KABUL - The United States Committee for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) today presented its annual Julia V. Taft Award to UNDP’s Afghanistan-based office for its exceptional work in helping the country to reconcile and rebuild after decades of conflict.

“UNDP’s Country Office in Afghanistan delivers the largest UNDP programme anywhere in the world,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark told a reception at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

“In doing so, staff face two key challenges. The first is the low, although slowly improving, capacity of national and local institutions that need to be able to implement programmes effectively and deliver essential services.”

But the second challenge, security conditions on the ground, often prevents UNDP from “being where it would like to be in the country to support capacity-building and programme delivery,” she said, citing four suicide attacks against UN operations in Afghanistan since 2009.

Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute and Chair of the Steering Group of the US Committee for UNDP, presented the 2011 award to Manoj Basnyat, UNDP Resident Representative (ad interim) and Country Director in Afghanistan.

“This is an honor that we share with our partners in the government and the international community,” Basnyat said. “This is a partnership that brings hope and optimism to the Afghan people. UNDP is working with the government and international donors to build up their future.”

UNDP’s programme in Afghanistan was approved with a budget of US$1.1 billion for 2010-2013, based on the Afghan government’s priorities.

In her speech to an audience of some 200 guests, Helen Clark cited a range of UNDP work, including training and support for the Afghan Independent Election Commission to organize free and fair elections and helping Afghanistan maintain its national police system.

The Administrator also referred to UNDP’s support to the work of provincial, district, and municipal governments aimed at ensuring their transition to full responsibility for delivering services.

Through small grants, UNDP also provides a bridge for former combatants between their first 90 days at home and the start of longer-term reintegration programmes.

The Julia V. Taft Award is presented annually by the US Committee for UNDP to a UNDP Country Office that has demonstrated the impact of teamwork to build a more democratic, prosperous, peaceful and secure world in a particularly challenging location.

The award was established in 2009 in memory of Julia Taft, an active member of the U.S. Committee before her untimely death from cancer in 2008. It was presented last year to UNDP in Haiti after the devastating January 2010 earthquake.

Remarks of Helen Clark

On the occasion of the Julia Taft Award Ceremony, recognizing UNDP Afghanistan
21 June 2011, 6:00pm

My thanks go to the United States Committee for UNDP for organising this Julia Taft Award Ceremony, and to the Embassy of Canada for hosting this event again.

Tonight’s award recognizes the UNDP Country Office in Afghanistan, and so it is appropriate that many of those who support our work there – including Afghanistan itself, the United States, and Canada - are represented here this evening.

I also express particular appreciation to the US Committee for UNDP and its Chair, Ken Wollack, for their tireless efforts to support UNDP’s role, including through this annual Julia Taft Award Ceremony.

While I myself did not have an opportunity to meet Julia Taft, I do wish to acknowledge the reputation she earned as a decisive and principled leader with a clear vision for her work.

The award which bears her name is made to a UNDP Country Office which demonstrates, as Julia Taft did, the difference which dedication and teamwork make in challenging locations - helping to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable people, and contributing to building a more democratic, prosperous, and peaceful world.

I am pleased that the UNDP Country Office in Afghanistan meets this description, and that the UNDP Resident Representative ad interim and Country Director in Afghanistan, Manoj Basnyat, is with us this evening. It will mean a great deal to all in the Country Office to receive this award.

UNDP’s Country Office in Afghanistan delivers the largest UNDP programme anywhere in the world. In doing so, staff face two key challenges which will be familiar to many in the room. The first is the low, although slowly improving, capacity of national and local institutions. To improve the lives of Afghans, local government and national institutions need to be able to implement programmes effectively and deliver essential services.

Unfortunately the second challenge, deteriorating security, often precludes UNDP being where it would like to be in the country to support capacity building and programme delivery. Recently access has become even more constrained, with higher levels of insecurity in what have been the relatively safe areas of the north and west of the country.

The UN itself is also a target of violent and deadly attack. It has been hit by suicide attacks four times since 2009 – with the last occurring in Herat, a location considered relatively safe until recently.

Let me mention here just a few examples of UNDP’s on‑going programme in Afghanistan.

With contributions from partners, we have worked to develop the capacity of the Afghan Independent Election Commission to organize free and fair elections. The leadership role which the Independent Election Commission was able to play in organizing the 2010 parliamentary elections was the outcome of significant growth in its capacity and confidence.

With huge contributions from partners, UNDP helps Afghanistan maintain its national police system – an indispensable instrument for establishing the rule of law. As a result, the Ministry of Interior is moving from paying salaries in cash to paying electronically. Seventy-eight per cent of the police force there can now be paid through electronic transfers to individual bank accounts. I thank our partners for supporting our work with the Afghanistan police since 2002.

UNDP also works to strengthen the capacities of provincial, district, and municipal governments, so that they can over time assume full responsibility for delivering services.

Then, through small grants, UNDP helps fill a critical gap for former combatants returning to their communities, offering them a bridge between the support provided for their first ninety days at home and when the longer term reintegration programmes kick in.
At UNDP, we are proud of the work our colleagues do in the very challenging circumstances of Afghanistan. We are delighted to see the Country Office recognized through the Julia Taft Award.

I now ask the Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Ajay Chhibber, to say a few words, before we watch a video and move to the formal awards ceremony.

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