Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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07STATE152304 | 2007-11-03 02:16:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Secretary of State |
VZCZCXYZ0003 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHC #2304 3070237 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O P 030216Z NOV 07 FM SECSTATE WASHDC TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000 INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0000 |
UNCLAS STATE 152304 |
1. This is an action request. Below continues the resolution text of the resolution "The Situation in Afghanistan" from PART ONE of this instruction sent by separate cable. USUN is also instructed to use the points in para 3 in making our Explanation of Vote. 2. Continue resolution text: 27. Urges the Government of Afghanistan to continue to effectively reform the public administration sector in order to implement the rule of law and to ensure good governance and accountability at both national and local levels, and stresses the importance of meeting the respective benchmarks of the Afghanistan Compact, with the support of the international community; 28. Welcomes the formal establishment of the Senior Appointments Panel and the finalization of the revised Public Administration Reform framework and encourages the Government of Afghanistan to ensure appointment of officials as required by the Afghanistan Compact; 29. Encourages the international community, including all donor nations, to assist the Government of Afghanistan in making capacity-building and human resources development a cross-cutting priority; 30. Encourages the Government of Afghanistan to vigorously pursue its efforts to establish a more effective, accountable and transparent administration at national, provincial and local levels of Government leading the fight against corruption in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact, and notes with concern the effects of corruption with regard to security, good governance, combating the narcotics industry and economic development; 31. Stresses once again the need for further progress on a comprehensive judicial reform in Afghanistan, and urges the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to devote resources also to the reconstruction and reform of the prison sector in order to improve respect for the rule of law and human rights therein, while reducing physical and mental health risks to inmates; 32. Urges the Government of Afghanistan to address, with the assistance of the international community, the question of claims for land property through a comprehensive land titling programme, including formal registration of all property and improved security of property rights, and welcomes the steps already taken by the Government in this regard; (Economic and Social Development) 33. Notes the progress achieved in the elaboration of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, underlines the need to finalize the Strategy by early 2008, and urges the international community actively to support this process; 34. Urgently appeals to all States, the United Nations system and international and non-governmental organizations to continue to provide, in close coordination with the Government of Afghanistan and in accordance with its national development strategy, all possible and necessary humanitarian, recovery, reconstruction, financial, technical and material assistance for Afghanistan; 35. Urges the international community, in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact, to increase the proportion of donor assistance channelled directly to the core budget, as agreed bilaterally between the Government of Afghanistan and each donor, as well as through other more predictable core budget funding modalities in which the Government participates, such as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, the Law and Order Trust Fund and the Counter-Narcotics Trust Fund; 36. Invites all States, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations providing assistance to Afghanistan to focus on institution-building in a coordinated manner and to ensure that such work complements and contributes to the development of an economy characterized by sound macroeconomic policies, the development of a financial sector that provides services, inter alia, to micro enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises and households, transparent business regulations and accountability; 37. Encourages the international community to support the local economy as a measure for long-term stability and countering narcotics, and in this respect explore possibilities for enhancing local procurement; 38. Calls for strengthening the process of regional economic cooperation including measures to facilitate regional trade, to increase foreign investments and to develop infrastructure, noting Afghanistan's historic role as a land bridge in Asia; 39. Reiterates the necessity of providing Afghan children with educational and health facilities in all parts of the country, welcomes progress achieved in the sector of public education and recalls the National Education Strategic Plan as a promising basis for further achievements; 40. Recognizes the special needs of girls, strongly condemns terrorist attacks on education facilities, and encourages the Government of Afghanistan, with the assistance of the international community, to expand these facilities, to train professional staff and to promote full and equal access to them by all members of Afghan society, including in remote areas; 41. Expresses its appreciation to those Governments that continue to host Afghan refugees, acknowledging the huge burden they have so far shouldered in this regard, and re-minds them of their obligations under international refugee law with respect to the protection of refugees, the principle of voluntary return and the right to seek asylum and to allow international access for their protection and care; 42. Urges the Government of Afghanistan, acting with the support of the international community, to continue and strengthen its efforts to create the conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return and reintegration of the remaining Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons; 43. Welcomes in this regard the Tripartite Agreements between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran respectively; 44. Calls for the provision of continued international assistance to the large numbers of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons to facilitate their voluntary, safe, dignified and orderly return and sustainable reintegration into society so as to contribute to the stability of the entire country; (Counter Narcotics as a Cross-Cutting Priority) 45. Expresses concern about the second successive increase in the cultivation of opium, notes that opium cultivation, the related drug production and trafficking and the increasingly strong nexus between drug trade and terrorist activities by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and other extremist groups pose a serious threat to security, the rule of law and development in Afghanistan, urges the Government of Afghanistan, supported by the international community, to work to mainstream counter-narcotics throughout all the national programmes, and ensure counter-narcotics is a fundamental part of the comprehensive approach, commends the efforts of the Government in this regard, and urges it to increase its efforts against opium cultivation and drug trafficking, with the support of the international community; 46. Welcomes the efforts to date of the Afghan Government to carry out the National Drug Control Strategy and urges the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to take decisive action, in particular to stop the processing and trade in drugs, by pursuing the concrete steps set out in the Strategy and in the Afghanistan Compact and through initiatives such as the Good Performers Initiative established to provide incentives for governors to reduce cultivation in their provinces; 47. Calls