KABUL - The outgoing top United Nations envoy for Afghanistan today stressed the need to reverse the negative trends in the country within the year or they will inevitably become “irreversible.”

Press conference transcript - UNAMA Photos

In his last press conference as head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Kai Eide noted that this year “will be the most challenging that Afghanistan faces since the fall of the Taliban and, I will say, a year where negative trends have to be reversed or they will become irreversible.”

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan pointed to Afghanistan’s political calendar, saying it is “very crowded with a Peace Jirga, the Kabul Conference and the (Parliamentary) elections on 18 September, and all these events will take place at the same time as a big military operation is under way.”

He pinpointed two events – the Peace Jirga and the Kabul Conference – as “having the potential of becoming unifying milestones,” while identifying the Parliamentary elections and the military campaign as “events and processes that can and will produce tension.”

“And, therefore, the election process must of course be prepared and implemented in a way that makes the 2010 elections… seen as better than the elections in 2009; and the military campaign must be conducted in a way that does not undermine the potential for a political process to get underway,” stressed the outgoing envoy.

Mr Eide also noted that while “decisive success within a year or two in a country marred by conflict is un-achievable,” the international community has to demonstrate to the Afghan people that “a durable solution is within reach.”

The envoy assured that the London Conference on Afghanistan at the start of the year “marked an introduction of a new phase, a transition strategy” for Afghanistan. He pointed out, however, that the success of the transition strategy all “depends on a change of mindset” on the part of the international community and the Afghan authorities.

The UNAMA head lamented that “there has been a tendency in the past to shape strategy and make decisions without adequate Afghan involvement” which, he said, the Afghan people found “disrespectful and humiliating.”

“Afghanistan is sometimes, I must say, seen and treated as a no-man’s land and not as a sovereign state, and this must come to an end,” he said, pointing out that this past practice gave Afghans a “sense of humiliation and feeling that Afghans do not have control of their situation.”

“A successful transition strategy really depends on our ability from the international community to listen more, consult more, and demonstrate greater understanding and respect for a society which is very different from ours. We need to understand the pulse of the Afghan society better than we do today,” urged Mr Eide.

The outgoing envoy also called on Afghan authorities to “demonstrate greater determination to assume responsibility,” as “there is still a tendency to push responsibility for difficult decisions on the international community and to avoid the main political challenges that face this society.”

“And that also has to come to an end,” urged the outgoing UN envoy who stressed that the Afghan government has to “fully assume responsibility for cleaning up its own house and shaping its own future.”

The Kabul Conference and the preparations for the Kabul Conference, said Mr Eide, will “represent an important test as to whether we are able to change our mindset and address key civilian challenges that we face today.”

Mr Eide then moved on to “a special issue of concern to me and the international community and many Afghans” – the recently signed decree concerning the Parliamentary elections.

“I have been in consultation with the President (Hamid Karzai) concerning the concerns I have and that the international community has with regard to this decree, and those consultations I have conducted on behalf of the international community. And the last conversation with the President was this morning,” related Mr Eide.

He said the discussions focused on three elements – the functioning and perception of the Independent Election Commission (IEC); the composition of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC); and the vetting process.

“I can say that we have made some progress, for instance, with regard to the participation in the ECC, and I made a number of other proposals concerning the other elements still under discussion. We have certainly not reached the finishing line,” said Mr Eide.

“I will continue these discussions until the day I leave Afghanistan,” he assured, pointing out that “the discussions we had also have implications on the scope and shape of international involvement in the Parliamentary elections.”

“I believe the Afghanization of the election process is the right way and the only way to go,” he added, even as he recommended a “broader review and reform following the Parliamentary elections.”

“Let me underline one thing: this cannot and should not be a discussion only between the international community and the President of Afghanistan. It should be as much or even more a discussion among Afghans, the Government, the Parliament and civil society.”

Looking back on his two-year term, Mr Eide said he believed UNAMA had “strengthened coordination” with the Afghan government, and that the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) that he co-chairs had “moved from a discussion forum to a decision-making body” under his watch.

“I believe there is agreement in the international community and also the Afghan government that we have restored our role as the main political interlocutor with the Afghan government on behalf of the international community. And we have moved away from the situation where each and every ambassador approached the President and Afghan authorities with a number of different views. There is a much great unity within the international community than there was two years ago.”

“I believe we played a critical role in addressing the issue of civilian casualties and the impact of militarization,” said Mr Eide, citing the change in the international military's tactical directives following UNAMA's pressure to better protect civilians.

He added that UNAMA had “strongly advocated a need for a political reconciliation process which has now moved to the top of the political agenda”; and that “we have a level of trust and confidence in many quarters that is today unique.”

“Despite the serious flaws in the 2009 elections, they were concluded without serious unrest and instability and with the Constitution intact – and I consider that to be an important achievement,” said the top UN envoy, pointing out that the UN “has strongly and successfully advocated a need for reform-oriented ministers in key ministries and a more strategic approach by the Government and a better setting of priorities than we saw two years ago.”

During Mr Eide’s leadership, the United Nations more than tripled UNAMA’s budget from US$ 75 million in 2008 to US$ 240 million in 2010. “That is an unprecedented budget increase for any UN political mission and reflects the view of the international community that we do play an important role and have restored our image as the main political interlocutor,” said Mr Eide.

“I do hope that 2010 will be the turning point I mentioned, and trends will be reversed this year, and we can see when we look back at 2010 that it was a decisive year in the history of Afghanistan and our overall efforts to solve the conflict in this country,” Mr Eide concluded.

By Aurora V. Alambra, UNAMA