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AFGHANISTAN: New envoy to boost coordination and reinforce UNAMA

KABUL, 10 March 2008 (IRIN) - The UN says its “central” and “impartial” role in peace-building, development and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan will be reinforced by the appointment of the UN Secretary-General’s new special representative (SRSG) to the war-torn country.

“Under the new leadership, UNAMA [the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] will work with the Afghan government to accelerate the process of implementing the goals and objectives of the Afghanistan Compact and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy [ANDS],” Christopher Alexander, the deputy SRSG, told reporters in Kabul on 10 March.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has nominated Kai Eide, from Norway, as his new representative for Afghanistan, who will also lead UNAMA.

Eide’s terms of reference will be determined by the UN Security Council in agreement with the Afghan government, Alexander said. He will be the fourth UN representative in Afghanistan since 2002, succeeding Tom Koenigs whose term ended in December 2007.

The 59-year-old Norwegian diplomat has extensive work experience and held several positions in the UN, NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Reuters reported.

Coordinating international aid

UNAMA is mandated to assist and support the government of Afghanistan in its state-building and development efforts, and coordinate and harmonise international assistance to the country, Alexander said.

Some aid agencies such as Oxfam International have repeatedly voiced concerns about very weak coordination and confusion among various national and international actors in Afghanistan. Some donors have also highlighted the need for improved coordination.

“There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen here; we have a lot of countries that want to help Afghanistan,” Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of State, told reporters in Kabul during a visit on 7 February, adding that the international community needed a coherent engagement in Afghanistan.

However, UNAMA said donors’ coordination was best reflected in their unwavering support and commitment to the ANDS - an Afghan blueprint for long-term development - which is yet to be meaningfully implemented.

“Coordination is not perfect, but it is wrong to say that there is no coordination at all,” conceded Alexander.

“It is easy to dismiss the work of 25 ministries and hundreds of development experts just with a single comment… But it’s unfair and it diminishes what is an important reality for 25 million people in this country,” he said.

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Theme(s): (IRIN) Aid Policy

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