55 European Security and Defence Policy:
Policing in Afghanistan
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| Council Decision amending Joint Action 2007/369/CFSP on the establishment of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL AFGHANISTAN)
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| Legal base | Articles 28 and 43(2) TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 17 May 2010
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (31071) —: HC 19-xxxi (2008-09), chapter 3 (11 November 2009); (30100)—: HC 16-xxxv (2007-08), chapter 14 (12 November 2008); (29517) —: HC 16-xv (2007-08), chapter 7 (12 March 2008); and (28556) —: HC 41-xviii (2006-07), chapter 16 (25 April 2007)
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| To be discussed in Council | 17 May 2010 Agriculture and Fisheries Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
55.1 As recorded in the preamble to Joint Action 2007/369/CFSP,
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".
55.2 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 co-ordinating 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".
55.3 Against this background, and following two assessment
missions, the Council agreed to the establishment of the EU police
mission to Afghanistan (EUPOL Afghanistan), which would "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". This decision was subsequently endorsed
in March 2007 in United Nations Security Council 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".
55.4 The mission's detailed terms of reference and
modus operandi were also set out in Joint Action 2007/369/CFSP,
which the previous Committee cleared on 25 April 2007.[233]
In short, EUPOL Afghanistan was established on 30 May 2007 with
a three-year mandate; its role is to increase the capacity of
the Government of Afghanistan in the rule of law sector, including
working closely with European Commission and US efforts in Afghanistan
in the field of policing with linkages to the wider rule of law.
The operational phase of EUPOL AFGHANISTAN started on 15 June
2007. Its main tasks are to:
— develop
police reform strategy, including work towards a joint overall
strategy of the international community;
— support
the Government of Afghanistan in coherently implementing strategy;
— improve
cohesion and co-ordination among international efforts;
— address
linkages to the wider rule of law.
55.5 Although the Mission was launched with a three-year
mandate, decisions on financing are taken annually. The most recent
instance was a Joint Action extending the financing beyond 30
November 2009 until the end of the mission's current mandate in
May 2010 and providing for the establishment of a project cell
to enable the mission to identify and implement small scale projects
that support its overall mandate. This was considered by the previous
Committee on 11 November 2009. The Report of that meeting sets
out the rationale for the previous Government's support for the
mission and the history of the Committee's consideration of the
subject thus far, and includes the views on its performance by
two previous Ministers for Europe (Caroline Flint and Baroness
Kinnock), which respond to requests by the previous Committee
for such an assessment when it cleared the previous such Joint
Action a year earlier.[234]
55.6 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 2 November
2009 concerning that most recent amendment to the Joint Action,
the then Minister for Europe (Chris Bryant) said that EUPOL Afghanistan
had "turned a corner" and was "now regarded by
other international players in country as providing a unique set
of civilian policing expertise to help develop the Afghan National
Police (ANP)." The then Minister reported that there had
been "progress against all priorities and the Minister of
Interior has expressed his satisfaction with EUPOL's work".
As well as continuing to mentor, train and advise Afghan counterparts,
the Minister listed some "notable recent successes".[235]
In Brussels, Member States were currently discussing the logistics
and staffing requirements for the mission to strengthen its presence
in the provinces. Though still short of the 400 target, numbers
were increasing. But it remained "crucial that the mission
reaches its mandated strength if it is to be successful and is
increasing the size of its contingent"; other Member States
were being encouraged to prioritise secondments to EUPOL, and
the UK was supportive of increased flexibility in EU recruitment
rules to allow EUPOL to contract more staff directly. The costs
of five additional contracted positions funded by the Common Foreign
and Security Policy budget have been factored in to the mission's
new budget."
55.7 The Minister then turns to the establishment
a project cell in the mission at the cost of €150,000. He
supports the creation of project cells in some ESPD missions "to
provide limited programme funds to purchase assets in support
of their mentoring and training roles", noting that such
project cells are already established in the EU Security Sector
Reform missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (EUSEC DRC
and EUPOL DRC).
55.8 Finally, with regard to the Financial Implications,
the then Minister said:
— the
Joint Action provided €17.4 million for the period until
30 May 2010 when the current EUPOL mandate would expire, which
was in addition to the €64 million already committed from
1 December 2008 to 30 November 2009, taking the total financing
for the period until 30 May 2010 to €81.4 million;
— the
UK contribution to the additional financing would be approximately
€3 million euros (around £2.7 million);
— the
UK currently had funding for 15 personnel in the Mission provided
through the cross-government Conflict Prevention Pool; and
— at
the October 2009 GAERC, he had announced an uplift in UK numbers
to 19 personnel from January 2010.
The previous Committee's assessment
55.9 Though welcome, the signs of progress in leadership,
in the local response and, after much difficulty it seemed, in
focussing on specific priorities had been a very long time coming.
