U.N. Security Council Calls for Afghan Election Aid
23 August 2005
Encourages all to work toward successful outcome on September 18
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- The Security Council August 23 urged nations to give additional aid to close a $29.6 million gap in funding to Afghanistan for its upcoming elections.
In a presidential statement issued at the end of its first public meeting on the situation in Afghanistan in a year, the Security Council encouraged all Afghans, especially the candidates and their supporters, to work constructively to ensure that campaigning is conducted peacefully and without intimidation so that the September 18 elections can be held successfully.
The elections will mark the culmination of the political transition to a democratically elected government in Afghanistan.
The council condemned the increased attacks by the Taliban, al-Qaida and other extremist groups in Afghanistan over the past few months.
It said it is willing to consider renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) upon the request of the Afghan government.
U.N. Special Envoy Jean Arnault told the council that overall security and bringing extremist violence under control will remain paramount for Afghanistan before and after the elections. Other goals include strengthening the key state institutions of police, justice and civilian administration; bringing an array of reconstruction projects into a comprehensive development strategy; and eliminating the illicit drug industry.
"We are encouraged to see that the international community appears committed to work with the Government of Afghanistan towards an extended compact around some key benchmarks and timelines," Arnault said. "In the next phase, international financial, technical, and security resources will remain indispensable complements to the Afghan State's own political will and fiscal efforts."
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said that the end of the transition period will require enhanced efforts by the international community. The United States, he said, "will continue to work with Afghanistan's neighbors to strengthen its borders as well as reinforce regional cooperative efforts on security."
The Security Council's presidential statement, Bolton said, "demonstrates the United Nations commitment to fair elections in Afghanistan and to improving the security situation on the ground."
Commenting in a written statement submitted to the council, Bolton said that some key principles need to be continued after the elections, including "stocktaking, metrics, and mechanisms for accountability, a focus on better governance, capacity building and the sustainability of governmental institutions; and the fulfillment of the security sector reform goals as outlined in the Bonn Agreement."
The upcoming parliamentary and local elections are a credit to the steadfastness of the Afghan people as they struggle to emerge from the devastation of more than two decades of war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a written report to the council
Nevertheless, Annan said, "it is time for the security situation to be addressed resolutely" with military action carefully calibrated to ensure that it does not add to the population's suffering. The insurgencies' sources of funding, training and safe havens also must be effectively addressed.
"It is impossible to overestimate the importance of restoring security in Afghanistan" in order to sustain the peace process, the secretary-general said. While factional clashes are no longer a threat to national security, extremist violence has increased and "continues to thwart the basic aspiration of Afghanis who seek peace, stability and a normal life," he said.
Reconstruction and the country's pervasive illicit drug economy are also "truly formidable" challenges that will require long-term commitment from the international community, Annan said.
"The international donor community must resist the temptation to move on after the holding of elections," he said. "The international security partners of Afghanistan must continue their assistance until ... Afghan security institutions are fully established and functional."
Having established a transitional government, adopted a new constitution and held their first democratic elections, the secretary-general said, "the Afghan people have proved wrong those who deemed them unable to put behind them the destructive divisions of the past. With our help they can still surprise public opinion with their determination to embrace opportunities offered to them for the first time in decades."
For additional information, see Rebuilding Afghanistan.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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