Summary: September 4, 2002: Speech by The Rt. Hon. Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations, on Afghanistan, at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
I would like to thank Parliament for this timely opportunity to review the situation in Afghanistan. It is almost one year ago that the events of 11th September catapulted a country which the European Commission's humanitarian office had labelled a "forgotten crisis" at the beginning of that year into the limelight of world attention.
Since then we have witnessed remarkable changes for the better: the Taliban regime imploded more rapidly than some expected, leading to the installation of an interim authority which soon established its credentials around the world and even more importantly managed to develop a balanced relationship with its neighbors. In June this year, an Emergency Loya Jirga brought to power a Transitional Authority which has more democratic legitimacy than any of the previous regimes over the last two
decades. By and large, the Bonn process is on track.
However, there is still a pretty bumpy road ahead. As Afghanistan moves into the post Loya Jirga phase, a number of key challenges need to be addressed:
The most imminent is internal security or rather the lack of it. So far, President Karzai has found it extremely difficult to extend the authority of the central government to the regions. This challenge is linked to the difficulty of turning warlords into politicians. Some of them continue to thrive on drugs and illicit trade; some profit from their involvement in the Operation "Enduring Freedom"; others again are tempting to openly challenge the leadership of President Karzai.
In this fluid environment, concerted long-term international support to the central government is more crucial than ever. This brings me to my second point.
Unless President Karzai manages to show that the trust he generates among the international community generates in turn tangible economic benefits and improved security, he will not have very much to convince his rivals that he is the best man to lead the country through this difficult transition period. As the going gets tougher, he needs even more of our support. The Commission is therefore pursuing along with other donors - a two pronged strategy: delivering a tangible peace dividend to the
population as swiftly as possible, while ensuring that most of this assistance flows through the central Government.
In turn and this is my third point we do insist on the conditionality of our assistance. In a nutshell this means strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the Bonn process as well as to sound macro economic and financial management.
Let me turn briefly to the Bonn Agreement. The appointment of the Constitutional Commission is due very shortly. This Commission's work paves the way for the general elections due by mid 2004. It will have to make difficult decisions on the future centre-provincial structure, the question of secular versus Islamic society, gender issues and the role of minorities to name but a few thorny questions. This Commission together with the Judicial Commission will also have an impact on the dealings
with war criminal, both past and present. It will take time to find lasting solutions for many of these issues: the important thing, however, is that we see this country progressing, with our assistance, towards peace and long term stability.
But the need for steady long-term progress must not distract us from the huge and immediate humanitarian challenge. Since March this year, 1.5 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan under the UN repatriation programme. A further 116,000 have returned from Iran. This is an impressive number but it is creating a large problem for the aid agencies. At the same time, the number of internally displaced people remains high at 800,000, with 600,000
people having returned to their homes. This is largely due to the effects of the prolonged drought in the south and insecurity in other parts of the country.
The international community is now faced with additional demands both on the humanitarian and the security front bills which come on top of the 1.8 billion €/$ pledged for 2002 in Tokyo. In such an environment, it is important to get priorities right, since it is unrealistic to assume that all the additional funding requests are going to be met at once.
One such issue is the funding for the increased rate of return of refugees where some international agencies have claimed Europe has not been generous enough. As for the European Commission, we have more than doubled the humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan this year from 25 M€ initially earmarked at the beginning of the year to 60M€ at present. However, I believe it is a mistake to look at this issue in quantitative terms only. The foremost challenge is and this has been our line from the
start - to ensure that this summer's returnees do not become again this winter's refugees. Our interventions are therefore carefully linked to the overall sustainability of the return programme. For our rural recovery programme, the migratory flows are one important criterion for selection of area of intervention. Another important selection criterion is dependence on poppy production. Together with a few other donors, the Commission is leading in the debate on how best to develop alternative
livelihoods.
All these issues throw up one unavoidable conclusion: Afghanistan needs partners who are prepared for the long haul.
This, however, is not to say that there are no early achievements of our aid effort to point to. Let me give you a few examples from EU funded activities:
Under the Aid to Uprooted People's programme, the EC is funding the operation of 450 primary schools in Afghanistan around the country. Run by NGOs, this programme is done in conjunction with the government's Back To School programme. Equally, this budget line is supporting right now over 200 clinics, three district and three provincial level hospitals.
The EC's rural recovery and urban rehabilitation programmes are providing over 3 million person days of work this year alone - creating jobs which is what Afghans need and injecting cash into the economy (ALA and FS budgets).
Under a contract with Habitat, we are cleaning up five cities around Afghanistan, preventing diseases like cholera (ALA). These are Herat, Mazar, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Ghazni.
We are co-financing a massive mines clearing operations. In this country one of the most heavily mined in the world we still witness about 300 fatal incidents or Afghans being maimed per month. The EC's contribution helps to bring this figure gradually down, while offering long term employment to about 1000 local staff.
The EC is contributing more than any other donor to the operating costs of the government (50 M€ ALA budget and €2.5 m RRM). While less visible, these sums finance salaries of essential government servants, including nurses, doctors, policemen, teachers and civil servants.
Regarding performance, I am pleased to say that Afghanistan proves that the "reform of the management of the external assistance" produces results even under the most difficult of circumstances. Of the 120 M€ available so far for recovery and reconstruction, 100 M€ is already contracted. This figure does not include the € 45 million in Humanitarian aid under the ECHO programme already committed. Nor the further € 15 million due to be committed under the same programme before the end of
the year. I understand that the Parliament will vote on a "draft supplementary amending budget" for the remaining € 70 million pledge for 2002 on October 9/10. It is intended for further support to the public administration, for much needed infrastructure projects and for a primary health care package. Preparations for implementation of this programme are well advanced. I can assure this house that these funds will be put to immediate use once approved.
So we will have committed in Afghanistan this year, committed and largely spent, almost E250 million a good step forward in discharging our pledge to spend E1 billion over 5 years.
This is, of course, only possible because of the understanding of the budgetary authority the Parliament and Member States. But it has also been achieved because of the outstanding work done on the ground by our delegation and our Echo staff. I cannot speak too highly of their cheerful dedication and professionalism in very tough circumstances. I much enjoyed meeting them during my visit in May and look forward to making a return trip. We in the Commission have good reason to be proud of those
like our team in Kabul who do such a first-class job. They will, I know, work as well with our new experienced EU representative Ambassador Vendrell as they did with his committed predecessor Ambassador Klaiber.
I am determined to ensure that the European Commission remains fully engaged in Afghanistan even if world attention shifts to other places of conflict and post-conflict rehabilitation. Let me again thank the European Parliament for its very constructive attitude in dealing with additional budgetary needs to underwrite this commitment.
Thank you for your attention.
| Top |
European Union Member States
Alerts by email
Email this page
Print this page