16 European Security and Defence Policy:
Policing and Rule of Law Mission in Afghanistan
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| Council Joint Action on establishing a policing and rule of law mission in Afghanistan
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| Legal base | Articles 14 and 25(3) TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 19 April 2006
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | 14-15 General Affairs and External Relations Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
16.1 As the preamble to the draft Joint Action notes, on 16 November
2005, the Council agreed on the Joint Declaration "Committing
to a new EU Afghan Partnership", which stated the commitment
of the European Union and the Government of the Islamic Republic
of Afghanistan "to a secure, stable, free, prosperous and
democratic Afghanistan as laid out in the Afghan Constitution
adopted on 4 January 2004 [14 Dalwa 1383]. Both parties wish to
see Afghanistan play a full and active role in the international
community and are committed to building a prosperous future free
from the threats of terrorism, extremism and organised crime".
16.2 Subsequently, on 31 January 2006, the Afghanistan Compact
(London) affirmed the commitment of the Government of Afghanistan
and the international community and established a mechanism for
coordinating Afghan and international efforts over the next five
years "to work towards conditions where the Afghan people
can live in peace and security under the rule of law, with good
governance and human rights protection for all, and can enjoy
sustainable economic and social development". The Afghanistan
Compact "supports the Afghan Government's interim National
Development Strategy (i-ANDS) which lays out their vision and
investment priorities. The i-ANDS reflects a process of national
consultation, underpinning the benchmarks in the Compact and the
targets set in Afghanistan's Millennium Development Goals".
16.3 Then, on 13 October 2006, the report of the Joint EU Assessment
Mission report presented to the Political and Security Committee
(PSC),[56] containing
an analysis of the situation of the rule of law in Afghanistan
as well as recommendations for a way forward to strengthen the
EU's contribution to the sector in Afghanistan and to make a strategic
impact, recommended, inter alia, that the EU consider contributing
further support to the police sector through a police mission,
and that a fact-finding mission be sent to Afghanistan in order
to explore further the feasibility of such a mission. That Fact-Finding
Mission was sent to Afghanistan between 27 November and 14 December
2006, and on 26 January 2007 the PSC and, subsequently, the Council
agreed that "the EU police mission to Afghanistan would provide
added value". The mission "will work towards an Afghan
police force in local ownership that respects human rights and
operates within the framework of the rule of law"; it should
"build on current efforts and in doing so it should address
issues of police reform at central, regional and provincial level".
16.4 Finally, on 12 February 2007, the Council approved the Crisis
Management Concept (CMC) for an EU police mission to Afghanistan
with linkages to the wider rule of law; and, on 23 March 2007,
the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1746 (2007)
which welcomed the decision by the European Union "to establish
a mission in the field of policing with linkages to the wider
rule of law and counter-narcotics, to assist and enhance current
efforts in the area of police reform at central and provincial
levels, and looks forward to the early launch of the mission".
The draft Joint Action
16.5 In his helpful 19 April 2007 Explanatory Memorandum, the
Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr
Geoffrey Hoon) says that, working closely with the European Commission,
its main tasks will be to:
a) Develop police reform strategy, including work towards
a joint overall strategy of the international community:
· support
the institutional development of a Ministry of Interior capable
of developing strategy and of managing the Afghan National Police;
· assist
the Afghan National Police in developing a national strategy for
criminal investigation;
· assist
the Afghan National Police in developing and implementing a national
training strategy;
· assist
the Afghan National Police in refining current approaches to establish
an effective border-management system;
· assist
the Afghan National Police in developing an internal affairs function
to improve their accountability function; and
· encourage
the development of an Annual Policing Plan.
b) Support the Government of Afghanistan in
coherently implementing strategy:
· monitor,
advise, mentor and train at the level of Ministry of Interior,
regions and provinces as appropriate in the fields mentioned above;
and
· support
the mainstreaming of counter narcotics.
c) Improve cohesion and coordination among
international actors:
· bring
under one chain of command as many actors as possible;
· use
the International Police Coordination Board and its Secretariat
as a major co-ordination mechanism;
· participate
in the coordination and facilitation of EU Member State assistance,
and where appropriate, other international assistance to the Afghan
National Police; and
· liaise
with Non-Government and Civil Society Organisations as appropriate.
d) Address linkages with the wider rule of
law:
· advise
on police-related criminal justice elements;
· advise
the Government of Afghanistan, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of
Interior and Attorney General's Office, contributing to overall
strategy; and
· assist
the Attorney General's Office's criminal investigations department
and criminal investigations police in order to create effective
cooperation mechanisms for professionally conducted criminal investigations.
