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22 November 2001: Add conference closing statements, Keith on future Afghan government, and Natsios on famine threat.
20 November 2001
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112003.clt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
20 November 2001
(Success depends on the will of Afghan people, he says) (1610) The United States and other countries must seek and seize opportunities to begin the reconstruction of Afghanistan as soon as areas of the country are liberated, Secretary of State Colin Powell says. But opening the November 20 Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development meeting at the State Department in Washington Powell said that the international community cannot fully carry out rebuilding until an Afghan partner, in the form of an interim political authority, emerges. Powell said that such an authority must lead to a broad-based government representing Afghani people of every region and ethnic background. He emphasized that women must play prominent roles in all relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts as planners, implementers and beneficiaries. Powell said that success of reconstruction will ultimately depend on the will of the Afghan people and their representatives to build a free, market-based society and a stable, drug-free environment. He said that the post-war mission in Afghanistan must have a global scope and achieve seamless connections between relief, reconstruction, and development efforts. An important step, Powell said, would be establishing a steering group that would help to coordinate international efforts, encourage contributions and give overall guidance. The next phase would be organizing an implementation group focused on operational matters, he said. Powell said it is important to start this process as soon as possible "so we can make sure we have an immediate, visible impact on people's lives." He expressed hope that the steering group will convene next month. Powell said that for the first time in decades Afghanis have reason to hope. "Turning hope into a powerful force that shapes a better future for the Afghan people, their region and our world," he said, is exactly what rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance are all about. Following is the transcript of Powell's remarks: (begin transcript) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL AT THE WORKING SESSION ON THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN November 20, 2001 SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, Al [Alan Larson, under secretary of state for economic affairs], and good morning, everyone. And I, too, want to join in welcoming you all here and thanking you for coming at such short notice. Answering the call of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1378, we have come together today to demonstrate our commitment to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan, and to the future of its 25 million people. President Bush, Secretary O'Neill [U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill] and I wish to express our gratitude to the Government of Japan and Mrs. [Sadako] Ogata, Prime Minister Koizumi's Special Representative for Afghan Assistance, for co-hosting this conference. And I wish to thank all of you, the senior representatives of foreign finance and development ministries of key partner countries and international institutions for traveling all the way to Washington on such short notice. Events on the ground are moving swiftly. My government and our coalition partners are pleased to report that the Taliban is in retreat in most of the country. The very ones who harbored Usama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network now search in vain for someone to harbor them. As the Taliban's grip on power is broken in more and more parts of the country, the long-suffering people of Afghanistan are taking their future into their own hands once again. Yet we all know that will also take a long, concerted effort by all of us to ensure that the people of Afghanistan have their feet set firmly on the path to recovery, stability and development. All of us know that the international community must be prepared to sustain a reconstruction program that will take many, many years. This must be a global effort involving East Asia, Europe, the Americas, the Islamic world, and countries of the region. And we must achieve seamless connections between reconstruction and relief and development efforts. The vast majority of the Afghan people awaken hungry, cold and sick every morning. An entire generation of Afghans have never known peace, never known a full stomach, never known a decent education, never known what freedom is all about. The United States and our coalition partners, the United Nations and others, all of us in the international community, are moving quickly to provide lifesaving humanitarian supplies. Withdrawals of Taliban forces have opened up more and more regions of Afghanistan to international relief efforts. The American people are proud that the United States has long been the leading humanitarian donor to Afghanistan. And in October, President Bush announced an additional allocation of $320 million specifically to help Afghan refugees -- Afghan refugees that are located in neighboring countries and the displaced persons within Afghanistan itself. The international community's vital humanitarian work clearly must continue and gain pace as the Taliban retreats and the winter gets ever closer. The time has already arrived, however, to look beyond just immediate humanitarian needs to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the country. We must seek and seize opportunities to begin reconstruction as areas of the country are freed from Taliban control. We cannot wait; we must act as fast as we can. We must act as soon as possible. At the same time, the international community will be unable to carry out reconstruction on the scale that is needed until there is an Afghan partner. This requires the emergence of an interim political authority. Such an authority must lead to a broad-based government that represents all the people of the country, people of every ethnic background and region, women as well as men. Indeed, in all of our efforts, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, we must ensure that women play prominent roles as planners, as implementers and as beneficiaries. In order to survive through the years of fear and misery, the women and men of Afghanistan drew deeply on their courage, their ingenuity, their skill and, above all, on their faith. With our close cooperation and the disciplined management of the assistance we provide, we can help the Afghan people draw on those same strengths to recover and to thrive in a 21st century world. Success, of course, ultimately depends on the will of the people of Afghanistan and their legitimate representatives to build a free society with free markets and a stable, drug-free environment in which political and economic freedom and activity can flourish. We have called you here together today not for a pledging conference. We do not yet know how much money and other forms of rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance will be needed from the international community. The security situation in Afghanistan does not yet allow a comprehensive needs assessment. But we are confident that such an evaluation can and should be made soon. Our meeting today is a crucial start, the start of a long process, one that must grow to include many other countries than those represented here, and many other organizations that will have important contributions to make as we go forward. It is imperative that we begin today to address in a systematic way the many practical issues of transition and reconstruction that lie ahead. One important step would be to organize a steering group to help focus our efforts at the policy level, encourage contributions and give overall guidance. The steering group would collaborate closely with the Afghan support group's work on humanitarian relief. We hope that the steering group would convene in the month ahead. It would take into account the meeting next week in Islamabad of representatives from the World Bank, the UN Development Program, and the Asian Development Bank. As soon as it is feasible, we would also envision forming an implementation group, which would focus on operational matters, such as coordinating reconstruction programs in the field. It will be especially important in the first weeks and months of this program to put all these pieces in place so we can make sure we have an immediate, visible impact on people's lives. For the first time in decades, the people of Afghanistan have reason to hope for themselves and for their children. Together, we can make that hope tangible and real. That is exactly what rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance is all about: Turning hope into a powerful force that shapes a better future for the Afghan people, their region and our world. We have a noble task before us. President Bush is totally committed to this task. He has said from the very beginning we will go after Usama bin Laden, we will go after al-Qaida. If the Taliban regime does not understand the crimes that they are committing as well, we will go after them. But when al-Qaida is gone, when the Taliban regime has passed into history, as the President said, we then have an enormous obligation -- not only the United States, but the whole international community -- an enormous obligation to not leave the Afghan people in the lurch, to not walk away as has been done in the past. We are committed to doing just that, as the President said, to help them find hope and to make that hope a reality. I now have the great honor of yielding the floor to an old friend, Mrs. Ogata, in and of herself a powerful force for good in the world, as well as an invaluable source of wisdom on the interrelationships between relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Mrs. Ogata, you have our deepest admiration and rapt attention. Thank you very much. (Applause) (end transcript) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http//usinfo.state.gov)
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112004.clt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml 20 November 2001 Text: Treasury Dept.'s O'Neill on Afghanistan Reconstruction (A long-term, sustained commitment required, he says) (1060) Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill says that the international community faces a daunting task in helping to rebuild Afghanistan from years of neglect and mismanagement. "Because the need is so clear and compelling, it is my hope that we will demonstrate to the world that not only we care, but we know how to change conditions quickly in a way that makes a difference in Afghan life," he said. Speaking at the Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development meeting at the State Department in Washington, O'Neill said November 20 that the post-war mission in Afghanistan will require a long-term, sustained commitment. The United States and other countries engaged in reconstruction efforts have to confront major challenges, he said, including an increased and swift delivery of direct humanitarian aid, the restoration of essential services and the reintegration of refugees with their communities. But O'Neill said that restoring Afghanistan to where it was many years ago will not be enough if the world wants to see a vibrant and peaceful country. He said that the international community must also help the Afghan people in laying the foundation for a market economy, democratic institutions, and a stable, civilized society. O'Neill emphasized the need for improving the infrastructure and services necessary to create a dynamic rural economy giving poor farmers a viable option to growing poppies. Afghanistan is one of the largest producers of poppies-derived opium, according to news reports. O'Neill urged the international community to remember also other countries, especially Afghanistan's neighbors, that need support because of their fight against terrorism. Following is the text of O'Neill's remarks as prepared for delivery: (begin text) Department of the Treasury Office of Public Affairs AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT MEETING SECRETARY O'NEILL OPENING REMARKS November 20, 2001 Welcome. Thank you for coming on such short notice to this important meeting. President Bush is eager that we develop a strategy for rebuilding Afghanistan once our military efforts there have succeeded. This meeting and your presence here demonstrate the commitment of the international community to the people of Afghanistan, and to all people that are suffering from the impacts of war on terrorism. The focus of our attention today is Afghanistan, but in reality our goals extend much more broadly. The impacts of terrorism extend to many countries. As we discuss strategies for laying the foundation for a more prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan, we should remember those in other countries that will also need our support. This is especially true of some of Afghanistan's nearest neighbors. Success in the war on global terrorism requires strong and sustained efforts from all of us on many different fronts, including providing meaningful economic opportunities for citizens of the most affected countries. It will take all of us working together to be successful, and I thank all of you for your contribution in this effort. Together we face a daunting task: to help rebuild Afghanistan from years of neglect and mismanagement. Afghanistan today is one of the poorest countries in the world: -- Annual income averages less than $200 per person. -- One out of six children die before their first birthday. -- Two-thirds of the population are not literate. -- Only 13 percent of the population have immediate access to drinking water, and not all of that water is safe to drink. The first challenge, of course, is direct humanitarian assistance. The UN, under the strong leadership of the Secretary-General and with the able assistance of Mr. Oshima [UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Kenzo Oshima] and Mr. Brahimi [Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan], is off to a tremendous start in providing immediate assistance to the people of Afghanistan. We owe them our