JANN

日本アフガンNGOネットワーク

Japan Afghan NGO Network

JANN Afghanistan Briefing Pack

 

Section 2. Post-Taliban reconstruction and peace-building overview

 

2.1 Bonn Agreement

(excerpt from AREU ‘A-Z Guide' August 2003 pp.15-16)

The Bonn Agreement is a roadmap for the re-establishment of permanent government institutions in Afghanistan. The Agreement also established a timetable for the creation of provisional arrangements until permanent ones could be put in place. The Bonn Agreement was signed on 5 December 2001 by representatives of various Afghan factions (excluding the Taliban) at the conclusion of the UN sponsored Bonn Conference talks on Afghanistan. The possibility of a meaningful implementation of the Bonn Agreement resulted from the fall from power of the Taliban authorities and their al- Qaeda allies at the end of 2001.

The Agreement lays out several processes through which power will be exercised and then transferred over time to a fully representative government selected through free and fair elections . It provides for the sovereignty of Afghanistan to reside first in an interim authority, succeeded by a transitional authority, and then ultimately by a nationally elected government.

 

2.2 Security Sector Reform (SSR)

(Christian Dennys)

The security sector reform (SSR) is divided in to 5 sections,

Area	Abbreviation	Lead Nation / Donor
Creating the Afghan National Army	ANA	US
Retraining the Afghan National Police	ANP	Germany
Reforming the judicial system	-	Italy
Disarming the Afghan Militia Forces (AMF) in the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Programme	DDR	Japan
Combating narcotics	Counter Narcotics (CN)	UK

 

The lead nation is the key donor and political representative of the International Community in that sector, however other countries and donors assist with programmes as well. For example, the US leads on the ANA, but is supported by the UK and France.

The development of the ANA and the DDR Programmes have both resulted in at least some positive outcomes. However, the reform of the ANP and the judiciary is seriously behind schedule because of a lack of reform of the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice respectively. Counter Narcotics has not been particularly successful, however the US has increased funding for this area and improvements may be seen over the next few years.

There are doubts that the ‘lead nation model' will continue. In DDR, Japan has moved from being the lead to being the ‘focal point'. This is in an effort to widen international participation, but also more importantly to allow a greater role for the Afghan Government.

 

2.3 Civil-Military Relations

(abridged from AREU A-Z Guide Aug.2005)

In a post-conflict reconstruction environment such as Afghanistan in which military, government and civilian organisations are all engaged in similar, related and sometimes overlapping activities, coordination and communication between actors is essential for the effective delivery and implementation of development programmes. To meet these needs, both international military forces in Afghanistan −Coalition Forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) − have dedicated units that liaise with the external community. ISAF and Coaltion units differ in focus and name, but they are both intended to ensure positive relations and clear information exchange with the military, the government, the international community, NGOs, civil society groups and ordinary civilians.

ISAF: Civil Military Cooperation, or CIMIC, is a NATO term ISAF uses to describe its civil−military activities. The ISAF Headquarters CIMIC office is divided into three sections: Planning, Operations and Liaison. At the same time, in order to promote open dialogue and information exchange with NGOs, ISAF established the Kabul CIMIC Centre “outside the wire” but within the walls of ISAF headquarters. In addition to the work done at CIMIC headquarters, the ISAF Kabul Multinational Brigade (KMNB) includes approximately twenty CIMIC units staffed by four to eight people. ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) outside Kabul generally include CIMIC officers who perform similar duties to their KMNB counterparts, although the extent to which they exist and operate within any given PRT is dependent on the PRT lead nation's approach.

Coalition Forces : within the Coalition Forces, civil−military relations are the responsibility of the Civil Affairs Directorate (CJ9). CJ9 has nine liaison officers based at headquarters who work primarily with government agencies to determine what type of security, training and general infrastructure development and support is needed. CJ9 does not have the same focus on civilian groups and NGOs as its ISAF counterpart (CIMIC). COALITION PRTs usually incorporate a Civil Military Operations (CMO) group of four to ten people who liaise with local populations and NGOs. The functions of the CMO groups vary depending on the security and needs of the area. CMO groups are not under direct lines of command from CJ9 at headquarters.

UNAMA: UNAMA has a dedicated civil−military liaison section with Military Liaison Officers (MLOs) at UNAMA headquarters and in UNAMA Field Offices. As well as communicating with the military about UNAMA's own operational efforts, MLOs also coordinate activities and information exchange between military and other non-military organisations. They are responsible for communicating and coordinating with PRTs, despite the fact that the military structures keep PRT planning and operations separate from their civil−military relations efforts.

NGO Civil−Military Working Group : since September 2004 this group has met fortnightly at the Ministry of Interior and has served as the only consistent forum through which the NGO community and military representatives interact. Announcements for the working group are distributed through a yahoo group email list.

 

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