Open
ended panel "Afghanistan: one year later"
organized by the General Assembly President
18th
November 2002
Session on political issues from 9 to 11 a.m.
Session on economic issues from 11 a.m. to 1p.m.
The panel
will be held in Trusteeship Council chamber
of the UN Conference Building.
Member
states, observer delegations, representatives of non-governmental
organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social
Council and accredited media are invited to attend.
The
General Assembly took a decision last Monday on a resolution
submitted by President Kavan after extensive consultation with
member states to hold the panel which will consist of 2 consecutive
sessions.
President
Kavan strongly believes that the panel discussion can enrich this
year’s activities commemorating the first anniversary of
the Bonn Conference and could lead the UN to specific conclusions
from post conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan, thereby providing
new recommendations for future UN activities in this domain.
After extensive
consultations with Member State, the President believes that the
majority of countries consider it very important that this panel
will attempt to find out what lessons were learned by the UN in
Afghanistan; give Member States the opportunity to discuss the
consequences of the decisions adopted by the UN and find out if
these decisions were implemented properly; specify what results
these decisions helped the UN to achieve and decide if and how
the UN needs to modify its humanitarian activities and economic
assistance in Afghanistan; and to clarify what else needs to be
done so that UN goals in Afghanistan can be achieved sooner and
more effectively.
The panelists
for the first session on political aspects will be: Mr. Jean
Arnaud, Mr. Amin Farhang, Mr. Barnett Rubin and Mr. Ahmed Rashid.
The panelists
for the second session on economic issues will be: Mr. Eric
Morris, Ms. Julia Taft, Mr. Mukesh Kapila and Mr. Bernard Frahi.
Panel
on "Afghanistan: one year later" Topics and Panelists
1) How
security, the political process, and reconstruction are inter-related
through the process of building institutions.
Panelist: Mr. Jean Arnaud
2) The
work of the constitutional drafting committee, the civil service
commission, the judicial commission, and the human rights commission,
as well as reforms in the various ministries.
Panelist: Mr. Amin Farhang
3) Preparation for election of the constitutional Loya Jirga,
the plan for voter registration, census, and election.
Panelist: Mr. Barnett Rubin
4) International
guarantees of independence, respect of territorial integrity and
suverenity of Afghanistan.
Panelist: Mr. Ahmed Rashid
5) Humanitarian
issues, return of refugees and internally displaced persons, the
drought, water, health, etc.
Panelist: Mr. Eric Morris
6) Efforts on how the government might continue to work as
a partner and the framework it laid out in this regard including
the Implementation group. Necessary ways and means for effective
public administration, capacity building and Afghan ownership.
Panelist: Ms. Julia Taft
7) Implementation
of the Tokio Conference. Role of donors and donor co-ordination
in supporting Afghanistan's recovery and reconstruction.
Panelist: Mr. Mukesh Kapila
8) A comprehensive
strategy to fight poppy cultivation and trafficking, and eradicate
the drug problem in and from Afghanistan, including introduction
of crops substitution and provision of viable livelihood for farmers.
Panelist: Mr. Bernard Frahi
Panelists
in alphabetical order
Mr. Jean
Arnaud
Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan
Mr. Amin
Farhang
member of the Afghan government; Minister of Reconstruction
Mr. Bernard
Frahi
head of the United Nations Regional Office for Drug Control and
Crime Prevention for Southwest Asia; and Representative of the
Country offices for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Mukesh
Kapila
former special Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary
General for Afghanistan; heads the British government Conflict
and Humanitarian Affairs Department, United Kingdom Department
for International Development (DFID)
Mr. Eric
Morris
Director of the UNHCR office in New York
Mr. Ahmed
Rashid
internationally renowned journalist and highly respected expert
on Afghanistan, correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review;
author of several books on Afghanistan including Taliban: Militant
Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia Yale University
Press.
Mr. Barnett
Rubin
author of several books on Afghanistan, including The Fragmentation
of Afghanistan (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995) and The
Search for Peace in Afghanistan (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1995). Professor Rubin was formerly the Director of the Center
for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations and
is now Director of Studies at New York University's Center on
International Cooperation.
Ms. Julia
Taft
Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Crisis
Prevention and Recovery, UNDP
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