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The International Community reconfirmed its support to financially and politically support the aspirations of Afghanistan. However it also made it very clear that these exceptional efforts will need to be mirrored by an ambitious reform plan in the field of governance and development and by a transformation of the political processes.
The EU was in the lead in the negotiation of the TMAF and in particular on the conditionality or rather the mutuality of the commitments but has also been at the forefront in moving the framework from a theoretical construct to implementation. In particular, the EU has enhanced the predictability of funding, taken bold steps to bring support on budget and increase alignment. However, in the spirit of mutual accountability, it also withheld funding of €20 million in aid for the justice sector in November 2012, due to delays of the government of putting forward its reform strategy. If the European Union is deeply committed in supporting Afghanistan, it needs to stress that in the spirit of the Tokyo agreement support will be increasingly conditional of the delivery of the Afghan government on the agreed reform agenda.
Ultimately this is a sign of the how the EU intends to organise its relations with Afghanistan in the long term. The long term partnership is enshrined in the CAPD. However, the exceptional levels of aid to Afghanistan will continue to flow only if the government of Afghanistan delivers on its commitments.
One of the key priorities for Afghans is to have security in their daily lives. The EU and Member States have been among the leading donors to the Afghan National Police (ANP), funding the police salaries, equipment and providing training on the ground to better enable them to perform their jobs. The main objective remains to improve the civilian policing quality in Afghanistan. The EU spent around €140 million between 2011 and 2013 for police salaries and training, to improve ANP institutional framework and links with local communities. The EU also recognises the important links between policing and the justice sector and is supporting Afghanistan's National Justice Programme.
Of course, Afghanistan will still face many challenges after 2014. But the EU believes that the time is now right for Afghans themselves to take the lead responsibility for their own security. The EU and the international community will continue to stay committed in their support to Afghanistan in the future. It is important to remember that transition is not an end to international support or to assistance to Afghanistan, but it is the begi
In the forthcoming elections, security will be of the utmost importance. Hence, the EU praises the development of the Afghan National Security Forces, who are gradually taking over the responsibility from international forces. The EU member states are providing important support to the Afghan National Security Forces through bilateral programmes while the EU with its European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) provides training and develops civilian police capabilities. EUPOL is currently present in twelve provinces and in Kabul. They have experienced great success in their main training programmes. At the Crime Management College, 949 students have already graduated since it opened in April 2012. At the Staff College, 3298 students have so far graduated. The European Unions is, with the United States and Japan, the largest contributor to the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), which is paying police salaries. At the Chicago conference the EU pledged to further step up its contribution to the police sector.
In a country like Afghanistan, where aid is sometimes not sufficiently coordinated, the EU aims at improving synergies also in the civilian policing sector. The EU is therefore an active member in the International Police Coordination Board (IPCB) and EUPOL is currently responsible for staffing its secretariat. The IPCB is the primary instrument for coordinating international support to police training and reform of the Ministry of Interior.
In November 2012, EUPOL Head of Mission Karl Ǻke Rohge and I invited the Ambassadors of Russia, China and India for a meeting on police training at EUPOL. The aim of the meeting was to provide a presentation of EUPOL's contribution to the development of ANP, to explain how the International Community's support is coordinated and to exchange information of respective contributions to police training. The participants presented their involvement in police training and outlined the opportunities and challenges they face.
Specialised training on issues such as criminal investigations, forensic science and leadership training have been identified as elements of the training that is currently being delivered by Russia and India and constitutes the very core of EUPOL's mandate. It was also said that future dialogue between the European Union, Russia, China and India aimed at exchanging information, identifying lessons learned and looking at possible synergies will be important in order to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure the best use of the resources.
The EU supports Afghanistan at each step on the path to becoming a truly democratic state. Much progress has been made, but we recognise that Afghanistan needs to build on what has been achieved so far, deepening democratic culture across the country, increasing accountability to the Afghan people and strengthening its institutions.
The EU is supportive of inclusive and transparent elections with a legitimate outcome. This, in fact, is an enabling factor for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Elections are a critical sign of the health of a democracy and the European Union is working with the government and other international partners to achieve credible and transparent Presidential elections in 2014 and Parliamentary elections in 2015. The EU provides constant political and technical support to the relevant Afghan authorities, supported during the actual elections by robust election assessment and observation missions. The EU is supporting the strengthening of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as a respected, independent, credible and transparent institution.
The EU believes that the development of a democratic parliamentary party system offers the best representative political model to facilitate debate and ensure the accountability of executive power to the people, including those living in remote rural areas. Forty percent of the EU budget is dedicated to supporting Governance and Rule of Law improvements in Afghanistan. In addition to policing and elections, the EU supports reforms in the public administration, to build better institutions able to deliver high quality services for the people of Afghanistan.
Despite all the efforts of the past decade, human rights violations remain an ever present reality for many Afghans. This is most pronounced among the country's most vulnerable, in particular women.
Because the EU is committed to universal human rights as one of our fundamental values, which is a guiding principle of our external relations, it is actively promoting human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy at all levels in Afghanistan, with a focus on supporting human rights defenders, improving women's rights, promoting freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and the rights of children. The EU is especially committed to promoting and protecting women’s rights. It is assisting the government and civil society to act against violence against women, challenge early and forced marriages, and provide safe shelter for those in need.