakistan. As the years and decades went by, the

demand also grew, further inflaming residents' resentment. Besides the economic impacts,

refugees also bring political and security impacts on the host country. In the political and security

perspective, most refugees had a detrimental influence on the host country, where they have

increased security issues. Like Pakistan, host states are troubled by the political association of

refugees with their home nations. Afghans in Pakistan actively supported the Taliban's war

against the Soviet Union, which sparked violence, turmoil, and terrorism (Tariq, 2011). In

addition, when they act as domestic opponents or supporters of one party's agenda against

another community, refugees cause issues. In such circumstances, mistrust develops among the

residents that eventually results in crises.

The Activities of UNHCR to Protect Rights of Refugees in Afghanistan

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is an agency formed by the

United Nations which is aimed at dealing with problems regarding refugees and asylum seekers.

UNHCR has the main task of aiding and protection to people who are forced to flee from their

territory because their security is threatened and then go to other areas to get protection (About

UNHCR | UNHCR, n.d.). The problems that occurred in Afghanistan continued, so that more and

more Afghans were forced to flee from their territory so as not to be affected by the conflict that

occurred, and to get a better life. This ongoing conflict has made the Afghan refugee crisis one of
 Angelique Felicia Yohanes (TP061650)
Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)
Christhoper (TP058846)

the largest refugee crises in the world, so that it has become one of the world's main focuses

currently. UNHCR, as the agency that deals with refugee matters is of course taking concrete

steps to overcome this.

UNHCR concrete steps in protecting the rights of Afghan Refugees, this is done by

providing humanitarian assistance to these refugees. UNHCR has provided some assistance, one

of which is considered the most important is refugee shelters. This shelter is a very important

facility considering that these fleeing refugees cannot bring their own housing, so they do not

have a place to live. Likewise for the refugees who have returned, because of the conflict maybe

their previous residence had been affected so they could not be reoccupied, so they really needed

the shelter, and in 2007, there were at least more than one million people who benefited from the

construction of this shelter (Tan, 2007). In addition to building shelters for refugees, UNHCR

also distributes basic needs assistance to refugees, in the form of food, clean water, medicine and

other basic needs (Afghanistan | UNHCR, n.d.).

UNHCR also has a commitment to continue to help Afghan refugees, especially the

vulnerable. By routinely conducting assessments to find out the needs of refugees, UNHCR also

helps build the needed infrastructure, even during certain seasons when there are more needs,

such as in winter, UNHCR also helps distribute equipment such as blankets, stoves, clothes and

so on. Not only equipment and infrastructure, but UNHCR also helped with the psychological

problems of the refugees (Afghanistan Emergency | UNHCR UK, n.d.).

Comprehensive Solution to Diffuse the Refugee Crisis for Afghanistan.

UNHCR regularly pays attention to the condition of the Afghan refugees who are

scattered in various destination countries, UNHCR also conducts assessments of the conditions
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of the refugees and continues to look for the best solution for them. UNHCR is also taking the

Afghan refugee problem more seriously by creating an SSAR assistance platform in 2019. This

platform involves various international actors, called the Core Group, namely the European

Union, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Program and the World Bank,

there are also several countries that are members, such as the United States of America,

Denmark, Germany, Italy, and there are still several others (Solutions Strategy for Afghan

Refugees (SSAR) – UNHCR Iran, n.d.).

The refugee crisis in Afghanistan is a complex problem that requires a multifaceted

approach. The first solution is to address the root of the problem that has caused many refugees.

This can be done by resolving the conflict that has occurred in Afghanistan for so long (General

Assembly Voices Deep Concern Over Volatility in Afghanistan since Taliban Takeover,

Unflinching Commitment to Afghans, Adopting Resolution by Vote | UN Press, 2022).

Mediation between conflicting parties, and demanding parties to reconcile and take responsibility

for the crisis that occurred, and these parties are forced to work together to build a democratic

country, prioritize human rights to create political stability in the country. The international

community must continue to put pressure on the parties involved in the Afghanistan conflict to

bring peace to the country. So that a safe space can be created for refugees to be able to return to

their country of origin safely and securely. UNHCR and other related parties must continue to

monitor and assist returning refugees so that they can survive after returning to their country

(UNHCR, 2020).

As long as a stable and conducive situation has not been created, what can be done now is

to continue distributing humanitarian aid to the Afghan refugees. International actors as well as
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the international community can help UNHCR's efforts to provide humanitarian assistance,

according to the needs of refugees, this can be in the form of basic needs, medical care,

education, moral support and so on (Afghanistan Still a Grave Humanitarian Crisis, Senior Aid

Official Says | UN News, 2023).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the plight of the Afghan refugees is an urgent humanitarian disaster that

must be addressed immediately. Several variables, including foreign aggression, economic

instability, climate change, and the proliferation of armed organizations and civil wars, have

contributed to the current state of affairs. The situation has worsened as a result of the Soviet

invasion in 1979, following events, and the reactions of the United States and the Taliban. The

crisis has had both positive and negative repercussions on the economies, security, and resources

of the host countries. When it comes to protecting the rights of Afghan refugees, the United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been crucial in ensuring that they have

a place to call home, access to basic needs, and access to mental and emotional health treatment.

However, ending the conflict, encouraging peace and reconciliation, and preserving humanitarian

aid for those who have been displaced are all important to reduce the refugee crisis in

Afghanistan. The global community must cooperate to meet the urgent needs of refugees and

create circumstances in which they may securely return home.

 Angelique Felicia Yohanes (TP061650)
Bayu Purnama Adi (TP061094)
Christhoper (TP058846)

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