Mr. President, Excellencies,

In light of the very successful Conference on Afghanistan held last week in Berlin, it is fitting that the Security Council should take stock of what has been achieved at the Conference, and what now lies before us in terms of capitalizing on the momentum gained in Berlin to complete the Bonn process successfully.

First, let me reiterate our deep thanks to the German Government for the outstanding preparation and organization that went into the holding of the conference. The leadership of the German Government in putting the conference together was absolutely critical to its success. SRSG Arnault, UNAMA and we in the Secretariat are extremely grateful for the very effective collaboration that we enjoyed with our co-chairs, the Afghan Government, Germany and Japan at all levels.

The achievements of the Conference are numerous, and I do not want to steal the thunder of the Permanent Representative of Germany by detailing them all. However, I believe that the Conference reasserted the unity of purpose and long-term commitment that have been a hallmark of the international community’s engagement in Afghanistan. The presence in Berlin of some twenty five Ministers and numerous other high ranking Government officials is a clear signal of the international community’s continuing resolve to assist the Afghan Government and see the peace process through to its completion, to a point when peace and stability are firmly established and economic development is on track.

The Berlin Declaration adopted by the participants provides a clear statement of vision for this remarkable partnership, and the proof of it was clearly offered by the very generous pledges that the Government received. The $4.4 billion committed for the current fiscal year was over 100% of the amount that had been sought, and the $8.2 billion dollars committed for three years represented 69 per cent of the funds requested for that period by the Ministry of Finance. Above all, this generosity suggests a level of continuing donor confidence in Afghanistan that is a credit to President Karzai’s leadership and his Government’s effective handling of the funds committed so far.

The Conference also approved a comprehensive Work Plan, annexed to the Declaration, providing us all with a blue print for international cooperation with the Afghan Government. The Work Plan, endorsed by the Afghan Cabinet, provides clear benchmarks and targets to be met across political, security and economic spheres over the coming months and years.

Also agreed in Berlin was a strong framework for regional cooperation in counter narcotics by Afghanistan and its neighbours. That agreement expresses the resolve of the region to combat the terrible threat that drugs trafficking poses to Afghanistan, its neighbours, and the world beyond.

In the margins of the inter-governmental Conference, two other important meetings were held. A meeting of Afghan civil society members provided a set of useful recommendations to the Afghan Government. Also, a donor meeting for the elections was held at which donors provided pledges of some $68 million against the needs of some $135 million for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held in September, in Afghanistan and the refugee communities in Pakistan and Iran. This result is significant in that it provides sufficient funds for critical start-up costs and procurement for electoral activities. The importance of raising the remaining funds required should not be underestimated, however. We hope that this early generosity also implies that donors recognize that the rest of the funding must be found soon, if the tight electoral timeframes are to be met.

Mr. President,

The achievements I have mentioned are truly impressive. However, their full impact will only be felt if we capitalize on the momentum of Berlin to ensure that the peace process receives the support it needs.

The tasks still facing Afghanistan remain daunting. I will not elaborate here on the huge challenges on the reconstruction and development front, except to stress, as some of my colleagues did in Berlin, that the ambitious level of growth and assistance sought by the Afghan Government would still only deliver a per capita income of US$500 by 2015. This is a clear reminder of how far Afghanistan has to go, of how important the timely disbursement of pledges can be, and of the work the Afghan Government must do to ensure that even these very meager expectations of a peace dividend are met.

The Conference also highlighted the challenge of combating what the Secretary-General has called “the rising tide” of the drugs economy. The 2003 opium production in Afghanistan, estimated at 3,600 tonnes/80,000 hectares, will represent a further increase above the already high 2002 figure that generated an income over half of Afghanistan’s national income. Turning back this tide will take a concerted effort and patience, but the immediate efforts of the Afghan Government on the eradication front must also be supported.

While not downplaying the importance of these challenges, Mr. President, I would nevertheless like to stress here the very pressing, short term demands that now face the country if Afghanistan is to achieve the next stage of the Bonn process, national elections. As SRSG Arnault said in Berlin, the response to the registration process so far provides evidence of the Afghans’ strong desire to participate in the political process.

In the Workplan annexed to the Berlin Declaration, the Government has undertaken to take a number of steps to help ensure freedom of expression and political organisation, a level playing field for political parties and their candidates, a neutral civil service and military, freedom of the press and equal access to it. At the request of the government of Afghanistan, we are prepared, jointly with the Afghan Human Rights Commission, to monitor closely the implementation of political rights across the country in the hope that this will increase opportunities and incentives to achieve these benchmarks.

However, the vast majority of Afghans remain convinced that above all, elections require prior disarmament. The fighting that broke out in Herat two weeks ago underscores the threat that factional rivalries pose to the exercise of credible, free and fair elections. If factional military forces continue to be a dominating feature of the political scene, they are bound to curtail the political liberties necessary for truly civilian politics and a credible election. They must not be allowed to do so.

Mr. President,

Without improvements in the security situation, the elections will be threatened. The Workplan provides for the intensification of DDR to encompass 40% of current militia, and the cantonment of all heavy weapons, by this June. Success in DDR will depend to a great degree on the leadership of the Afghan Government. It is now absolutely vital that this undertaking be achieved. This is in any case a long overdue project, and progress will boost the authority and legitimacy of the government and all those leaders who had committed themselves to its success. It also conforms with the legal requirements of the new political party law, which mandates the separation of political formations from their military wings as a pre-condition for their participation in the electoral process.

In this context, I would like once again to underscore the need for adequate international security assistance to assist the efforts of the Afghan Government, support the elections process and protect it both from factional threats and from attempts to oppose the process. The Afghan National Army will be able, hopefully, to involve itself in deterring factional violence – as it does now in Herat – and the supervision of heavy weapons cantonment - as it is doing today in Mazar-e-sharif. By June the newly trained units of the Ministry of Interior could also be deployed in larger numbers, to help create an environment more conducive to the free operation of parties and independent candidates.

The PRTs are also expected to continue to play a positive role in terms of facilitating DDR and deterring interference.

Nevertheless, Mr. President, Afghan and international security forces currently deployed in Afghanistan have limited capacity, and will be overstretched if they have to face the immense task of holding meaningful and credible elections across the country. To the requests most recently made by President Karzai, I would again add the voice of the United Nations in requesting NATO and the Coalition to increase the deployment of international forces and help the Afghan Government fulfill its commitment to the holding of free and fair elections. These elections must be a witness to the joint effort of all the international actors in the process, for we will all inevitably be judged by the quality of the outcome.

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