United Nations Security Council Meeting on Afghanistan

The United Nations Security Council is
meeting today to address the Secretary-General's report of the on the
situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace
and security. The Secretary-General's report was issued pursuant to
resolution 1868 which calls for an update on Afghanistan developments
every three months.

The Secretary-General's report under
consideration by the Security Council states that the first six
months of 2009 have witnessed the beginnings of three interlinked
strategic shifts in Afghanistan:

     1) Increased emphasis on civilian
efforts,

     2) A new focus on sub-national
governance and service delivery, 

     3) Alignment of international efforts
behind well-conceived programs.

According to the report, if the
positive trends it describes are sustained, there is a possibility
for a major improvement in the situation. However, these encouraging
developments coincide with a difficult overall political and security
situation. The report indicates that it will be "challenging to
maintain the positive momentum gained ... and if that momentum is
lost, the country will lose valuable time at best, and experience new
disappointments and setbacks at worst, leading to further
disillusionment among the public and the international community."

In the report, the Secretary-General
appeals to all members of the international community to "put their
full weight behind the positive developments in order to maintain
momentum through the complex period ahead." The coming period
will see, according to the report, an increase in the number of
international forces in the country, which are required not only to
contribute to security for the elections, but also to accelerate the
strengthening of the Afghan National Army.

Additional international forces will
mean a more intense fight against the insurgency, the report notes,
stressing the critical need for this fight to be conducted in a way
that weakens the terrorist threat and boosts popular support. In an
official United Nations release, it is reported that the
Secretary-General is profoundly concerned about the risk posed by an
increase in civilian casualties and by a type of military conduct
that alienates the population from the international community.
"More than ever, we need the solid and continued support of the
Afghan people for the presence of the international community in
Afghanistan, both civilian and military." Also of critical
importance is the need for the international civilian and military
presence to maintain its broad multinational character.

The United Nations Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA) must be given adequate resources to address
the strategic shifts, the report states. The Mission has eight
regional offices and 12 provincial offices, including two new offices
opened in May, and budgetary resources for three additional offices
scheduled to be opened soon. To have a presence in each province,
UNAMA needs additional resources, including security when necessary,
to establish 11 more offices. While the Mission has made
extraordinary efforts to use the additional resources made available
as efficiently and expeditiously as possible, it is clear that
increased resources are necessary.

Recalling that resolution 1868 (2009)
directs the Mission to develop benchmarks, the focused attention on
preparations for elections and on the Conference in The Hague has
made that task impossible to complete. It is reported that the
Secretary-General, therefore, proposes to include a finalized set of
benchmarks in his next report in September. It is envisaged that the
benchmarks would focus on broad areas reflecting the goals of the
agreed national strategies and drawing on UNAMA's mandate. These
include institution-building, security, economic and social
development, as well as cross-cutting issues that heavily influence
progress in other areas. It is envisaged that the benchmarks will be
results-based and not tied to target dates. Although UNAMA has the
capacity to monitor progress in some areas, responsibility to make
such progress rests with Afghan and/or international counterparts.

Kai Eide, Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Afghanistan, said the "present situation in
that country was certainly the most complex experienced for many
years, but if managed well, it could become a turning point in
efforts to bring the conflict to an end." The situation was complex
because so many processes and perspectives had to be kept in mind:
the need to ensure a credible election process, the result of which
could be accepted by the people; the need to stimulate promising
developments in several sectors despite the "noise" of the
election campaign and the intense fighting season; and the need to
look beyond the elections and shape a more focused agenda for the
next five years. That agenda would have to include a credible peace
process as an integral part of the overall strategy. In all those
processes, Afghanistan's institutions and people would have to take
the lead, with the international community providing support.

The August election was about more than
choosing Afghanistan's leaders; it was about strengthening peoples'
confidence in the democratic process and strengthening Afghan
institutions, Eide said. It was not only about who would lead, but
about the legitimacy of that leadership. All candidates had been
urged to campaign with dignity and fairness, and all Government
institutions and officials had been called upon to maintain
impartiality. Ministers and heads of security institutions had given
assurances of their determination to protect the integrity of their
institutions. Candidates had been called upon to avoid inflammatory
language and to conduct campaigns focused on their vision for
Afghanistan's future. "We need a campaign, not only about who
will lead the country, but where they will lead the country," Eide
said.

Eide said he had called on the
international community to avoid any interference, or appearance of
interference, in the election process. Nobody's interests were
served by disputed election results. Non-interference, a dignified
policy-oriented debate and total international impartiality were all
critical to the level playing field that everyone sought to
establish. Another element was the ability of candidates to conduct
their campaigns. There was a totally new momentum in the areas of
strengthening security institutions, reforming agriculture and the
private sector, improving revenue collection and internal government
coordination, and in developing comprehensive civilian
capacity-building programs.

However, Mr. Eide said his fear was
that the noise from the election campaign and the fighting season
would absorb so much energy and attention that it would overshadow
those positive trends, affecting the momentum. "If we do not
succeed in maintaining this momentum, then I am afraid we will
witness new stagnation and more disillusionment among the public."
The positive trends were mainly the result of more competent
ministries, but also of the international community's strong and
long-term commitment. "We must remain firm in that long-term
commitment, on which continued progress will depend. However,
progress also depends on a short-term ability to respond to new
opportunities," Eide stressed.

Turning to the international
community's involvement, Eide said there were some new and
promising trends. In particular, the review of United States
development policies was producing important results. The readiness
to support the new national agriculture program and the government's
plans for civilian capacity-building and for revenue collection was
welcome, as was a trend to support Afghan plans and priorities more
generously than before. That could represent a major shift and lead
to greater aid effectiveness and better donor coordination. The
shift in United States counter-narcotics policies, combined with the
new Afghan program for the development of alternative livelihoods,
could also have a significant impact on efforts to combat poppy
production.

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