More Control for Afghans
January 31, 2007
The meeting of 23 countries agreed to new initiatives proposed by Afghanistan.
"Prominent among these were Afghan proposals for accelerated Afghanization of the national army and police, as well as in the area of economic development," a statement released by the
organizers said.
The promise to increase Afghan "ownership" appears to be a concession to pleas from the country to be allowed to play a greater role in spending billions of dollars of aid money.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told the conference on Tuesday that his government "continues to be bypassed by donor countries.
"Trusting Afghan institutions will be an important step towards breaking this cycle," he said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier argued that "considerable progress" had been made in Afghanistan, but admitted there were "shortfalls" in the reconstruction. He said it was essential to reform the Afghan security services and said he hoped that training of the police force, already undertaken by German experts, would soon be "Europeanized."
European Union member states are on Feb. 12 expected to formally endorse sending EU-badged police to Afghanistan.
No financial commitments
The conference's closing statement meanwhile gave no commitment about channeling more aid through the Afghan government.
The two-day meeting, held behind closed doors, assessed progress made since a conference in London last year when the international community launched a five-year plan, or "compact," to coordinate efforts in Afghanistan.
The body which oversees the plan, the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), was meeting outside Afghanistan for the first time.
The past 12 months have seen a wave of attacks by a resurgent Taliban, the fundamentalists who were ousted from power by a US-led invasion more than five years ago.
Adding to the country's problems, UN figures show that production of opium reached record levels in 2006, dashing hopes that farmers have been persuaded to switch to alternative crops.
Turning the tide
The donor countries insisted that advances had been made.
"Despite resurgent violence and record opium production levels, the JCMB has been able to oversee quiet but steady progress towards many vital goals," the statement said.
These included the creation of a mechanism to appoint civil servants, increased administrative support to the new National Assembly and the introduction of procedures to ensure greater transparency.
The UN representative to Afghanistan, Tom Königs, said the international community must move forward.
"As 2007 starts we have a window of opportunity to regain momentum," he said. "We have to turn the tide and to seize every opportunity in the coming months for more growth, for more effective governance."