And while the UK was pulling its weight, both with regard to EUPOL
and bilaterally, it was plain that not all Member States had yet
responded sufficiently to enable the mission to fulfil the tasks
that the Council laid upon it. Only in May 2010, when the present
Joint Action expired, would it be possible to know if, as the
then Minister put it, EUPOL had indeed "turned a corner".
In the meantime, a further €81.4 million would take the total
expenditure to over €200 million. All in all, and notwithstanding
what the then Minister said about recent progress, the previous
Committee found it hard to see what had been achieved in relation
to the expenditure thus far.
55.10 Moreover, the context in which this latest
extension was to take place continued to be of intense domestic
and international concern. The Conclusions adopted by the 27 October
GAERC, along with the EU Action Plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan,
thus assumed a particular significance.[236]
As the Action Plan noted:
"The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating.
We are not only faced with a critical security situation. Progress
on political reform, governance and state-building is too slow,
and in some parts of the country almost non-existent. In the absence
of good governance, access to basic services, adequate justice
and rule of law, the combined international and Afghan security
efforts will not produce the necessary political stability needed
for a secure and prosperous development.
"Afghanistan is now entering a decisive period.
Much is at stake. The formation of a new Government in Kabul provides
an opportunity to frame a new agenda and a contract with the Afghan
people. That agenda should be supported by a renewed compact between
the Government of Afghanistan and the international community.
This requires above all strong Afghan leadership, as well as enhanced
and better coordinated and concerted international support. Political
and civilian efforts must go hand in hand with security measures
and developments on the ground."
55.11 All in all, though the Joint Action proposed
only a relatively modest increase in the overall cost of EUPOL
Afghanistan's budget, the previous Committee judged that this
wider background warranted it being debated in the European Committee.
55.12 That debate took place on 18 January 2010.
At its conclusion, the Committee resolved that the mission was
now "making an important contribution to the international
effort to reform the Afghan National Police".[237]
The Council Decision
55.13 This Council Decision extends the mandate of
EUPOL Afghanistan until 30 May 2013. Under this Decision, EUPOL
Afghanistan will significantly contribute to the establishment
under Afghan ownership of sustainable and effective civilian policing
arrangements, ensuring appropriate interaction with the wider
criminal justice system. It remains a non-executive mission, which
aims to achieve its strategic goals by monitoring, mentoring and
advising the Afghan police and rule of law structures in Kabul,
at regional and provincial levels.
55.14 The Council Decision sets out revised objectives
for the mission, which are to:
— assist
the Government of Afghanistan in coherently implementing its strategy
towards sustainable and effective civilian policing arrangements,
especially with regard to the Afghan Uniform (Civilian) Police
and the Afghan Anti-Crime Police, as stipulated in the National
Police Strategy;
— improve
cohesion and coordination among international actors;
— work
on strategy development, while placing an emphasis on work towards
a joint overall strategy of the international community in police
reform and enhance cooperation with key partners in police reform
and training, including with the NATO-led mission ISAF and the
NATO Training Mission and other contributors; and
— support
linkages between the police and the wider rule of law.
The Government's view
55.15 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 17 May 2010,
the Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(David Lidington) says that, since its deployment in June 2007,
the Government believes that EUPOL Afghanistan has not fulfilled
its potential as the lead organisation amongst the International
Community in pursuing strategic reform of the Afghan National
Police (ANP). He describes what he calls "the initial stages
of the mission" as being "characterised by a lack of
focused strategic direction, a shortage of high quality staff,
as well as logistics and security challenges." He continues
as follows:
"Despite this, in the last 18 months, the mission
has delivered some important reforms and projects, although most
of these have been centred on Kabul. This improvement has been
brought about by better leadership, greater numbers of personnel
— the mission is now at 283 staff — and a more reform
minded Minister of the Interior, as well as refocusing the mandate
on six clear priorities.
"As a result, the Government believes that EUPOL
Afghanistan has an important role to play and should be extended
for three years (the timescale generally agreed necessary to complete
the next phase of implementation.) Amongst the International Community's
efforts in Afghanistan, the mission provides unique civilian policing
skills which are essential if the proposed increase in the size
of the Afghan National Police is to be accompanied by the quality
improvement needed to create a responsive community police force.
The UK's vision for police reform in Afghanistan relies on both
a top down and bottom up approach. The US and NATO police training
efforts are focused at the district level and involve training
large numbers of ANP officers in the very basics of policing.
By contrast, the EU mission has the mandate to develop the framework
for the civilian police, making links to the wider rule of law
sector, under which all reform is conducted. This role has been
recognised by the Afghan authorities — notably Minister
of Interior Atmar — and cemented earlier this year through
the five year Afghan National Police Strategy. EUPOL now has the
lead on developing and supporting the implementation of the strategy
for the Afghan Civilian Police and the Anti-Crime Police. Over
the next three years this will be the core focus of the mission."
