KABUL - While challenges remain, Afghanistan is making progress in its political and security transitions, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš, told a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting in Brussels this week.

“My message is simple – I do not deny the challenges but progress is being made. The trajectory is in the right direction,” Mr. Kubiš, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told the NATO Ministerial Meeting in the Belgian capital on Wednesday.

“There is risk. There is volatility. Gains are indeed fragile,” he added. “However the fundamental elements to support stability in Afghanistan and the wider region, amidst the drawdown of international forces, are being established and consolidated, although not without temporary setbacks.”

Afghanistan is slated to hold Presidential and Provincial Council elections on 5 April next year. The Presidential poll will mark the transfer of power from one elected president to another for the first time in the country’s history. The political transition coincides with a security transition, with Afghan security forces being primarily responsible for ensuring the polls are held in a secure environment as they continue taking up security responsibilities from their international allies, who are ending their combat mission by the end of 2014.

The meeting in Brussels drew NATO Foreign Ministers and their counterparts from partner nations from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Those attending it included the acting Afghan Foreign Minister, Zarar Ahmad Osmani, and the Interior Minister, Omar Daudzai, as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Cathy Ashton.
 

Under a Security Council mandate, UNAMA is a political mission charged with supporting Afghanistan’s elections at the request of Afghan authorities and institutions, in addition to other mandated tasks. ISAF, which has been deployed in Afghanistan since the end of 2001, has a peace-enforcement mandate under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, and operates primarily in support of Afghanistan’s security forces. In 2003, NATO took over the leadership of ISAF.
 

Topics addressed by Mr. Kubiš in his remarks to the meeting included the role of human rights within the country’s security structures, technical progress in preparing for next year’s elections and the country’s regional relationships.

On the security front, the UN envoy noted that the fifth tranche of the country’s security transition was proceeding as planned, and there had not been a “catastrophic collapse of security some doomsayers had predicted” with the Afghan army and police increasingly stepping up to the challenge despite setbacks and a concerning rate of casualties.

“I am pleased to note that both Afghan institutions and their international supporters are increasingly recognising that it is not just the numbers of army and police personnel that matter,” Mr. Kubiš said. “Professionalism and sustainability are critical to legitimacy and effectiveness.”

He highlighted concerns from Afghans about how perceptions of impunity and a lack of the rule of law were fueling violence.

“As part of transition processes it will be important to help build best practice in terms of transparency, accountability and respect for human rights into the very core of support for Afghan security institutions,” Mr. Kubiš said, adding that a greater focus on civilian policing roles, including law enforcement functions, was welcome.

On the political front, he noted the establishment, under a legal framework, of Afghanistan’s three electoral bodies over recent months – the Independent Election Commission (IEC), the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) and the Media Commission.

Technically, the Special Representative said, there had been significant progress in preparing for the 2014 elections which meant that its planning and implementation was further advanced than any previous poll.

The country’s electoral authorities recently confirmed 11 candidates who can stand in the Presidential polls and another 2,713 for the Provincial Councils elections. An ongoing voter registration top-up exercise has seen over 3.1 million new voter cards issued to date, with one-third of these issued to women.

“I welcome NATO/ISAF’s support for Afghan security institutions lead in protecting these polls in helping ensure the safety of voters, election workers, candidates and international and domestic observers,” said Mr. Kubiš. “Security planning is again further advanced than previous elections and will be a critical element contributing to inclusive polls.”

“This requires realistic assessments and robust risk mitigation measures together with public awareness campaigns to instill pubic confidence,” he continued. “Security must not be hostage to political agendas on any side.”

In regard to Afghanistan’s regional relationships, the UN envoy stated that these will become more important with the drawdown of international forces in the country.
 

“I welcome recent positive signals from the new administration in Pakistan – the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Kabul last Saturday was an important demonstration of increased normalisation of relations,” said Mr. Kubiš. “A new tone is emerging amidst recognition that shared solutions are if mutual interest.”

He noted that Afghanistan's High Peace Council was received at the highest levels in Islamabad last week, adding that “there is now broad recognition that political solutions will be the key to sustainable peace, security and prosperity.”

In addition, he said, the promise of the recent talks on Iran’s nuclear programme can, if fully delivered, help create a more conducive environment for a peaceful and stable future in Afghanistan.
 

On the issue of security arrangements between the United States and Afghanistan – in the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which would set out a legal framework for NATO to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces after 2014 – the UN envoy noted that a recent gathering of the Consultative Loya Jirga overwhelming endorsed the need for the rapid conclusion of the BSA.

Related to that, Mr. Kubiš said new conditions put forward by President Hamid Karzai as he rejected the Jirga’s appeal to promptly sign the agreement took many by surprise and were met by dismay inside and outside Afghanistan.

“Yet we must not lose sight of the shared strategic interests of Afghanistan, the United States – and indeed the broader international community – in concluding an agreement,” the UN envoy said. “The hope is that shared strategic vision and objectives will, with patience and flexibility, guide both sides in the final stages of the process of reaching agreement.”

Over four days in late November, thousands of Afghanistan’s tribal elders gathered in the Afghan capital of Kabul for the Loya Jirga – a consultative grand assembly – to discuss the BSA. Such gatherings are a historic practice in the country and are convened to decide on important national issues.

According to NATO’s website, the ministers attending the Brussels meeting reiterated their commitment to continue to support Afghan security forces after 2014, and also called for a timely signature of the BSA.