Extractives Policy Briefing (Avoiding the Resource Curse in Afghanistan)
Publisher: Global Witness
Date: 2019
Topics: Economic Recovery, Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: Afghanistan
Much hope has been invested in Afghanistan’s extractive industries as a potential source of development. Sadly, as Global Witness has documented, Afghanistan’s natural resources have often been more of a curse than a blessing, contributing little revenue to the Afghan government while incentivising and funding conflict for over thirty years.
To have any chance of avoiding the risk of the resource curse, the Afghan government and international donors urgently need to put in place a basic set of policy protections and muster the political will to enforce them. In support of this, Global Witness and Integrity Watch Afghanistan have published a policy brief with recommendations that intended to be both realistic and effective. There are no silver bullets, but these measures provide a roadmap which can increase the costs of abuses and help ensure Afghanistan's resources fulfill their promise rather than doing harm.