United Nations Security Council Meeting on Afghanistan

Efforts to ensure the Afghan people's
continued support for the international community's military
engagement must also be strengthened, Eide said, noting that the
political costs of recent mistakes were simply disproportionate in
military gains. However, the United Nations claims that the clear
majority of civilian casualties were caused by the insurgency, not
the result of tragic mistakes, but of deliberate policy. "I am not
saying all this in order to present a rosy picture of the overall
situation in Afghanistan," Eide said, stressing that the ongoing
conflict seriously undermined the prospects for progress. The number
of security incidents had risen beyond the 1,000 mark for the first
time in May, having increased by 43 per cent over the first four
months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. There were more
incidents in parts of the country which had, up to now, been stable.

It was also clear that the fight
against widespread corruption was still only in its early stages,
Eide continued. Institutions were still weak, not only in human
capacity, but in physical infrastructure, especially at the sub-national level. Eide reported that six provinces still lacked
offices for their governors, only half the district governors had an
office building, and 288 lacked a vehicle. That impacted
tremendously on their ability to administer the country and deliver
services. "We must also have a perspective that goes beyond the
elections," Eide said, recalling the clear priorities set in Paris
and at The Hague conference.

Emphasizing the importance of a common
post-election strategy, Eide said there was a need for a vision that
would provide a clearer direction and guide efforts in support of a
new Government; a development strategy that would make it possible to
move forward in a more disciplined and coordinated way, and allow for
greater Afghan ownership; and a security strategy that would
accelerate the build-up of Afghan security forces and their role in
ensuring stability. Finally, there was a need for a political
strategy that would include a credible and inclusive peace process,
respect the rights of all Afghans, and bring the various parts of
society together. A credible and successful peace process could only
take place with a Government that enjoyed the people's support and
had confidence in itself. The same was true of the international
presence.

Turning to the United Nations
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Eide said expectations
were high for its multifaceted and ambitious mandate, adding that,
while he was grateful for the additional resources received last
year, the situation had evolved, even during the six months since the
adoption of the 2009 budget. With rising expectations and new
opportunities emerging on the ground, there was a need for more
resources to fulfill the donor-coordination mandate; to meet new
opportunities in capacity- and institution-building; and to expand
across the country, as requested in Security Council resolutions.

While UNAMA did not itself bring
financial resources, Eide said, a country-wide presence of the
Mission could serve as a magnet for other civilian organizations and
gradually draw development and governance efforts "out of the
military context and into the civilian context where they belong."
That could help facilitate an all-inclusive political process through
an improved civilian outreach program. Eide, therefore, appealed to
the Council to support the Mission in its urgent need for additional
resources.

In the mandate given UNAMA in March,
the Council had asked it to develop benchmarks for its activities,
Eide recalled. That work was under way and would be finalized in
time for the Secretary-General's next report in September. It was
not an easy task, since the Mission's efforts formed an integral
part of the efforts of so many others. It was also difficult to
establish the time lines and means to measure progress in political
processes, especially in a context as unpredictable and complex as
Afghanistan's. Nevertheless, consultations with partners were
under way, and Eide expressed confidence that the UNAMA would be able
to present the Council with a set of meaningful benchmarks by
September.

Zahir Tanin, representing Afghanistan,
stated that his country was nearing a "new beginning," recalled
that five years ago, Afghanistan had held its first elections after
decades of bloody power struggles. Despite continuing terrorist
activities by the Taliban and Al-Qaida, the country had made enormous
progress since 2001, and its people were ready to go to the polls a
second time. "This, in itself, is a huge success, and it reflects
the enduring Afghan support for the stabilization process and the
value of partnership between Afghanistan and the international
community," said Tanin.

The elections were less than three
months away and between now and August, Afghanistan and the wider
international community must act to ensure the transparency and
fairness of the electoral process, Tanin said. There was a lot at
stake and the Afghan people knew that the ballot was the only
feasible way to build on the positive progress of the past. To do
so, the elections must be credible and legitimate. The results
should unite the Afghan people, strengthen Afghan institutions and
provide momentum for ongoing stabilization efforts.

Turning to specifics about the
campaign, Tanin said the rules of the game had been defined by law.
The Government and relevant bodies were working to ensure that the
candidates received security, transportation and access to the media.
For the actual elections, the essential priority was to ensure
security so that people from all over the country would be able to
vote. To that end, the Afghan Army and national police would provide
the main security at some 7,000 polling stations throughout the
country, supported by a strengthened international force. In
addition, the Independent Electoral Commission, the Electoral
Complaints Commission and the Media Commission would be responsible
for providing information, logistics and oversight, guaranteeing
access to media for candidates and responding to the concerns of the
public.

Tanin stressed that, while the
elections had deservedly been at the center of attention for months,
the international community must remember that the vote was part of a
larger effort to promote change and ensure stability far into the
future. The coming months should reinvigorate the partnership
between the Afghan Government and the international community. "We
should use the elections to add momentum to the strategic shifts that
began this year and unify our approach, around [...] the need to
strengthen Afghan institutions and make them sustainable, and the
need to be increasingly responsive to the growing expectations of the
Afghan people, who want to see a tangible improvement in their
lives," said Tanin.

With some welcome strategic reviews by
the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
Tanin said, the past months had provided a timely opportunity to
review achievements and rethink strategies in different areas.
Afghanistan had grown from a country devoid of society, Government
and infrastructure to one with thousands of miles of roads, millions
of children in school, and accessible health care for some 85 per
cent of the population. At the same time, daunting challenges
remained to be adequately addressed, most importantly insecurity,
which was increasing rather than ebbing, with civilians continuing
disproportionately to bear the costs.

The Taliban had shown an increasing
disregard for human life, intentionally targeting civilians,
particularly women, children and humanitarian staff, and using
populated areas to stage attacks on international forces, Tanin said.
As the international force increased in strength during the summer
months, and insecurity worsened in parts of the country ahead of the
elections, everyone must be careful to avoid increasing the loss of
civilian life. Afghanistan applauded recent steps taken by NATO and
the United States to address those concerns, as well as the recently
announced rules of engagement and improved guidelines for the use of
air bombardment.

Efforts to meet development goals
remained fragmented, Tanin said, adding that poverty had increased
and unemployment was a major problem. Governance and the rule of law
remained weak and, alongside corruption, required sustained attention
from both the government and the international community.
Humanitarian and development aid should be better coordinated and
more accountable. Resources must be funneled towards building
government capacity because it needed lasting expansion of its
presence rather than the temporary expansion of the foreign presence.
The "civilian surge" would be the backbone of the national
effort to address many of those challenges, bolstering support for
national development priorities and programs in key sectors. It
would also help improve service delivery in provincial areas.

While the international community and
the United Nations had an essential role to play in the coming months
and years, Afghanistan also needed stronger cooperation with its
neighbors, Tanin said. "As has been widely recognized, this
conflict is not limited to the borders of Afghanistan, but involves
the entire region, and endangers people all over the world," Tanin
stressed. Afghanistan's enemies were not local, but regional.
They found sanctuary and support outside the country and a
comprehensive regional approach would be needed to combat them. The
Government had recently begun moving towards a more positive regional
interaction with Pakistan and Turkey.

Afghanistan had the opportunity to make
significant progress if it maintained its new momentum and focus over
the coming months, Tanin said. That would require broad and
consistent international engagement. If the Government could ensure
transparent and open elections, increase security for the Afghan
population, improve coordination and aid effectiveness, strengthen
institutions and constructively address the regional dimensions of
the situation, Tanin said, "we can clear a space on which to build
a strong, sustainable Afghanistan."

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