Senior PIO: A belated Eid Mubarek to you and your families if I haven’t spoken to you already so far this year. We are very fortunate to be joined today by Chris Alexander, UNAMA’s Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan. Chris will be making a few remarks about the events of last year and then looking forward to the year ahead. We will take questions after Chris’s opening comments and with that I’ll hand over to Chris.

DSRSG: Thank you Aleem and Eid Mubarek to you all. It’s great to be with you in 2007 and thank you for braving the cold and the snow to join us at UNAMA. The start of a new year is an appropriate time to reflect on the achievements and challenges of last year and to look ahead to some of our shared priorities for this coming year.

Without doubt 2006 will be remembered as a challenging for Afghanistan. The story that we have all had to tell and the reporting that you have done has been dominated by the insurgency which has considerably slowed the pace of progress towards the goals Afghanistan has set for itself and the goals for which it has enormous international support. But, whatever the challenges, Afghan and international forces made some important progress in 2006. The job is far from completed, much remains to be done, but there is a clear picture as we enter 2007 with regard to the shape of the insurgency, the causes of the insurgency and the solutions for this insurgency.

One of the highlights of 2006 was the growth in the size and the quality of Afghanistan’s own national security forces – the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army. We in UNAMA believe that one of the keys to success on security in 2007 will be increased focus on the training and equipping of Afghan Security forces. We have also at the same time emphasised that overcoming and talking this insurgency will require not only a military and security effort, but a stronger focus on development; on improved governance; on regional diplomacy and on dealing with the very complex problem of the emerging narcotics industry in this country.

The most tragic aspect of this insurgency, of this violence, has been the toll this has exacted in terms of civilian casualties – in terms of lives of Afghans that have been ended, interrupted or ruined through injury by the violence initiated by insurgents and the violent conflict that obviously Afghan and international security forces are caught up.

Our position on this has been very clear and it will remain clear this year and in subsequent years. All parties to this conflict must do everything in their power to avoid the loss or injury to human life, without exception. The reality of this insurgency is that the number one target of the insurgent groups themselves has been innocent Afghan civilians. By our reckoning in 2006 there were 124 suicide bombings organised by insurgents and they resulted in the death or injury of hundreds of Afghans. The impact of these attacks on civilians is what leads us to term these attacks terrorist attacks and those responsible for them must be held accountable for the tragic loss of life that they have brought about.

But innocent Afghans have also perished as a result of military operations and we very much welcome NATO’s recent assurances that in 2007 they too will be focused on doing everything in their power to avoid losses of innocent lives. But our job is to remain close to the people of Afghanistan and we in the United Nations will remain absolutely vigilant in monitoring the humanitarian impact of military and insurgent operations on Afghanistan’s civilian population.

In 2006 there was some useful dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the issue of insurgency, on the cross-border nature of the causes of this violence. An important tri-partite commission, including the senior representatives of the military from both countries and ISAF met several times and intensified its work in 2006 and we saw real cooperation in road building with Pakistani support; in healthcare with Pakistani support, towards the eradication of polio from both countries.

But we also saw mutual recriminations expressed by both the Government of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the intensity and volume of the recriminations in some respects increased and grew louder during the year. This war of words, this rhetorical contest between two Governments, between two partners in this region must end. Pointing fingers leads nowhere, when what we really need, what Afghanistan most needs is constructive engagement and joint action to tackle a very serious security challenge.

I would draw all of your attention, at the beginning of 2007, to United Nations Security Council Resolution that bears the number 1267. The list of terrorist leaders established by resolution 1267 came into being in 1999. The only figures on this list in 1999 were Taliban leaders – this was before September 11 and this was quite a long time before any leaders of al Qaeda were added to the list. Resolution 1267 which has been renewed every year since 1999 requires all states to freeze the assets; or prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of the people appearing on this list. It requires all states to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of military equipment to these individuals. I don’t need to point out to any of you that resolution 1267 as it relates to the Taliban leadership is not so far being implemented. Of the 142 Taliban leaders on this list, only a handful have been captured, reconciled or their whereabouts otherwise established.

