Mr President,
Success in Afghanistan requires the building of Afghan ownership. This must be done through strengthened and coordinated international efforts aimed at full implementation of the Afghanistan Compact. We believe the UN should play a stronger role. We welcome the expansion of UNAMA and commend SRSG Koenigs and his team on their work. UNAMA must be further strengthened and expanded so that it can play a strong and unifying role. Norway encourages the UN to continue its efforts to improve relations between Afghanistan and countries in the region.
The security situation in many parts of Afghanistan is better than it was last year. But there are signs of continued security challenges ahead. We are concerned when it comes to protection of civilians and the conditions for delivery of humanitarian and development assistance. Close cooperation between the Afghan authorities, UNAMA and ISAF will be required. International forces must continue to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties. All international efforts must be organised in a way that strengthens the Afghan Government and Afghan popular support for the international presence.
Mr President,
A number of countries have increased their contributions to Afghanistan. This is a positive development. Norway has increased its humanitarian and development assistance, and will this year contribute almost 75 million dollars. But we also have to improve the way we work together. The JCMB, ably and jointly chaired by the Afghan Government and UNAMA, contributes to better coordination. But coordination can only be effective if we are all ready to be coordinated. During the last JCMB meeting in Berlin, the Afghan authorities asked us to reduce the caveats on our assistance. Short term we need to focus on capacity building through joint efforts. But the long-term answer is to transfer control to the Afghan authorities, through the Afghan budget. The ARTF is a good vehicle for joint action, and we encourage donor countries to channel a substantial part of their funding through ARTF.
Mr President,
Progress on promoting participation of women is crucial for sustainable development. The Afghan Government and the UN must redouble efforts to ensure full implementation of the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.
Mr President,
There are signs that the opium production may increase further. However, it has been demonstrated that this trend is not irreversible. Opium production has been reduced in some provinces where there has been strong leadership on the part of the Governor and a good dialogue with traditional leaders, supported by the international community. We need to learn from and build on these success stories.
Strengthening law and order is key to stability in the long term. We welcome the EU’s decision to establish an ESDP mission, and we aim to make a substantial contribution to it. Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) is key to the security of the population, and to stability, and progress is long overdue. UNAMA has an important role to play, in particular through DIAG and dialogue with the Afghan authorities. Reform of the Ministry of Interior is pivotal, and we encourage the Afghan authorities to continue and redouble their efforts in this regard.
Mr President,
We believe that peace and justice go hand in hand. We underline the importance of full implementation of the Action Plan on Peace Reconciliation and Justice, in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact and the expectations of the Afghan people.
Thank you, Mr President..