Key Messages
KEY MESSAGES FROM THE BRITISH AND IRISH AGENCIES AFGHANISTAN GROUP (BAAG) NOVEMBER 2006
Background
In January 2006 at the London Conference the Afghan Government and the international community reaffirmed their long term commitment to Afghanistan through the Afghanistan Compact(1) . At the conference the Afghan Government presented its Interim National Development Strategy, setting out its priorities for the next five years. The Afghan Government has articulated its goals in the Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Country Report 2005, and aims to achieve these by 2020(2).
Set against this background, the BAAG key messages reflect BAAG’s position as at November 2006:
1. The international community should remain committed to the re-establishment of Afghanistan as a peaceful functioning country which will adhere to international norms. The international community should therefore promote practical processes that will achieve this. These processes will include assisting with the provision of ambient security, promotion of the rule of law and the judicial system to underpin it, the development of national capacity and financial support until Afghanistan is in a position to be self-sustaining.
2. Due regard should be given to the safety of the Afghan population. There should be no impunity for those threatening this. The international and national military forces should respect the dignity of the Afghan people, their culture and custom, and only support legitimate processes(3).
3. Afghans should be in the lead in the processes leading to the rebuilding of their country and those involved should represent the tribal, religious, gender, age and ethnic mix of the country and, they should, in turn, have their rights respected according to the undertakings given by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
4. Reconstruction and development priorities must be agreed in consultation with Afghan civil society and should reflect the broader national development strategies. While stabilising security and building the state are clearly priorities, the needs of the poorest people of Afghanistan must not be neglected.
5. Aid should be delivered in an effective, transparent, accountable and co-ordinated manner, ensuring long term sustainability of reconstruction and development projects(4) . All participants in the rebuilding of Afghanistan should monitor and evaluate the intended and unintended effects of their work.
6. All initiatives should be grounded in sound knowledge and expertise and should aim to strengthen civil society in both urban and rural areas(5) . NGOs and CSOs should be involved in the debates on relevant issues affecting their work, including their changing role in the circumstances today. The ongoing commitment of national and international non governmental and civil society organisations (NGOs and CSOs) should be recognised and their safety given due regard.
7. Building the capacity of the Afghan institutions and developing human resources should be among the top priorities of the international community, including of NGOs. Urgent attention must be paid to improving the quantity and quality of primary(6), secondary and tertiary education and vocational training. Investment in education and human resources development should take into account the special needs of Afghan women and ensure their short, medium and long term participation in the reconstruction and development of their country.
8. Expatriates should be engaged only when they can provide added value and where it is not possible to recruit Afghan staff, and should carry out their tasks in a transparent and professional manner. Their role is particularly relevant when they have technical skills to impart that are in short supply. Training should be provided for Afghan men and women in the skills that the country needs in the medium and long term. All international personnel should either have experience of working in Afghanistan or be properly briefed before starting work and supported and monitored once they do. International staff should be impartial, and their employing agencies should be accountable to the Afghan authorities as well as to their beneficiaries and donors. Technical Assistance should be only funded where it can make significant contribution to the long-term development of Afghan institutions.
9. The return of refugees to Afghanistan should take place on the basis of informed choice and in conditions that allow for the dignity and safety of the individual. Commitment to support the communities that the returnees are rejoining should be maintained and voluntary returns should be phased and co-ordinated so that they match the local capacity to absorb them.
10. The needs of poor Afghan refugee communities who, due to security and political and economic instability in some parts of Afghanistan, have been unable to return home from neighbouring countries, should not be neglected. Until conditions are ready for their safe and sustainable repatriation, the international community, including the governments of the neighbouring countries, should continue to support them.
(1) For the Compact document and the Afghanistan Interim National Development Strategy go to: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1133773247211&print=true
(2) For the Afghanistan MDGs go to: http://www.undp.org.af/about_us/mdg_afg/mdg_afg.htm
(3) NGOs have developed a common position statement on civil-military relations (add link to BAAG/ENNA position paper on PRTs)
(4) The Afghan government and international community are committed to improving aid effectiveness - see Annex II of Afghanistan Compact
(5) This is outlined in one of the Principles of Cooperation in the Afghanistan Compact: “Build lasting Afghan capacity and effective state and civil society institutions, with particular emphasis on building up human capacities of men and women alike.”)
(6) the MDGs for Afghanistan include the target to “ensure that children, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”.