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani passed away in a military operation in December 2006 was one of the leaders on that list. But many other leaders of the Taliban remain at large and continue to organise, plan and carry out terrorist activities in this country and this region. One of our hopes for 2007 is that this year can be a time of improved implementation of what we consider to be a very important United Nations Security Council resolution 1267.

Above and beyond violence and terrorism, we look back on 2006 as a time of achievement, a year in which Afghans showed their determination to continue to move their country forward and achieved more in their villages, in their cities, in their institutions than is generally recognised around the world. The Afghan economy continued to grow at a strong pace. International institutions estimate growth in 2006 to have been from eight and fourteen percent. We do not have a final figure, but either way, it was strong, amongst the strongest in this region and in the world.

One of the prominent stories of 2006 was the emergence of the private sector – water bottling factories, more investment by global companies like Coca Cola, like Siemens, the growth of wireless networks and of the construction industry.

And all through 2006, a new National Assembly began to give legitimate voice to the concerns of ordinary Afghans, of Afghans who are engaged in, interested in, concerned about the future direction of their country. And let’s not forget the achievements that mean most to Afghanistan – the grassroots level – where most Afghans live. By the end of 2006, over 17,000 rural communities across this country had been reached by the National Solidarity Programme, one of the most successful rural development programmes launched anywhere in the world in past decades.

And let’s not forget that 2006 was the year of the Afghanistan Compact when the entire international community comprising over sixty countries, many prominent international institutions came together to commit themselves to five more years of unique partnership in the cause of Afghanistan’s transition.

What has been the UN’s role in all of this? To give you a few examples. In the past year UNICEF has helped nearly three million Afghan children with schoolbooks and other learning materials. The WFP has provided support and in many cases a real lifeline to over five millions Afghans suffering from droughts, flooding and other forms of food insecurity and vulnerability. UNHCR in Afghanistan has helped over 150,000 Afghans return home and has provided them with food and materials for shelter. These Afghans came back to the country, to the Afghanistan of 2006. This was after four million of their predecessors had returned, often into conditions of insecurity with which we are all too familiar from last year. They came anyway, they believe in the future and they have started to rebuild. The World Health Organisation has lead efforts to vaccinate millions of Afghan children against deadly childhood diseases, including polio.

UNAMA opened three new offices in 2006, two of them in the south and south-east of the country. All are helping us play a vital part in engaging more closely and more intensively with the communities and the population that matter to the future of this country.

Looking forward to the year ahead, UNAMA will continue the expansion of our operations into new provinces. We think that our presence with the Afghan Government, alongside civil society and NGOs can act as a catalyst for development and for stability.

Our overriding priority for 2007 is to strengthen the rule of law and to help the institutions of this country improve standards of governance. These issues have an enormous direct and indirect impact on development, on insurgency and indeed on Afghanistan drug trade and corruption. Continuing reform of the Ministry of the Interior and of the national police will be an imperative throughout 2007. As will be the strengthening of the Attorney-General’s Office and the courts system in general.

Without an Attorney-General and prosecutorial system that are professional, above corruption we will not see the rule of law established in Afghanistan. The good news is that thanks to new leadership and thanks to political will in the Afghan Government and in the international community these goals can now, quite probably, be achieved.

Another priority will be helping the Government to implement the recently launched Action Plan on Peace, Justice and Reconciliation. Many of you will have seen the launch of that action plan by President Karzai which we would count amongst the highlights of political life in the country in the past calendar year.

By this launch and by this speech, President Karzai and the whole Government have shown their commitment to recognise the suffering of victims of war and other human rights abuses from all the errors of conflict. They have also demonstrated that those responsible for human rights abuses in the past may yet have to face criminal justice in the future. And all of this is vital if we are to truly overcome a legacy of conflict and do our duty to victims and end the impunity, which continue to blight the lives of Afghans in many parts of this country.

In 2007 UN agencies, the whole UN family will very carefully, but very energetically continue the patient work of reconstruction and recovery. From building roads to building schools and from strengthening institutions to delivering humanitarian assistance. The United Nations has been in Afghanistan for fifty years and our commitment to Afghanistan remains absolutely solid. We are determined to build on the progress in 2006, to implement the Afghanistan Compact and to cement peace, stability and improvements to the lives of all Afghans.

