Reconstructing Afghanistan

by | Feb 15, 2008


The UK Parliament select committee on Development reports on the state of Afghanistan. You can read the report here. There are 50 recommendations – here are my top 10.

  1. Afghanistan should remain a major focus for DFID.
  2. DFID’s media strategy for Afghanistan should be strengthened
  3. DFID must develop a new communications strategy in Afghanistan to ensure accurate information about the scale of its work is widely circulated.
  4.  We recommend the early provision of a dedicated aeroplane for the use of DFID and other Embassy staff to carry out their work in Afghanistan.
  5. Development agencies need to come to international agreements among themselves about what constitutes good practice for post-war reconstruction and development in fragile states, especially when they are working in partnership with the military.
  6.  We believe that greater international pressure should be placed on Pakistan to control more effectively the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
  7. We ask the Secretary of State to discuss with the Ministry of Defence the feasibility of extending UK military commanders’ tours of duty in Helmand to, say, one year.
  8. Progress in creating an effective and legitimate Afghan National Police force has been slow. Corruption and bribery are rife and this is hampering acceptance of the police as a force for good. There are insufficient police trainers and there is no clear consensus about what type of police force—paramilitary or civilian—is required. We believe that the issue of remit must be clarified as quickly as possible
  9. Opium poppy production is causally linked to insecurity and corruption in Afghanistan. Suggestions of the involvement in narcotics of high-ranking officials are worrying. We believe greater effort on the part of the President and donors is essential to ensure that involvement in opium poppy production is stamped out at every level of government.
  10. We agree with the UK and Afghan Governments that aerial spraying of poppies is not desirable for health and safety reasons and because it risks increasing insecurity in already insecure provinces.

Author

  • Charlie Edwards

    Charlie Edwards is Director of National Security and Resilience Studies at the Royal United Services Institute. Prior to RUSI he was a Research Leader at the RAND Corporation focusing on Defence and Security where he conducted research and analysis on a broad range of subject areas including: the evaluation and implementation of counter-violent extremism programmes in Europe and Africa, UK cyber strategy, European emergency management, and the role of the internet in the process of radicalisation. He has undertaken fieldwork in Iraq, Somalia, and the wider Horn of Africa region.

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