本文原文为英文，首发于2021年9月15日中国日报（China Daily）
作者：程静，经士智库副研究员，西安电子科技大学外国语学院讲师；田士臣，经士智库创始人
纪念上合组织成立20周年的峰会将于9月17日在塔吉克斯坦首都举行，各成员国将主要讨论该组织在解决阿富汗问题中应发挥怎样的作用。美国自2001年以反恐为名发动阿富汗战争后的今天，该地区贫困激增、经济恶化，在这样的背景下这一议题显得格外重要。
占领阿富汗这二十年间，美国未能给阿富汗带来和平与稳定，更不应指望其他国家清理它弃之而去后留下的烂摊子。
然而，深受阿富汗战争影响的周边国家必须齐心协力协调政策，从而帮助稳定该地区局势。上合组织作为一个多边组织，其首要目标是打击恐怖主义和维护地区安全，因此在美国撤出阿富汗、塔利班重新掌权的情况下，上合组织必须斟酌其地区责任以及所能发挥的作用。
上合组织由八个成员国（中国、印度、哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、巴基斯坦、俄罗斯、塔吉克斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦）和四个观察员国（阿富汗、白俄罗斯、伊朗和蒙古）组成。其中包括阿富汗的近邻：塔吉克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、巴基斯坦，以及中国、印度、俄罗斯等该地区主要国家。这些国家对阿富汗局势深感忧虑，上合组织有望通过多边协商推动阿富汗政治和解。
7月，上合组织成员国外长发表联合声明称，将“继续协助阿富汗人民国家重建”，并将致力于“促进该国和平、稳定、繁荣的局面”。
中国国务委员兼外长王毅批评美国仓促撤军，称美国及其盟国有责任向阿富汗提供经济和人道主义援助，并表示中国支持“阿人主导、阿人所有”的原则，并呼吁邻国协助改善该国局势。
鉴于地区形势复杂，笔者认为上合组织应在以下方面发挥建设性作用。第一，上合组织应继续打击恐怖主义，维护地区稳定，加强处理阿富汗及周边地区安全问题的力度，并运用冲突预防机制确保地区安全。
维护地区安全原本就是上合组织的首要任务，该组织应进一步加强反恐体系建设，从而提高打击本地区三股势力（恐怖主义、分裂主义和极端主义）的能力。
第二，上合组织应发挥多边组织优势，促进阿富汗与主要邻国交流互动的机制，帮助阿富汗人民重建国家，恢复该国的和平稳定。成立于2005年的上合组织-阿富汗联络组尤其在这方面可以发挥重要作用。同时，需要指出的是，阿富汗应被作为其中的一份子积极纳入到该上合组织框架下的多边合作机制中。
第三，上合组织应联合国际社会共同为阿富汗提供经济援助，促进其经济发展。中国于9月9日宣布向阿富汗提供价值2亿元人民币（3096万美元）的人道主义援助，援助物品包括粮食、冬季用品、疫苗和药品等。
为帮助建立“阿人主导、阿人所有”的和解框架，上合组织需向阿富汗提供切实可行的重建支持，以解决该国面临的迫切问题，例如毒品以及新冠疫情的问题，并促进可持续发展。上合组织也应与非成员国一起帮助改善阿富汗的整体局势，推动阿富汗谋求发展。这一点尤为重要，因为阿富汗经济越是发展，越有可能趋于稳定，降低其对地区的安全威胁。
第四，上合组织应敦促国际社会让美国及其盟国为他们在阿富汗制造的混乱负责，同时反思更广泛和长期的问题。例如，美国以“反恐战争”为由，使得阿富汗政权更迭并占领阿富汗二十年，针对这样的现象，上合组织应积极探讨并制定尊重他国主权和自决权的新治理模式。在这一方面，上合组织的区域一体化模式很有可能能为新型的、灵活的超国家治理体系提供方案。
的确，阿富汗局势颇为复杂，并且上合组织成员国之间也在某些问题上存在分歧，但共同解决阿富汗局势符合所有上合成员国乃至世界的共同利益。为此，上合组织成员国必须齐心协力。
SCO crucial for regional security
ZENG YI/FOR CHINA DAILY
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit will be held in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on Thursday and Friday to discuss, among other things, what role the organization should play in addressing the Afghanistan issue, especially because the war the United States launched in 2001 has not only increased poverty but also reversed the economic development cycle in the country.