55.16 The Minister then says that:
"the mission will only succeed if it has effective
links with the other main international actors involved in Afghan
police reform, especially the NATO Training Mission. For that
reason, the UK has seconded a police officer to be the Senior
Civilian Policing Advisor to the NATO mission and the link into
EUPOL. During negotiations over the new mandate, the UK also insisted
on a strong requirement for EUPOL to enhance cooperation with
NATO as contained in Article 3(1) of the Council Decision."
55.17 He goes on to say that:
"in order to improve delivery outside of Kabul,
the Operations Plan which underpins the Council Decision provides
for a refocusing of EUPOL personnel into a smaller number of strategically
important provinces.
"The full range of mission objectives will be
implemented in the first tier of locations (Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif,
Herat, Bamyan and Kandahar). A second group of locations (Maimanah,
Kunduz, Feyzabad, Tarin Kot, Chaghcharan, Puli Alam, Pol-e-Khumri
and Lashkar Gah) will see certain elements of the mandate implemented
depending on local circumstances, including security. The Government
encourages all Provincial Reconstruction Team lead nations to
work with the mission to follow up on the London Conference Communiqué[238]
and provide the logistics, accommodation and security support
that the mission requires to operate effectively outside the capital.
"Under the new mandate, activity in the regions
and provinces will be focused on urban centres and brought together
under the umbrella of City Police and Justice Projects. This programme
of work draws inspiration from the successful Kabul City Police
Project, led by British police officers, and which helped to embed
basic community policing practice whilst improving the capital's
security. The Government supports the intention behind the expansion
of the police projects to include justice activities. The aim
is to provide the mission with an overarching framework for reform
in a given location that brings together coherently specific deliverables
against the six strategic objectives. Experience from Kabul has
shown that in order to cascade reforms throughout the police structures,
EUPOL personnel sometimes need to work at the District level,
and the revised mandate provides for this. In agreeing to this
provision, the UK has been clear that this does not mean a blurring
of focus for the mission and that personnel will only work in,
and not be based at, the District level.
"If the mission is to capitalise on the structural
reforms set in train by the Council Decision, it will require
continued support from Member States and the central EU institutions.
In particular, the EU must ensure that all its efforts in country
pull in the same direction, especially with the establishment
of the European External Action Service."
55.18 With regard to the Financial Implications,
the Minister says that:
—
the Council Decision provides €54.6 million for the period
from 1 June 2010 to 30 May 2011, at which point a new annual budget
will be proposed;
— funding
for the common costs of the mission (HQ, in-country transport,
office equipment etc) is met from the Common Foreign and Security
Policy budget, of which the UK share, via its contribution to
the overall EU Budget, is around 13.5%;
— the
UK currently provides funding for 20 personnel in the Mission;
15 based in Kabul, five based in Helmand.
55.19 Finally, the Minister notes that this Council
Decision is due to be adopted at the AGRIFISH Council on 17 May
2010.
Conclusion
55.20 It would seem that the mission has indeed
turned a corner. But it will be some time before it is clear to
what extent it is now on the right road. The first opportunity
for assessing this will be in a year's time, when the next annual
budget is proposed. On that occasion, we ask the Minister to provide
an assessment. We shall be particularly interested in his views
on, and illustrations of, the extent to which:
— the
mission has delivered concrete outcomes with respect to the aims
and considerations to which he draws attention in his Explanatory
Memorandum;
— there
has been continued support from Member States and the central
EU institutions; and
— the
EU has ensured that all its efforts in country pull in the same
direction (c.f. paragraphs 55.15-55.17 above).
55.21 We should also like this assessment to include
reference to the impact of the new EU Special Representative (EUSR)
to Afghanistan, which we deal with elsewhere in this Report.[239]
55.22 In the meantime, we are reporting this
latest development to the House because of the widespread interest
in Afghanistan.
55.23 In so doing, we recognise that the general
election and absence of this Committee militated against the Minister
withholding agreement to this Decision until it had been scrutinised,
and do not object, on this occasion and in these circumstances,
to the action that he took in agreeing to its adoption prior to
scrutiny.
233 See headnote. Back
234
See headnote: (31071) -: HC 19-xxxi (2008-09), chapter 3 (11 November
2009). Back
235
Ibid. Back
236
See http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/110789.pdf
for the full text of the Council Conclusions and the Action Plan. Back
237
The record of the debate is available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmgeneral/euro/100118/100118s01.htm.
Back
238
The Afghanistan conference took place in London at Lancaster House
on 28 January 2010. According to its website, "the international
community came together to fully align military and civilian resources
behind an Afghan-led political strategy", which "will
engage the Afghan people in defence of their country to divide
the insurgency and build regional cooperation." See http://afghanistan.hmg.gov.uk/en/conference/
for full details. Back
239
(31425); see chapter 51 of this Report. Back
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