Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-04-Speech-3-053"
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"en.20020904.2.3-053"2
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"Mr President, I should like firstly to congratulate Parliament on the ‘catch the eye’ form of debate we have just tested in practice. For a former parliamentarian, all these debates with planned speaking times have been a misery. Relief was at hand, however, and the delightful experience of real debates with spontaneous contributions in which people respond to each other instead of reading from pre-prepared scripts.
Seville gave high priority to adopting measures to promote an accelerated return to Afghanistan. In cooperation with the Commission and the Member States, the Danish Presidency will make efforts to comply with the Seville Declaration. I myself also had a meeting with Ruud Lubbers a short time beforehand.
There are still forces that are seeking to knock developments in Afghanistan off course. There are still various ethnic groups that, with the support of groups in neighbouring countries, do not believe that their own particular viewpoints are adequately represented. There are various warlords who, for long periods, have become accustomed to a high degree of self-determination in those areas they control and who have resisted the establishment of a central government. There are also different points of view as to how quickly and how far Afghanistan can move in the direction of a modern Islamic state with close contacts with the West.
The hope is that, by setting up a democratic process, opportunities will be created for solving these conflicts through political negotiations rather than through a return to the pointless fighting of the past.
The relatively encouraging development is also due to the fact that the international community has committed itself to Afghanistan. The United States played a decisive role in the rapid removal of the Taliban government through Operation Enduring Freedom. The American-led forces are still present in the country, combating the last remaining pockets of al-Qa’ida fighters. In and around Kabul, the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, is helping to ensure stability so that the interim government is able to operate.
The EU also attaches importance to helping promote stability in Afghanistan and in the region. The country must not again become a seedbed of terrorism and of drugs production. We wish to support the Afghan people in their efforts to secure peaceful development.
Together, the EU Member States contribute the larger part of the ISAF force and are the largest international providers of aid. The Commission’s and the Member States’ combined promise of aid amounts in 2002 to more than EUR 550 million.
Recently – or, more specifically, on 22 July – the General Affairs and External Relations Council adopted conclusions concerning the situation in Afghanistan. It was stated that, in dialogue with the transitional government, the EU would proceed on the basis of the key principles agreed by the Afghan parties and the international community. The principles are stated in the Bonn Agreement, the final declaration from the Tokyo Summit in January and UN Security Council resolution 1419. The principles include the formation of a broadly constituted, multi-ethnic and representative government, in which women too participate.
Through its special representative, Mr Vendrell, the EU is maintaining a close political dialogue with the government in Kabul and other Afghan parties. The purpose is to help developments proceed in the right direction. Dialogues are also being conducted with the countries neighbouring Afghanistan in order to ensure their cooperation.
International commitment to Afghanistan will in the last analysis depend upon whether the Afghan parties really make efforts to achieve the stated objectives. The EU will therefore attempt to promote a process in which, in partnership with the international community, Afghanistan’s transitional government develops verifiable criteria and monitoring systems in connection with the considerable aid that is being given.
The EU will promote the allocation of aid in a way that strengthens the central government and weakens those who are not involved in, or who are directly opposed to, the Bonn process. At the same time, it will be ensured that the population as a whole shares in the aid as a visible peace dividend. The financial situation in Afghanistan is characterised by a serious budget deficit, and the government will soon be in no position to pay out wages. Direct budgetary aid will therefore also be necessary to ensure political stability in Afghanistan.
Where Afghanistan is concerned, I should like firstly to draw attention to the fact that, a year ago, Afghanistan was a country in ruins, which initially suffered under an occupying power and a succession of warlords and then under an extreme Islamic revolution which forced through the de-modernisation of society and introduced mediaeval methods. Finally, the country became the domicile of fundamentalist terrorists.
The international community and the EU can therefore strengthen the peace process. Whether those steps in the right direction we are now witnessing in Afghanistan can be translated into genuine and sustained improvements of the situation will, when all is said and done, depend upon the Afghan people’s own desire to support the process that has been set in motion.
That is what makes it that much more significant and that much more of a pleasure to be able now – nine months after the Bonn process was set in motion – to report on a country in which the situation is gradually being normalised. There is nonetheless a long way to go before there can again be talk of a stable Afghanistan. There continues to be inadequate security in the country. In July, Vice-President Haji Qadir was killed openly in the street. Conflicts between local warlords continue, and serious infringements of human rights continue to take place.
The conclusion of the Bonn Agreement of December 2001 between Afghan groups under UN leadership marked the start of the positive development we are now seeing in Afghanistan. The Bonn Agreement lays down a process for the re-introduction of democracy. As a first step, an interim government was established which governed the country for six months until a hastily convened council of elders, Loya Jirga, met in June and appointed a transitional government headed by Mr Karzai who is to lead the country for two years until elections are held.
The convening of this Loya Jirga and the formation of the transitional government were essential steps forward. The Loya Jirga process and the regional and district elections showed that Afghans throughout the country have the desire and the courage to participate in the process of democratisation. Afghan women played a striking role.
There have been attempts to mediate in the conflicts in Afghanistan. If the Bonn process seems to be a success, this is particularly due to the fact that it is founded on traditional structures in the country, based upon the need to secure a broad representation of the various ethnic and religious groups. It is precisely the securing of representativeness and the protection of minorities that are the keys to long-term stability in the country. Afghan ownership is another code word. Even though the UN has operated as an essential catalyst in the process that is now developing, it has played its role with full respect and support for Afghan ownership of the process.
The re-establishment of an Afghan state that can secure unity, peace and stability in the country and guarantee the observance of human rights is absolutely crucial. Progress is slow and the transitional government still has difficulty controlling large parts of the country where, as a result, local warlords and bands of robbers have an easy time of it. Central to the efforts to promote security is the establishment of an Afghan army and police force in which the population has confidence and which operates with respect for human rights. In that connection, the EU has expressed great satisfaction with the setting up of Afghanistan’s National Defence Council. Just as important a factor is the state’s ability to deliver development, including access to health services. A large number of Afghan refugees have returned, and those who have done so need international aid to secure their permanent reintegration.
On the issue of the return of refugees, I am delighted to note that, according to the UNHCR, the situation in Afghanistan has now improved in such a way that the great majority of Afghans are able to return voluntarily without risking persecution.
I agree with the UNHCR that their return should be supported by relevant relief measures put in place by the international community and that individual Afghans should be offered ‘realistic repatriation packages’."@en1
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