Address by Tom Koenigs, SRSG for Afghanistan, to the Security Council

14 March

I would like to thank the Council for this opportunity to report on the situation in Afghanistan during our deliberations concerning the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The written report of the Secretary-General (S/2006/145) describes key events of the past six months, together with proposals for adjustments to that mandate. My remarks will focus on developments since Under- Secretary-General Guéhenno’s last briefing to the Council, on 10 February, and on prospects for the Afghanistan Compact.

As the Council is aware, the London Conference on Afghanistan, which was held on 31 January and 1 February, reaffirmed the strong commitment of the international community to support Afghanistan for the next five years and beyond. In many respects, the benchmarks and time frames laid down by the Afghanistan Compact are as ambitious as, and even more wide-ranging than, those of the Bonn Agreement. By endorsing the Compact as the framework for international partnership with Afghanistan over the next five years, the Council recognized the mutual obligations and the discipline that is needed to ensure the implementation of that road map, which aims to improve the lives of Afghans.

It is already clear that two priorities will be essential to the success of that agenda. First, Afghanistan’s institutions must be strengthened on all levels to the point where they are effective enough to deliver basic services. Secondly, our strategy for tackling hard security challenges must evolve to meet outstanding threats.

As to political developments, the first months of work by the new National Assembly have demonstrated the promise of Afghanistan’s new institutions. Both houses have established rules of procedure and sector-based commissions. Security and development issues have been freely debated. On 27 February, the Wolesi Jirga decided to question and confirm cabinet ministers on an individual basis.

The coming months will test the ability of the Afghan Government and parliament to work constructively to adopt a new budget, agree on the composition of the new cabinet and forge a legislative agenda that reflects national priorities under the new Compact. An assembly of all provincial councils in Kabul in early March showed the determination of those elected representatives to deliver early results.

The political agenda is also increasingly focused on justice-related issues. President Karzai has indicated his determination to significantly renew Afghanistan’s Supreme Court. He has also agreed to launch the Action Plan on Peace, Justice and Reconciliation, together with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and myself, in the coming weeks. In the meantime, initiatives to deal with past crimes in Afghanistan are gaining momentum. In a much publicized case, a former head of intelligence in 1978 and 1979 was sentenced to death on 25 February 2006 by the National Security Primary Court for his part in the assassination of prisoners. The trial was closely followed by Afghans and was criticized for failing to conform to international standards of due process. It nevertheless illustrated the strong aspiration of Afghans to truth and justice with respect to the crimes committed over decades of violent conflict.

As to security developments, the bomb attack in Kabul directed against Meshrano Jirga Speaker and former President Mojadeddi two days ago illustrated the importance that Afghanistan’s enemies continue to attach to disrupting the democratic process by violent means. The attack was emblematic of national trends with regard to security, which continue to be a serious concern.

The winter months of 2005 and 2006 have witnessed a rise in insurgent and terrorist attacks and more sophisticated tactics. There has been a marked increase in the incidence of larger and more deadly explosive devices, including suicide bombings, particularly in the South and East of the country. The perpetrators of those attacks have shown a growing intent to target civilians, Government officials and reconstruction workers, such as road-builders. The recent kidnapping of four foreigners in Helmand province and an unconfirmed report of the Taliban claiming to have killed them are also of great concern in that respect.

The prevalence of such attacks in Farah, Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar and elsewhere points to the persistence and even consolidation of the command and control networks of Taliban, Al-Qaida and associated groups in the region. Any resolution of that challenge will require redoubled international efforts to dismantle terrorist structures that represent a common threat to the security of both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

There are also security concerns in provinces less affected by insurgency and terrorism. In Farah province, the senseless killing on 4 March of Afghan engineer Mohammad Hashim, a contractor to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, has shocked and saddened the United Nations family. In Helmand and Nangarhar provinces, large-scale poppy eradication efforts have encountered determined resistance.

At the same time, the Afghan Government has moved to address those threats both by policy and successful crisis management. At a seminar held in Kabul from 26 to 28 February, the National Security Council considered a blueprint for Afghanistan’s national security policy. It calls for fully functional Afghan security institutions addressing internal and external threats to peace and security in an integrated fashion, under civilian supervision, and on a fiscally sustainable basis.