upon the international community to assist the Government of Afghanistan in carrying out its National Drug Control Strategy, aimed at eliminating the cultivation, production, trafficking in and consumption of illicit drugs, including through increased support for Afghan law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, agricultural and rural development, demand reduction, the elimination of illicit crops, increasing public awareness, building the capacity of drug control institutions and creating alternative livelihoods for farmers; 48. Encourages the international community to increasingly channel counter-narcotics funding through the Government of Afghanistan's counter-narcotics trust fund; 49. Urges the Government of Afghanistan to promote the development of sustainable livelihoods in the formal production sector as well as other sectors, and to improve access to reasonable and sustainable credit and financing in rural areas, thus improving substantially the lives, health and security of the people, particularly in rural areas; 50. Supports the fight against the illicit trafficking in drugs and precursors within Afghanistan and in neighbouring States and countries along trafficking routes, including increased cooperation among them to strengthen anti-narcotic controls to curb the drug flow; 51. Recalls the outcome of the Second Ministerial Conference on Drug Trafficking Routes from Afghanistan, organized by the Government of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, held in Moscow from 26 to 28 June 2006, within the framework of the Paris Pact initiative, and therefore calls upon States to strengthen international and regional cooperation to counter the increasing threat to the international community posed by the illicit production of and trafficking in drugs; 52. Welcomes recent initiatives to promote border management cooperation in drug control between Afghanistan and its neighbors; ( Coordination and Monitoring/ UN) 53. Stresses the central and impartial role of the United Nations in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan by leading the efforts of the international community, and endorses the key principles for cooperation between the Government of Afghanistan and the international community as referred to in the Afghanistan Compact; 54. Acknowledges the central role played by the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board in facilitating and monitoring the implementation of the Afghanistan Compact, stresses the role of the Board to support Afghanistan by, inter alia, coordinating international assistance and reconstruction programmes and welcomes further efforts to provide appropriate high level political guidance and promote a more coherent international engagement; 55. Commends the continuing efforts of the signatories of the Kabul Declaration on Good-neighbourly Relations of 22 December 2002 to implement their commitments under the Declaration, and furthermore calls upon all other States to respect and support the implementation of those provisions and to promote regional stability; 56. Welcomes efforts by the Governments of Afghanistan and its neighbouring partners to foster trust and cooperation with each other, and looks forward, where appropriate, to increasing cooperation between Afghanistan and all its neighbouring and regional partners against the Taliban, Al-Qaida and other extremist groups and in promoting peace and prosperity in Afghanistan, in the region and beyond; 57. Welcomes the holding of the Afghan-Pakistani Joint Peace Jirga in Kabul, 9-12 August 2007 and the collective determination expressed at the Jirga to bring sustainable peace to the region, including by addressing the terrorist threat; 58. Welcomes the Ankara Declaration issued following the Trilateral Summit of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey held in Ankara on April 29-30, 2007, and expresses support to the continuation of this process; 59. Also welcomes the joint statement adopted by Foreign Ministers of the G8 with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan in Potsdam, 30 May, 2007 on the promotion of cooperation and assistance through mutual consultation and agreement, including follow-up projects in areas such as refugees repatriation and economic development; 60. Appreciates the efforts of the members of the Tripartite Commission, namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States of America and ISAF to continue to address cross-border activities and to broaden its cooperation, welcomes the participation of the Assistance Force, and calls upon the international community to support those efforts; 61. Emphasizes the need to maintain, strengthen and review civil-military relations among international actors, as appropriate, at all levels in order to ensure complementarity of action based on the different mandates and comparative advantages of the humanitarian, development, law enforcement and military actors present in Afghanistan, bearing in mind the central and impartial coordinating role of the United Nations; (Procedural References) 62. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly every six months during its sixty- second session on developments in Afghanistan, as well as on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution; 63. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-third session the item entitled "The situation in Afghanistan". End Resolution Text. 3. Begin discussion points: -- The United States is pleased to join the other member states who have co-sponsored this resolution on The Situation in Afghanistan. This resolution details the progress the Afghan people and the international community have made in the process of freeing Afghanistan from the oppressive Taliban regime and its terrorist allies who held the country hostage. -- We join in recognizing the Afghan government, the Secretary General, his Special Representative, the staff SIPDIS of UNAMA, and all of the forces participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Operation Enduring Freedom. Every element of the combined effort to support the Afghan people in their quest for peace and prosperity is essential. -- This resolution also underlines the significant challenges that remain in completing Afghanistan's transition to a prosperous self-dependent state. Foremost among those challenges are the security threats posed by Taliban and Al-Qaida forces wishing to reimpose their tyranny on the Afghan people. These security threats have been recently exacerbated by the growth of the narcotics trade, which fuels continued terrorism and criminal violence. -- In light of these continued threats, we call on the international community to maintain its commitments to Afghanistan, in particular to implementing the Afghanistan Compact, and, as appropriate, to increase contributions to NATO's ISAF mission. -- Effective governance will play a pivotal role in achieving stability. In particular, the United States is turning its focus to sub-national governance. We must help the Afghan government to deliver services, security and good governance at the local level, where most Afghans interact with their government. -- Despite enormous efforts by the Taliban and Al-Qaida, the international community has succeeded in helping Afghans establishing representative government. The Afghan economy shows continued signs of improvement. Afghan police and military forces are increasingly taking responsibility for establishing security for their own people. The Afghan government has restored the basic human rights of millions of Afghans previously held virtual hostage by the Taliban, notably women and children. Afghanistan is playing a constructive role in the region of South and Central and Asia with the potential to serve as a bridge in regional economic integration. -- The government of Afghanistan and the international community will succeed in establishing stability and prosperity if we maintain our commitments to the Afghan people. They deserve no less, having made their choice for freedom and against terrorism and oppression. End Points. RICE |