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Mr. President
Distinguished members of the Council

I am grateful for this new opportunity to brief the Council on the occasion of the extension of UNAMA’s mandate.

You have before you the report of the Secretary-General, which describes in some detail the recent developments in Afghanistan. Since the report was drafted, few new developments have taken place with the notable exception of the announcement last Sunday by the electoral authority of the date of the parliamentary and province-level election, namely the 18th of September 2005.

This was not, initially, our preferred timeframe and, as I mentioned in my last briefing to the Council on 10 January, we would have liked to be able to uphold last July’s decision by the Joint Electoral Management Board to hold elections this spring. However, the choice of electoral system made last month ruled out that option entirely, making mid-September, from an operational viewpoint, the earliest possible date.

Indeed, under the circumstances, the timelines do not provide any breathing space. Several thousand candidates are expected to run for the 249 positions in the Lower House and the provincial councils. This will make the vetting of these candidates in order to check their eligibility under the electoral law a very complex and lengthy exercise. Similarly, the anticipated large number of candidates compels the electoral authorities to allow for a considerable period of time for the design, production and distribution of ballot papers.

In addition, the holding of the election four months later than initially anticipated is not without several advantages. First, it means that the electoral campaign and the election itself will take place after the completion of this year’s poppy eradication campaign. A thorough counter-narcotics exercise in the most affected provinces will hopefully diminish the impact of drug money on the electoral process, and de-conflicting eradication and electoral campaign will have a positive influence on the security environment for the election. An election in September will also allow for more in-depth civic education of the public, candidates and parties alike, which in turn will enhance the magnitude and quality of participation. It will make it possible to put more and better trained police and army units at the disposal of the electoral process. It will give more time to complete the process of de-militarization that has gained much momentum in recent months. UNAMA and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission will soon resume their joint report on the exercise of political rights during the electoral process, which has proved to be a very useful tool to ascertain the political environment of the electoral process and to take corrective action when necessary. Last but not least, it will afford more time to prepare for the establishment of the future National Assembly. With France in the lead and UNDP support, work has begun to train over one hundred staffers with expertise in different aspects of the legislative process and administrative support to parliamentary proceedings. A conference is scheduled to take place next week in Paris to raise further funding for this important project.

On the issue of funding, I must take this opportunity to update the donor community on the financial requirements for the holding of the parliamentary elections, which are significant. The total budget needed is US$148.67 million. Savings from last year’s registration and election amount to US$16 million. New contributions have so far been received from the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US for a total amount of US$ 24.38 million. About US$110 are still required and I should be grateful for the Security Council’s support in urging donors to respond timely and generously.

As can be gathered from what precedes, the preparation of the parliamentary election offers, like the preparation of the presidential election before it, an opportunity not only to complete the political transition provided in the Bonn agreement but also to drive progress in several other key areas of concern such as security, the rebuilding of Afghan institutions, disarmament and the observance of human rights. We are keen to take maximum advantage of this opportunity.

With regard to security, the two roadside bombs that killed 6 and injured 31 last Wednesday in Kandahar were a reminder that while the security situation has improved since the presidential election last October, complacency in not in order, particularly for the United Nations since the two attacks were directed at UNOPS and WFP convoys. Protecting the life of UN staff will remain a priority for us, with the benefit of the strengthened security arrangements that have been put in place since last year.

It is hoped that a new initiative entitled “Consolidation of Peace” and aimed at allowing a number of rank and file Taliban and other fighters from extremist organizations to disarm and resettle in their communities can make a contribution to the reduction of violence this year. Professor Mujaddedi – former president and chairman of the Constitutional Loya Jirga – has just been appointed to head a national commission to oversee the programme. It provides for low and mid-level fighters to enter a reconciliation process under the responsibility of the provincial governors and community leaders. It does not offer, however, unconditional amnesty and does not apply to the worst offenders among Taliban commanders and other senior leaders from extremist groups, whose capture and prosecution remains a priority for international forces and domestic security agencies. For individuals whose status deserves special measures, reintegration will take place under close monitoring by security agencies. The design of the programme did raise some misgivings in the past, including that it was tantamount to selective national reconciliation, or that it would provide a cover for the resuscitation of the Taliban as a political force. With the current structure of the initiative, and with the oversight of the national commission headed by Professor Mujaddedi, I hope these misgivings will be allayed. UNAMA field offices stand ready to assist if need be.

Mr. President,

The agenda of the next nine months is a heavy one. It will place demands on all the human and material resources of the United Nations in Afghanistan, including those of UNAMA. The Secretary-General’s reports submitted to you this year have outlined the contributions of UNAMA and the UN family to the Bonn process in the political, institutional, humanitarian, human rights, economic and social areas. A summary description of the structure, objective, expected accomplishments and indicators of achievement of the Mission for 2005 is also contained in the Secretary-General’s report of 23 November 2004 on “Estimates in respect of special political missions, good offices and other political initiatives authorized by the General Assembly and the Security Council” (document A/59/534/Add.1). I hope that, on this basis, the Council will concur with the recommendation of the Secretary-General to extend the mandate of the Mission with its current structure.

For my part, I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Council for the confidence it has placed in the Mission during the past 12 months. This has been a very intense, challenging, often difficult, period when sensitive and controversial matters were decided. The knowledge that the authority of the Security Council was behind the work of the Mission has been a source of motivation and encouragement for all of us. I can assure you that the staff of UNAMA will continue to do everything in their power to fulfill faithfully the mandate that you entrust to them.

Mr. President,

Before I conclude, let me say a few words about an issue which the Security Council has put on our agenda since last year, namely the mandate of UNAMA once the electoral process is completed. As we prepared this year’s budget, we began to discuss, internally, a variety of options ranging from maintaining UNAMA in its current structure to returning to the regular operation of a UN country team. It is clear however that, as mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report, this discussion cannot be separated from the broader issue of the way in which the Afghan authorities and the international community will organize their cooperation in the future, taking into account on the one hand the anticipated successful completion of the political transition and, on the other hand, the obvious need for a continued strong compact between Afghanistan and the international community if the gains of the past three years are to be sustained. The features of this compact will certainly come into sharper focus as the Afghan government and cooperating countries look at the aid programs for the coming years. In this respect, the Afghan Development Forum from 4-6 April will be an opportunity to comment on these issues.

For our part, we are very keen to make sure that future international cooperation should not only take careful account of the lessons learned from the past three years of state building in Afghanistan but also benefit from the large pool of accumulated international experience – positive or not – with regard to peace building in other post-conflict countries. Our own deadlines for the formulation of the Mission’s budget for next year make it necessary that the issue of UNAMA’s role in post-election Afghanistan be resolved by this summer. We plan therefore to hold intensive consultations with the Afghan government and its international partners in the weeks to come, and hope to be able to report to the Council before too long with proposals that encapsulate the best options for effective United Nations support to the further consolidation of peace in Afghanistan.

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