Addressing security issues, the completion of security sector reform remains crucial to the peacebuilding process. The Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) programme has gained profile and momentum in recent weeks. In total, over 19,000 weapons have now been collected in all parts of the country. In Kapisa province, under the leadership of the Governor, a complete survey of those groups targeted for disbandment is being finalized, and that process will be repeated over the coming months in Farah, Herat, Laghman and Takhar provinces. Since the nationwide ammunition disposal programme began last year, over 30,000 tons of unwanted and dangerous munitions have been consolidated and destroyed. However, it will require strong and sustained commitment to meet the benchmarks for DIAG, munitions and mine action prescribed in the Afghanistan Compact.

The key development within the international military forces in recent weeks was the transfer of Regional Command South under Operation Enduring Freedom from a United States to a multinational brigade on 28 February in Kandahar. Once fully fielded, that force will feature robust capabilities from the armed forces of Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Australia and other countries, with a deployed strength of 6,000 troops in Afghanistan’s five southern provinces. That represents an increase of 50 per cent over previous levels and shows international resolve to meet the threat of terrorist-based insurgency.

Improved border management is also required to meet several key objectives under the Compact, from drug interdiction to revenue collection. At the Doha II Conference, co-chaired by the Governments of Germany and Qatar on 27 and 28 February, 21 States and eight international organizations reaffirmed their commitment to improved cooperation with Afghanistan on border security and border management. However, I remain concerned that the resources are not yet available to implement those proposals, including with regard to police and border police salaries.

The agenda before the Government of Afghanistan and the international community is a heavy one. Whereas the Bonn Agreement was centred on the re-establishment of legitimate national institutions, a key challenge under the Afghanistan Compact will be to extend the reach of Government at the local level. That will require security, development, civil society and private sector actors to be more present in areas not yet touched by recovery. It will require programmes that ensure the participation of Afghans in the development of their country, while meeting the needs of vulnerable groups and poor regions.

It will also challenge Afghanistan’s Government to make functioning institutions of justice and the rule of law more and more a reality in the communities in which most Afghans live. It will also require the implementation of Afghanistan’s new obligations to protect and monitor the human rights of its citizens.

Afghanistan can meet those expectations only by reforming and strengthening the Government institutions necessary to develop its human capital, harness the potential of agriculture and natural resources and set conditions for the emergence of a vibrant private sector. Enhanced regional cooperation in that regard is also essential.

The report before the Council outlines a number of proposals on how UNAMA, having completed its support for the Bonn process, can continue to play a role as a special political mission, providing advice to the Government of Afghanistan in particular with a view to further strengthening its State institutions. UNAMA would continue to be an integrated mission and to plan and coordinate United Nations humanitarian and development activities. As co-chair of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board to be established by the Compact, UNAMA would aim to promote Government visibility in international assistance activities and to advocate greater coherence of the overall reconstruction efforts. As the Secretary- General noted in his report, success in this endeavour will “also depend on the mutually reinforcing role and full cooperation of all stakeholders.”

As I mentioned earlier, it will be vital for the Afghan Government to extend its reach to underserved areas of Afghanistan. The proposals submitted for the Security Council’s consideration therefore include the possibility of a modest expansion of UNAMA’s field presence to accompany and support the Government in these efforts, subject, of course, to security conditions. The implementation of this mandate would require additional and sufficient security resources, including air and medical evacuation support.

As the clock of the Afghanistan Compact starts ticking, the first benchmark — the establishment of a clear and transparent appointments mechanism for senior-level civil service positions — will need to be met after six months.

By endorsing the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness last week, the Government of Afghanistan underscored the need to harmonize its efforts and those of the international community to ensure that our common vision for sustainable peace and development is realized in Afghanistan.

In closing, I would like to call upon the Afghan Government to do its utmost to meet the benchmarks set out in these documents and to encourage the international community to show continuing generosity and commitment in this next important phase of the peace process.