The case of Afghanistan: address by Karel De Gucht

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me, first of all, to welcome you at this seminar on security and development; the case of Afghanistan, which takes place at the right time. About a year ago, at the London conference, the Government of Afghanistan and the international community launched the Afghanistan Compact. It set out goals and benchmarks for development in Afghanistan, for the next 10 years.

Much has been achieved over the past 12 months. Parliamentary committees have been established. Provincial councils have started meeting in all 34 provinces. Reconstruction is set in motion. More than 7 million Afghan boys and girls are now able to go to school. Provincial Reconstruction Teams have provided the framework for programs to improve security, infrastructure and development.

However, great challenges still lay ahead. Allow me to outline seven points which urgently need to be addressed and which will be taken up in the course of this seminar, I presume.

First, ISAF, the stabilization force led by NATO, should continue its operation to provide security and stability, including in the most remote areas. Last autumn, ISAF's territorial scope has been extended to the entire territory of Afghanistan. NATO will continue to take up its responsibility and so will Belgium. But we should do so more and more together with the Afghan armed forces (ANA). A prerequisite is that the size of the Army increases. ISAF¿s mission includes Security Sector Reform and training and equipping the ANA. This is of key importance. ISAF cannot and should not stay for decades. Together we will have to work out an exit strategy for ISAF.

Over 300 Belgian military are currently deployed in Afghanistan. Most of them are providing security at Kabul Airport. Some are deployed in the German-led PRT in Kunduz in the North. We also provide transport for the ISAF mission. It is our intention to take the command of ISAF at Kabul Airport in October. Our task will also include training of Afghan units

Second, to bring security and stability to the Afghan people, you will also need law and order, and thus a good functioning police and judiciary system. That why we are also stepping up efforts on this front. In the course of 2007, the EU will deploy a civil crisis management mission to Afghanistan. Its main task will be to help develop of a self-sustainable National Police force. Also, the European Commission, active in Afghanistan for several years, is the main contributor to the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA). It will further increase its efforts to reform the judiciary system.

Third, reconstruction and development need to reach the rural areas and the day to day live of the Afghan people. We can only win the hearts and minds of the people if we can improve their lives, by building farm-to-market roads, providing electricity to remote villages, building schools and hospitals, and constructing irrigation systems. Infrastructure projects will have to meet the most urgent needs of the rural population, in particular in the East and the South. Too little has occurred in these areas because of security concerns. Paradoxically, the areas most at risk to the Taliban receive little development assistance. Civil reconstruction efforts need to be enhanced. NATO can not do this. Others can.

Fourth, we should improve the coordination between all actors, also in the field.   That has proven to be a challenge because of the many aspects and actors involved. The most appropriate organization to do that is the United Nations, which, I believe, should be more active in Afghanistan. That¿s why I am happy to learn that UNAMA is opening five additional regional offices in Afghanistan this year and more next year.

Fifth, it is extremely preoccupying that drug production in Afghanistan has increased substantially, despite efforts to fight it. Poppy culture offers easy money that can be used in financing terrorist activities. It increases dependence of farmers, reluctant to grow other crops or engage in other economic activity. We should device a better strategy and redouble our efforts. It can not be that we are stabilizing Afghanistan for the drug production to flourish. The fight against drugs in Pakistan and Turkey has shown that it is a war that can be won.
Sixth, it is the Afghan Government in the first place that is responsible for stability and development of the country and for the implementation of the Afghan Compact objectives, of course with the help of the International Community. It urgently needs to extend its authority to the more remote provinces, to tackle corruption and wage the war on drugs. There can be no stability and development without governance - good governance.

Seventh, there is also a regional factor. Three million Afghan refugees live in camps in Pakistan and one million in Iran. These camps are breeding grounds for extremist movements. Moreover relations between Kabul and Islamabad are rather stained, when cooperation is in both countries¿ interest. Afghanistan also needs to improve cooperation with its neighbors to the North: Iran, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. A major part of the narcotics trade makes use of routes through these countries.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

There can be no meaningful development without security and stability. But equally true, sustainable security and stability is dependent on development and real improvement of people¿s lives.

We will only be able to make a decisive difference when we manage to make progress together and on all fronts, in a substantial and simultaneous way: create security and stability, build law and order throughout the country, address the people¿s urgent needs by reconstruction and development programs and fight corruption and narcotics. That is our common task, our common challenge.

The international community will continue to support the Afghan Government in its responsibility to build an Afghanistan that guarantees the prospect of a life in peace and prosperity to its citizens.

Thank you for attention.