Ottawa urged to slash aid to Taliban-led Afghanistan

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With Canada’s strategic interests in Afghanistan shrinking and new crises erupting elsewhere, the federal government should cut back on its tens of millions of dollars in aid to the Taliban-led country, urges an internal government document.

The Global Affairs Canada briefing note does suggest maintaining some funding in key areas like health, education and women’s rights. But it admits the decision risks being controversial.

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Given the deep interest in Afghanistan among some Canadians, “this could generate negative media interest”  if publicized, warns the document, obtained by the National Post through access-to-information legislation.

It recommends only a “reactive” communications strategy. Paragraphs in the memo detailing the amount of the recommended cutback have been redacted.

Such briefing notes are typically prepared by officials to inform ministers of the background and reasoning for prospective policy decisions.

Aid to Afghanistan has generally been a thorny issue since the Taliban took over in 2021. Canada and many other countries are anxious to avoid direct government-to-government contact that could legitimize a regime accused of numerous human rights abuses. No nation has recognized the Taliban administration diplomatically. Meanwhile, though, the country is facing severe humanitarian pressures, with the United Nations estimating that over 12 million Afghans are suffering “acute food insecurity.”

Despite the tumultuous environment and Canada’s refusal to recognize the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate,” Ottawa has provided $367 million in assistance in the three years since the group seized power, notes the December, 2023 memo to Ahmed Hussen, minister for international development.

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Much of that money has been for humanitarian, lifesaving aid, though Canada still provides limited development assistance, too, says the document. Ottawa also changed Criminal Code provisions on dealing with terrorist groups to make it easier for organizations to provide services there.

But the briefing note suggests this country’s priorities have changed.

“Going forward the strategic interests of Canada and our allies in Afghanistan have diminished,” it says. “Meanwhile, a shifting geopolitical landscape and crises elsewhere have placed new and significant pressures on Canada, politically and financially.

“As a result, a reduced programming footprint … is proposed, focused on education, health and gender equality in addition to humanitarian assistance.”

Global Affairs Canada did not respond directly to queries about how deep the recommended cuts would go or whether they’ve been implemented.

The department did provide an estimate for how much the government will spend in 2024-25 on development aid– which has accounted for a relatively small portion of the funding since the Taliban took over. At just over $25 million, the figure for this fiscal year is $10 million less than the average of the last three years.

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Despite challenges, “Canada has continued to provide development assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” said Global Affairs spokesman Louis-Carl Brissette Lesage.

He did not comment on how much Canada will spend going forward on humanitarian help.

A spokesman for a Canadian aid organization heavily involved in Afghanistan said he understands the fiscal and political pressures the Liberal government faces, but says he’s disappointed it chose to cut back on help for Afghanistan.

Not only does that country have “staggering humanitarian needs,” but Canada bears a special duty to the place, argued Martin Fischer, policy lead at World Vision Canada. Canadian armed forces operated there for over a decade – initially to help eradicate what was viewed as a terrorism threat – and the government has provided over $4 billion in aid.

What’s more, Afghanistan presents a direct challenge to the Liberal government’s self-proclaimed goal of pursuing a feminist foreign policy, he said. The Taliban has barred girls from attending school past Grade 6 and women from participating in most areas of the economy, while imposing harsh rules on their personal behaviour.

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“A country like Canada can’t do everything, everywhere all the time,” said Fischer. “But if there’s ever a place where values, historical obligation and interests kind of align, it’s Afghanistan.

“There is no place in recent history where not just Canadian forces but also civilians and diplomats were as present for as long as they were in Afghanistan.”

While Canada closed its embassy and cut off direct assistance to the Afghan government after the Taliban victory, it has since managed to provide critical support “without compromising our values,” says the briefing note. That included $143 million in humanitarian aid and $70 million in development aid in 2023 and $48 million in development aid in 2023.

Global Affairs says as well that 40,000 Afghans under threat from the Taliban were brought here, though the rescue effort has been heavily criticized.

Canada also has a special representative for Afghanistan based in Qatar, whose office co-ordinates with allies, deals with international and domestic “stakeholders” and “engages informally with Taliban representatives as needed,” says the document.

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Much of the Canadian money has been directed to the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund, a project of the World Bank, and the briefing note recommends reducing that sum. The remaining funding would concentrate on health, education, female rights and empowerment and humanitarian aid, it says.

The document notes that media commentators, human-rights groups and Afghan immigrants to Canada continue to press for more, not less, Canadian aid to the country.

“Should the reduction in the department’s international assistance to Afghanistan be publicized, this could generate negative media interest,” says the memo. But “the proposed approach is not expected to garner media and/or public attention. The department recommends a reactive communications approach.”

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