Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework Conference was held yesterday, July 3 in Kabul with participation of representatives from Afghanistan and 57 other countries. The conference evaluated commitments of the international community towards Afghanistan and also Afghan government’s performance in meeting the conditions set at Tokyo Conference last year for receiving $16 billion aids after 2014. The conditions included combating corruption, improving good governance and development of infrastructures.

A day before the conference Afghanistan civil society organizations claimed that certain countries and the Afghan government have yet to fulfill their obligations in regards to Tokyo Conference. Fight against corruption, development of democracy and accountability against the international aid were among the obligations of Tokyo conference but have not been practiced so far, a representative of civil society said in a press conference in Kabul. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called upon the international community to discontinue providing financial assistance to Afghan government, unless the Karzai administration takes sufficient measures to improve the condition of the women in Afghanistan.

At the same time, the international community sees corruption as the greatest obstacle to development in Afghanistan and it has conditioned transfer of its fund to Afghanistan on the efforts that will be taken by Afghan government to tackle the corruption issue.

In July 2012, President Hamid Karzia’s ordered central ministries, prosecutors and judiciary to fight bribery, nepotism and cronyism by issuing a decree. In the decree, Mr. Karzai instructed certain key ministries and government bodies to take specific measures for elimination of corruption in them and report within a fixed deadline (in months) to the presidential palace. Almost one year has elapsed and it seems like the decree has remained only on paper as corruption has become more rampant than before.

Western countries have spent billions of dollars to support the counter-terrorism war and development and reconstruction in Afghanistan. They have been generous in pouring their money inside Afghanistan. Nonetheless, after eleven years, although somewhat development has taken place in almost all sectors, outcomes of the heaps of money spent here are neither satisfactory to Afghan people nor to the Western tax payers.

Seeing government’s performance over the last eleven years, it seems improbable that it will be able to tackle the issue of corruption, let alone bettering situation pertaining to women rights, good government, rule of law etc. Afghanistan might continue to maintain its position in the list of most corrupt countries of the world. With the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework Conference held in Kabul, it is yet to be seen how the donor countries will fulfill their commitments towards Afghanistan at a time when the Afghan government persists to remain highly grabbed by corrupt.