Let me first of all congratulate President Karzai, the Government of Afghanistan and the organizers of this Symposium on Security Sector Reform for taking such an important and timely initiative.

Important, primarily, because the restoration of security is still the number one concern of the people of Afghanistan. During the Emergency Loya Jirga, and ever since in meetings across the country, including the public consultations recently held by the Constitutional Commission, the issue of security and the need for the central Government to enforce it never fails to appear at the very top of the agenda of the Afghan population.

Important also because a number of very important upcoming steps in the consolidation of peace in Afghanistan depend on the establishment of an environment of security throughout the country – the Constitutional Loya Jirga in a few months, and, of course the holding of general elections next year. To be meaningful, both events require that Afghans should be at liberty to express their views, free of threat of violence, intimidation and pressure by anyone.

Important, finally, because the persistence of insecurity is – as historical experience has sadly demonstrated – the factor most likely to lead to widespread popular disaffection with the authorities, to playing into the hands of groups determined to undermine the Government by force and, ultimately, to drive the country once again into violence and chaos.

This National Symposium is also timely. Indeed, one year after the inauguration of the Transitional Administration in June 2002 – in other words mid-way through its mandate, which ends with next year’s elections – this is an opportune time for the leadership of Afghanistan and its international partners to take stock of efforts carried out to date, to take also stock of the shortcomings of the process and to take, collectively, the necessary decisions in order to ensure that the Government of Afghanistan can fulfill the mandate of the Bonn process and the high expectations that the people of Afghanistan have placed in it.

Much, no doubt, has been done in each of the five areas that comprise the security sector: witness the six thousand soldiers of the Central Corps of the ANA; the newly trained police who are graduating from the Police Academy; witness also the establishment of the counter-narcotics directorate and the formation of the drug police currently under way; witness the survey of the justice system carried out throughout the country under the authority of the Judicial Commission; and witness the recent inauguration of the Afghan New Beginning Programme facilities in Kabul and elsewhere, which will assist demobilized soldiers and officers in their transition to civilian life.

These are not small achievements. And many here can speak of the amount of effort, resources and dedication that has been invested in making them possible. I am certain that the presentations and the discussions in working groups that will take place today and tomorrow will provide many participants with a very valuable opportunity to discuss this multi-faceted undertaking and, as importantly, to realize the importance of committing themselves fully to supporting it. I trust that this Symposium will help Governors and Corps Commanders present here to develop, under the leadership of President Karzai, a common, a national vision of the way in which they can and must, in the coming months, fulfill their duty to enforce law and order in the provinces under their responsibility.

This is necessary. This is also urgent. Indeed, while progress in providing the Afghan Government with the tools to restore security has been substantial, the basic needs of the population in this respect remain largely unmet, and there is frustration and impatience throughout the country at the lack of tangible results.

This frustration and impatience are understandable. Indeed, as underlined by President Karzai, insecurity is still a daily reality in too many ways: armed attacks by extremist groups are an issue in several provinces; and we have condemned with particular vigour attacks including those perpetrated against Afghans employed by de-mining agencies in recent months. More widespread, unfortunately, are skirmishes between local commanders that continue to cause civilian casualties in many parts of the country where terrorism is no longer an issue. The North is a case in point, where in spite of the efforts of the Security Commission, clashes among bands of armed people continue to deprive many districts from the peace to which they are entitled. And the North is not the only place where such incidents continue to take place. Even more serious is the fact that from across the country we continue to receive daily reports of abuses committed by gunmen against the population – armed gangs who establish illegal checkpoints, tax farmers and traders, intimidate, rob, rape and do so – all too often – while wielding the formal title of military commander, police or security chief. Quite often too, these wrongdoers claim to be affiliated to political organizations or to prominent individuals who are part of the Government in the Capital or the provinces. As President Karzai and Minister of the Interior Jalali have often stressed, those who are nominally in charge of security should be the main offenders against the security of their fellow citizens is one of the most serious indictments of the current state of affairs in the country.