16.6 The mission will be based in Kabul, the regional
command centres and the Provincial Reconstruction Teams led by
EU Member States and third states participating in the Mission.
16.7 Political control and strategic direction will
be exercised by the Political and Security Committee.
16.8 The Joint Action calls for a six monthly review
process in order to adjust mission size and scope as necessary,
as well as a full review of the mission by March 2010.
16.9 The Minister says that funding for Common Costs
(the European Union Planning Team Headquarters, in-country transport,
equipment etc) will be met from the Common Foreign and Security
Policy budget; a financial statement has yet to be prepared, but
the cost is expected to be around €40 million.
The Government's view
16.10 The Minister says that re-establishing the
rule of law is critical to Afghanistan's long-term stability but
progress has been slow:
"This is undermining the Government of Afghanistan's
efforts to establish its writ across the country and its ability
to demonstrate to the Afghan people that governance is improving.
"There is currently a window of opportunity
in the rule of law sector with renewed international engagement
from all major donors. The UK has contributed significantly to
the inception of and the planning for this mission. We have secured
priority for mentoring in key ministries — particularly
the Ministry of the Interior and the Attorney General's Office
— as well as the extension of the mission to the provinces.
We have also secured a mandate that makes the linkages between
police reform to the wider rule of law explicit, and that has
countering narcotics as a cross-cutting priority. The ESDP mission
will participate in the new International Police Co-ordination
Board — contributing half the staff of its Secretariat,
which will bring together all the international police donors,
the UN and the Afghan Government for the first time to co-ordinate
their efforts. In particular it will bring together the two largest
donors — US and EU — which should mean that the EU
and the US are in a strong position to push for the difficult
decisions on reform."
16.11 Turning to the other external participants,
the Minister says that
· the
US is the largest international donor to security sector reform,
in particular training and equipping the Afghan National Police,
and plans to contribute $11bn to security sector reform by December
2008. The US, he says, is also a major contributor to justice
sector reform, supports greater EU engagement and co-ordination
on policing and justice sector reform and have expressed an interest
in embedding liaison officers in the Mission to ensure linkages
between the EU and US efforts. "The US is also expected to
staff the other half of the International Police Co-ordination
Board Secretariat".
· the
European Commission, he says, aims to contribute €2.5 million
to support the Afghanistan justice sector including the development
of a national legal aid system and improvements to the appointment,
pay and conditions of judges and prosecutors. "The Commission
programme envisages strategic policy advice to the Supreme Court,
the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Justice, which
will complement the ESDP mission. Co-ordination arrangements with
the ESDP mission have been put in place in Brussels and in Kabul".
· the
UK has not committed personnel to the Afghanistan mission but
"will aim to secure key positions and double-hat our police
mentors in Helmand".
16.12 As to funding, on the basis of the expected
budget, the UK currently contributes 17% towards the Common Foreign
and Security Policy budget, making an expected cost to the UK
towards the Common Costs of about £4.6 million. "Funds
for UK secondees come from the Whitehall Peacekeeping Budget,
which is a call on the Treasury's central contingency reserve".
Conclusion
16.13 We are grateful to the Minister for having
written to us on several previous occasions in order to keep
us informed of the various stages of development of the mission
— a mission whose importance, in a very difficult and challenging
environment, is self-evident, and which we can but wish well.
16.14 We note that there is to be a six-monthly
review of mission size and scope, with adjustments as necesssary.
We would accordingly be grateful if the Minister would write to
us on the occasion of the second such review, with details of:
the final budget; any proposed changes to the mission size and
scope; and the next year's budget; and his assessment of the mission's
achievements thus far.
16.15 In the meantime, we clear the document.
56 The committee of senior officials from national
delegations who, under article 25 of the EU Treaty, monitor the
international situation in areas covered by the CFSP and, under
the general responsibility of the Council, exercise political
control and strategic direction of crisis management operations. Back
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