The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released another shocking mid-year report of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. In the report, UNAMA has documented about 4,000 casualties in the first six months of 2019, showing a 27 percent decrease from the same period in 2018, but a 27 percent surge in civilian deaths in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2019. The majority of the fatalities have been caused by counterinsurgency operations and ground engagements between Afghan forces and the Taliban.
UN prepares regular reports on the protection of civilians in Afghan conflict since 2009, but it has failed to force the warring sides to abide by rules of war, and take necessary precautions to protect civilians. Over the last decade, UNAMA has only counted Afghan deaths. As an international organization, the UN’s responsibility is not just to document civilian casualties; it has got resources and means that can impel the belligerent sides to mitigate harm to civilians.
The United Nations needs not to limit its mandate in Afghanistan to only counting deaths. It should press all the parties to the conflict to respect Afghan people’s right to life. The international intergovernmental body representing all its member states can play a pivotal role in reduction of civilian casualties by brining pressure on the warring sides. It is right that the United Nations may not be able to hold Americans, particularly the Trump administration, accountable for civilian casualties, but it has enough potential to press Afghan sides of the war. Both Afghan government and the Taliban need UN’s help, and if it treats both sides with divisiveness, the situation can change significantly.
The UN’s responsibility is not deemed to have been fulfilled by merely counting civilian deaths; it has to take practical measures to prevent Afghan civilian casualties, thereby protecting persons taking no active part in hostilities from the scourge of war.