18.05.09
From Coherent Policy to Coordinated Practice: Are We Delivering Coherently in Afghanistan?
Oslo, NUPI | 16 sider
The one-day conference ‘From Coherent Policy to Coordinated Practice: Are We Delivering Coherently in Afghanistan?’ was held at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, on 18 November 2008.
The conference was organised jointly by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), in collaboration with the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre (NOREF). The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded the conference and this publication.
This report is based on comments and discussions from the conference, and highlights the specific recommendations made. The conference took place under the Chatham House Rule. This report does not reflect the official policies or viewpoints of any of the institutions involved.
>> Summary
Window of opportunity?
The year 2008 was marked by an increasingly difficult political and security situation in Afghanistan. This is a crucial time for Afghanistan, and the international community and the Afghan government alike will need to change their ways to create a ‘window of opportunity’ for the international community in its search for more effective policies on Afghanistan. The Paris conference in June 2008, the strengthened UNAMA mandate and NATO’s comprehensive military plan presented in Bucharest in April 2008 could become key achievements: it is vital for international actors to convey a more unified message on strategies and actions for Afghanistan, accompanied by considerable will and determination on the part of Afghan institutions.
PRTs – a difficult concept?
Provincial Reconstruction Teams are a central element of the presence of the international community in Afghanistan. However, PRTs in Afghanistan operate under a range of different concepts and are shaped by the preferences of specific PRT lead countries. Policy guidelines from the lead nation’s capital assume as much importance, if not more, than those stemming from ISAF HQ in Kabul. This weakens mission coherence, in particular in relation to how reconstruction and development functions are carried out. The existence of PRTs also raises more fundamental questions: To what extent should military actors take on tasks associated with aid and reconstruction? Does continued insecurity in some areas provide justification for continued adherence to the PRT concept in more secure provinces? Does the PRT concept preclude a leading and pro-active role for the Afghan government at national and sub-national levels?
Donors: adding to fragmentation?
When donors insist on control over the strategies and disbursements associated with their contributions, this augments fragmentation in the efforts of international community. It makes it difficult for the Afghan government to get a good overview of the international community’s input to stabilisation and reconstruction processes, as well as reducing government power and control relative to international donors. This problem is amplified by the relatively minor sums of assistance that are channelled through the Afghan national budget or through Afghan government institutions. Moreover, many donors take a province-specific approach: the bulk of reconstruction and development assistance gets channelled to the province where that particular country is contributing military troops. This introduces inequality between provinces in Afghanistan, which again may have political repercussions, and in turn undermines the ability of the government to run national programmes. UNAMA has been mandated to work for greater coordination in the international community and to help to bolster the role of the Afghan government. However, UNAMA has experienced difficulties in obtaining the necessary resources, experts and leverage.
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