Our message to the Afghan people and to the international community in 2007 is that Afghanistan cannot only weather the storm, Afghanistan can succeed. We look forward to continuing all of our work in close partnership with you and with the Afghan people in 2007.

Questions and Answers:

Question - DPA: You described 2006 as a challenging year but many people are saying that 2007 will be more violent and that the Taliban will increase their activities [inaudible]... secondly your comments on the Pakistani proposal to mine the border, what can the UN actually do to prevent this?

DSRSG: It too early to predict what the trend will be in violence in 2007. Remember last year almost everyone was wrong in their predictions. We do know that some of the factors driving the insurgency, making the insurgency worse, have not been addressed. Institutions inside Afghanistan are still weak and both inside Afghanistan and outside Afghanistan there are sanctuaries that support the insurgency. But we understand this insurgency much better as 2007 begins. Both the Afghan and international partners have very good information on how the Taliban is operating, on how Haqqani and his network is operating, on how Hiz-be-Islami and Hekmatyar are operating and that can help us no matter what in 2007. Our challenge and our priority in 2007 will be to make those responsible for initiating violence, accountable for that violence, for what they are doing. And look at the last several months, there has been significant decline in the number of attacks and security incidents in Afghanistan. Look at the number of suicide attacks in Kandahar compared to previous months. This is not just because of cold winter weather, progress is possible, and these networks are driving the insurgency are not omnipotent, they are very strong and with good cooperative work they can be defeated. Our messages for the two governments most involved in cooperation against the insurgency - Afghanistan and Pakistan - is to focus more on facts and necessary actions and less rhetoric point scoring on public statements. When someone makes a statement that Mullah Omer is living outside of Kandahar and has never stepped foot in Pakistan since 1995, this is not a true statement. It does not help us focus on reality and build trust. When someone says that there is an uprising of Pashtoon people against the government in Kabul, this not true. The support for Taliban in Afghanistan has measured as little as three percent. The truth is that these networks are operating in both Afghanistan and Pakistan that the leaders spend time in both countries and law enforcement and even military action is required wherever they are located.

Follow up question: what is your position on the fencing?

DSRSG: The fencing will not contribute to better security in either country in our view. In fact, the United Nations and most of the countries of the world are convinced that laying land mines is a very serous threat to the human security of the population that live nearby the places where the mines are laid. We regret the decision of the government of Pakistan to proceed with the laying of land mines and we call up on both governments to strengthening their commitment to cooperative solutions to the security problems that this region faces.

Question - VOA: (Translated from Dari) As you earlier mentioned that Taliban insurgents are operating and crossing both sides of the border and you also mentioned that out of 142 suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda members listed on the UN Security Resolution 1267, have not yet been arrested. Do you mean that these wanted leaders are in Pakistan and the government of Pakistan has not been cooperative in this regard?

DSRSG: The reason why so many are still at large because the lack of international cooperation yes. It because of insufficient capability to do the difficult work of locating and ultimately arresting these people that is required. Pakistan has taken steps against some of the people on the list and even arrested some of those on the list. And most experts would agree that others on the list were in Pakistan for at least part of 2006. We are calling on everyone to attach priority to this resolution, which means acting against these leaders wherever they are found. And Pakistan has given on many occasions the assurance that if these leaders are found in Pakistan action will be taken. We are all counting on them be true to that statement of intend. And in our view there is more work to be done in and around Quetta and else where.

Question - All India Radio: Pakistan has not signed the Ottawa convention, what can the international community do to stop Pakistan laying land mines on the border?

DSRSG: Those countries that still use land mines are on the minority in the world. Afghanistan is a signatory to the Ottawa convention and to the associated protocols. And I hope all the nations of world of the world can convince Pakistan and other countries that have not signed the Ottawa convention of the threat and danger to ordinary human beings that land mines presents. We also hope that Pakistan in future prefers collaborative and cooperative solutions to the security challenges that are agreed with Afghanistan rather than unilateral steps.

Question - Aina TV: (Translated from Dari) Achieving to peace and stability has other ways too and Afghanistan sees this in bringing [more] pressure from the international community on Pakistan to drop its support to the Taliban. The United Nations and UNAMA has always ignored it and did not address it. It means either the United Nations did not say that Pakistan is not supporting the Taliban or the United Nations does not take it seriously. What measure will you take in 2007 for Pakistan to stop its support for Taliban?

