War in the Treasury of the People: Afghanistan, Lapis Lazuli and the Battle for Mineral Wealth
Publisher: Global Witness
Date: 2016
Topics: Extractive Resources, Livelihoods
Countries: Afghanistan
The mines of the rugged northeastern province of Badakhshan are one of the richest assets of the Afghan people, an extraordinary national treasure that should be a powerful resource for development. Instead, as a two-year investigation reveals, they are a major source of conflict and grievance, supply millions of dollars of funding to armed groups, insurgents, and strongmen, and provide a tiny fraction of the benefit they should to the Afghan people. Without a coherent response, these mines – and others like them across Afghanistan – represent not just a lost opportunity, but a threat to the whole country.