It is therefore not surprising that the population should consistently call upon the central Government and the international community to deliver it from the scourge of gunmen, to carry out comprehensive disarmament and to create an effective police, a strong national army and an impartial civilian administration, free from corruption and factional interests.

Let me say a few words about the issue of factionalism. In today’s Afghanistan, there are groups, organizations, leaders with different ideas, different projects, different histories and an aspiration to play a role in the national politics of this country. This is normal and this is good. We look forward to the earliest issuance of a political party law that will protect the right of these organizations and individulas to compete freely for the support of their fellow Afghans. And we know that the majority of Afghans look forward to the opportunity of general elections, which will apportion responsibility for the conduct of the nation’s affairs based on the standing and public service of parties and personalities who will run for office.

But a number of these groups and organizations are also armed factions. This is, of course, not surprising in the wake of a protracted conflict, but it is also unsustainable and unacceptable. As long as rival armed factions exist in Afghanistan, whether their basis is regional, ideological or both, a return to civil war and the destruction of everything that has been achieved since the establishment of the Interim Administration will remain a very real threat. It is a fact, and a sobering commentary on the current situation, that most Afghans and foreignors are still convinced that if international forces should leave the country tomorrow, Afghanistan would slip back into war soon thereafter.

There is one way, and one way only, to thwart this prospect: that the various armed factions that exist today fade away to be replaced by a national army and a national police – and an intelligence agency - controlled by national ministries, free of allegiance to any political group or personality.

Only such national security forces can consolidate peace. The guarantees of impartiality, which only they can provide, will be the main stimulus for full disarmament and demobilization. They will also provide the environment needed for all political groups to feel they can operate freely. They will provide the population at large with the reassurance that it can express its views in the Constitutional Loya Jirga and participate in the elections without fear of reprisals from those who, still today, count on their control of guns to keep themselves in privileged positions.

The Bonn agreement refers to the necessary consolidation of armed forces under the Government’s authority; the presidential decree of 1st December 2002 on the Afghan Army provides clear instructions on how to achieve this goal; over the past year, the Transitional Government has issued decrees requiring the separation of civilian and military authority and declaring illegal armed formations under political control. President Karzai has repeatedly appealed to you, Governors and Corps Commanders, to enforce these decrees. But very inadequate progress has been made so far and the popular clamor for the full nationalization of security agencies, for de-factionalization and demilitarization of the country continues to rise. The United Nations and the international community endorse these demands. We fully understand and support the right of Afghans to law enforcement without bias, without corruption, without exclusion.

Inadequate progress has been made in the establishment of national security forces, and the time has come to give new momentum to this undertaking. It is the obligation of the Transitional Administration under the Bonn Agreement, it is our common duty, to create proper conditions for a fully representative government to be chosen next year by the people of Afghanistan through free and fair elections. These conditions do not exist at present. And conditions will exist for the Constitutional Loya Jirga to be held as early as a couple of months from now only if tangible, visible, unequivocal steps are taken, which will demonstrate that the course towards the restoration of security is irreversible.

All of us – the Afghan authorities and the international community - will have to do more. President Karzai has restated his vision, already codified in numerous decrees. It is now up to all of you, together, to answer the call of your people who are anxiously pleading for more security, for more justice; your people who want respect for their rights, for their property, for their honour and for their dignity.

Together with Japan, the United Nations stands ready to assist soldiers and officers reintegrate into civilian life and looks forward with anticipation to the conclusion of the ongoing process of reform of the Ministry of Defence – the lead institution for demobilization. That reform is needed - and urgently - to enable that Ministry to lead the national army, which, as President Karzai and Marshall Fahim have repeatedly said, must be the only army in the country.

We will also continue to press for more international security assistance to be made available to Afghanistan while national institutions gather strength; and to call upon more member states to join the security sector reform (SSR) lead nations in providing training, equipment and funds to the new army, the police and the justice system.