DSRSG: It is a very important fact. I said in 2006 on several occasions, that government of Pakistan is opposed to Talibanisation and that it will take law enforcement steps and even military steps against the Taliban. At the same time we read Pakistani newspapers, we watch Pakistani television; we know that there are people inside Pakistan and outside of government that support the Taliban. And we are very concerned by this, because these voices are supporting terrorist organisations that are causing insecurity and violence on a significant scale in Afghanistan. And we will do in our power to see that the international community supports Pakistan in standing against the Taliban network and other terrorist networks that are operating in Afghanistan. But Afghanistan cannot just sit and wait for the international to do something. There are ways that making the insurgency weaker that Afghanistan can control. Strengthening institutions particularly in the south and south east can help to overcome the insurgency, stronger police and army can help to overcome these weak opponents militarily and strong measures to arrest drug traffickers and drug related corruptions in the government can help to overcome the insurgency. So we in Afghanistan, the government of Afghanistan, the people of Afghanistan and UNAMA, we need to focus first and foremost on the factors we can influence, that we can change. If just wait for something to happen outside of Afghanistan, we may just watch the violence get worse. But I think you can also agree that United Nations in our reports, in our statements has been as frank and as clear as anyone describing the cross border nature of this insurgency. If not we can give you some reading materials!

Question - New York Times: Will the United Nations Security Council bring pressure on the Pakistani authorities to implement resolution 1267 in 2007?

DSRSG: One of the reasons I raised the 1267 resolution is that many of you may remember that the Security Council was here in Afghanistan towards the end of 2006 - in November. One the recommendations that you can see in their report, which is on the internet, relates to this resolution. And in the wake of that report, we have the responsibility to support the United Nations and the international community in updating and ensuring better implementation of this resolution. And let’s be clear, that some of the people on the list like Governor Muneeb, the Governor of Urozgan and Mullah Salam Rocketi have reconciled themselves. There are others, who are demonstrably important leaders of the violent extremist Taliban movement today who are not on the list and probably should be

Question - IRIN: There were three key issues 2006 – security, corruption and the booming drug trade. What measures will you take if these challenges remain unaddressed in 2007? What plans are in place?

DSRSG: Our shared objective is to improve the lives of the Afghan people. All of the things you describe make it harder and slower to do so. As the analysis of UNODC (United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime) and the World Bank has shown opium production does not make the population or the farmers rich. On the contrary - it makes them indebted, impoverished and intimidated. All of the factors you mention – insurgency, corruption and opium production also make Government institutions weaker. They undermine Government authority and they undermine civil society. So the answer is very simple. But, even if these dangers, these challenges are still with us in 2007, there is a very strong determination on the part of the United Nations and all of Afghanistan’s partners to find a solution. We can overcome these obstacles to development. Opium poppies are not growing very much in peaceful parts of Afghanistan where there is strong governance and rule of law. It is growing in the largest quantities where the Taliban is strong. Suicide bombings are not inevitable. We saw how some good police work in Kabul made them much less of a factor in this city. And we saw in early December how some success in Kandahar by Afghan institutions has made that city safer for the past month. There is no reason why we can’t have more success like this.

Question - Hindu Kush news agency (translated from Dari): As you repeatedly say, there are some people in Pakistan who are supporting the Taliban and he would like to know from you, as a UN representative why don’t you tell the United Nations to take action against the Pakistani Government to prevent them from supporting the Taliban. Will there be a decision by the UN to take any action against the Pakistani Government in 2007 in this regard? The second part of the question relates to some of the people who are in the 1267 list, adopted by the Security Council. Can you specifically say those names, who are those people?

DSRSG: We are the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. We are supporting a transition and nation-building in this country. We are encouraging all Afghanistan’s neighbours to be partners in building peace and stability here. The statements that I have made, the statements that Tom Koenigs has made, the reports we have issued, I think stand on their own merits.

On your question on the list, for example, Mullah Dadullah is not on the list and he is the most obvious candidate. But there are probably other candidates too.

Thank You.