Since the US has failed to restore peace or stability in Afghanistan despite its 20-year occupation, it should not expect other countries to clear the mess it has left behind.
However, the neighboring countries, which have borne the brunt of the spillover effects of the US' war in Afghanistan, have to coordinate their policies and work together to help stabilize the situation in the region. As the SCO is a multilateral organization whose primary goal is to combat terrorism and safeguard regional security, it has to weigh its regional responsibilities and the role it should play now that the US has withdrawn from Afghanistan and the Taliban have returned to power.
The SCO comprises eight members (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), and four observer countries (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia). SCO member states include Afghanistan's close neighbors Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, and major countries in the region such as China, India, and Russia. And since these countries are deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, the SCO is expected to seek to promote political reconciliation in the country through multilateral negotiation.
In July, the foreign ministers of the SCO member states issued a joint announcement saying they will "continue to assist the Afghan people in their efforts to rebuild their country", and are keen on "making the country peaceful, stable and prosperous".
Criticizing the US for its hasty and chaotic withdrawal, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US and its allies have the responsibility to provide economic and humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, and asserted that China supports an "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" reconciliation framework and called on neighboring states to help improve the situation in the country.
In view of the complicated situation in the region, the SCO should play a constructive role in at least some aspects. First, the SCO should continue combating terrorism and maintaining regional stability, while making greater efforts to address the security issues in and around Afghanistan and using conflict-prevention mechanisms to ensure regional security.
Since the SCO has made safeguarding regional security one of its top priorities, it should further strengthen its anti-terrorism structure, in order to better combat terrorism, separatism and extremism in the region.
Second, the SCO should use its advantages as a multilateral organization to establish an integrated mechanism promoting interaction between Afghanistan and key neighboring countries to help the Afghan people in their efforts to restore peace and stability, and rebuild the country. The SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, established in 2005, could play a valuable role in this respect. There is also a need to include Afghanistan in multilateral cooperation mechanism under the SCO framework as a contributing country.
Third, together with the international community, the SCO should provide economic assistance for Afghanistan, so as to facilitate its economic development. On Sept 9, China announced 200 million yuan ($30.96 million) worth of humanitarian aid, including grain, winter supplies, vaccines and medicines, for Afghanistan.
To help establish an "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" framework, it is essential to provide practical reconstruction support for Afghanistan so it can tackle issues such as drug abuse and the COVID-19 pandemic, and promote sustainable development. The SCO should also work with non-member states to help improve the overall situation in Afghanistan, so the country can pursue development. This is particularly important, because the more economically developed Afghanistan is, the lower will be its security threat in the region.
And fourth, the SCO should encourage the international community to hold the US and its allies accountable for the mess they have created in Afghanistan. It should also reflect on the broader and long-term issues. For example, since the US used its "war on terror" as a pretext to effect regime change in and occupy Afghanistan for almost 20 years, the SCO should discuss and work out a new governance model that fully respects the sovereignty and self-determination of other countries. In this regard, the regional integration model of the SCO could pave the way for a new, flexible supranational governance system.
True, the situation in Afghanistan is complicated and there are differences among the SCO member states on certain issues, but it is in the common interest of all the members and also the world at large to help address the Afghanistan situation together. And for that, the SCO member states have to make joint efforts.
Tian Shichen is the founder and president of the Global Governance Institution. He is also a China Forum expert. Cheng Jing is an associate fellow at the Global Governance Institution and a lecturer at the School of Foreign Studies, Xidian University.
