OSCE’s Engagement With Afghanistan. Why is Afghanistan not a Participating State?

Abstract

Afghanistan has been through a crucial development stage since installation of Afghan Interim Administration (AIA) in December 2001. International organizations and the international community supported the country to change the life of the people and helped them to form an accountable government. This thesis attempts to discuss the role of international organizations and its effectiveness in promoting sustainability of government, strengthening the security situation, and improving human rights and the advantages of joining international organizations for Afghanistan. It also attempts to discuss OSCE’s perception as an international organization of Afghanistan, the challenges that Afghanistan faces for getting the pS status in the OSCE, and the reasons that Afghanistan is not a potential applicant for being participating state (pS). It will also discuss the cooperation level between OSCE as an international organization and Afghanistan. I will try to identify the existing barriers to Afghanistan becoming a participating State (pS) of the OSCE. I will compare the case of Mongolia that joined OSCE as a Partner for Cooperation one year later than Afghanistan in 2004 and became a participating State in 2012, while Afghanistan has remained at the same status for 14 years with no indication that it is expected to apply for and be admitted as pS in the near future. This prevents Afghanistan from getting the maximum benefit from the OSCE in all the dimensions that the OSCE works on.