gratitude. A second challenge will be restoring essential services and reintegrating refugees back into their communities, just so people re-establish normal lives in their communities with their family and friends. We will need to focus on ways to help people to: -- generate basic levels of income; -- provide essential health and education services; -- improve food security; and -- undertake emergency infrastructure repairs. But even then our task will not be over. It will not be enough to restore Afghanistan to where it was one year, five years, or even twenty years ago. If we wish to see a more vibrant, peaceful, and successful Afghanistan, we must meet a third challenge; we must assist the Afghan people in laying the foundation for a basic market economy and for sustained economic development. The critical elements will be: -- a stable macroeconomic and political environment; -- substantial investments in health and education; -- strong government institutions; and -- a robust and productive private sector, open to global trade and investment. In particular, we should try to assist the Afghan people to allow them to live productive and successful lives. This means, for example: -- improving the infrastructure and services needed to create a vibrant rural economy - one that gives poor farmers a viable option to growing poppies. -- building or rebuilding schools and health care facilities so Afghans can lead healthy, meaningful lives. This is our focus here today. I am hopeful that today we can establish a process that provides appropriate policy guidance to those actually delivering reconstruction assistance on the ground. As we go forward, it will be crucial for us to continuously measure the results and reassess the assistance we are providing to make sure it is as effective as possible in meeting Afghanistan's most important needs. External assistance poorly directed and poorly coordinated can be not only wasteful but can be harmful as well. That is why the process initiated today is so important. It is extremely important that we place a special focus on strengthening basic education, especially of young girls and women. We will not be successful unless Afghanistan's recovery and development is for all of its people. Our goal is a more peaceful and prosperous world for all people of all faiths and nationalities. Achieving this goal will require a long-term, sustained commitment from all of us. This gathering is just the first step in that process. I thank you for joining us in this endeavor. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http//usinfo.state.gov)
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112001.nlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml 20 November 2001 Excerpt: Boucher Reports on Afghan Reconstruction Needs (Meetings in Washington and Islamabad on post-war Afghanistan, Nov 20) (3230) Briefing reporters hours after Secretary Powell opened the Working Session on Reconstruction of Afghanistan, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said the conference was "a first step in organizing reconstruction efforts", intended to define the critical needs for rebuilding Afghanistan and offer the Afghans a vision of a better future. The November 20 session is being hosted in Washington by Secretary Powell and Mrs. Sadako Ogata, the special representative of Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi. Officials from about a dozen countries, as well as international organizations are discussing Afghanistan's most pressing post-war needs, such as agriculture, energy, water, education, including the re-employment of female teachers, and mine clearance. "The tremendous scope of this task means that there are going to be many countries, many international institutions involved, and there's going to have to be an orderly process for getting there. So this meeting is to kick off that process," he said. Subsequently, Boucher said, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the U.N. Development Program will convene a more technical discussion in Islamabad next week. "In that meeting they will begin to work even more on a very detailed needs assessment that eventually will result in looking for funding." Although Boucher had no estimates on the cost of reconstruction, he reminded reporters of the breadth and generosity of the international community's contributions towards Afghanistan's current humanitarian needs. Turning to the enhanced pace of international humanitarian food relief efforts, Boucher noted that World Food Program trucks are moving back into Afghanistan for the first time in a week, from Peshar to Jalalabad and the World Food Program's international staff is going back into Afghanistan. "There's an enormous amount being done for the immediate needs of the winter. But part of that, that has to lead to -- that has to transition into a longer-term effort," Boucher reiterated. Noting political developments affecting the future Afghanistan, Boucher said the United States welcomes U.N.-organized meetings with Afghan factions interested in forming a broad-based government in place of Taliban rule. Meetings are scheduled to begin this weekend near Berlin. "As far as the United States, we'll be there. We certainly welcome this process and want to support this process. We do work closely with the United Nations, and in fact, Ambassador Haass is in touch with Mr. Brahimi several times a day," Boucher said. (begin excerpt) QUESTION: This morning, the Reconstruction Conference opened here, but I understand that there's now going to be one -- the next one is already planned for Islamabad next week; is that correct? MR. BOUCHER: That's right. Let me go through this as much as I can for you all. The meeting today brings together a lot of potential donors and the people who are going to need to be involved in planning for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. It is intended to begin organizing the international community in support of proceeding with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan, and to offer Afghans a vision of a better future. The tremendous scope of this task means that there are going to be many countries, many international institutions involved and there is going to have to be an orderly process for getting there. So this meeting is to kick off that process. We will hear reports this morning from the UN Development Program, from the World Bank. I guess you would say there are initial reports of what they consider to be Afghanistan's needs. And that will let the potential donors focused on planning in more detail in the future on how they could meet those needs and what kinds and the amounts and the types of assistance that will be needed to reconstruct the country. The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the UN Development Program will then convene a more technical discussion in Islamabad next week and that meeting, they will begin to work even more on a very detailed needs assessment that eventually will result in looking for funding. QUESTION: When does the process get to the point where you -- as the Secretary said -- where you put out the hat? MR. BOUCHER: After the real definition of needs and amounts is done. You have to know what you will need to do. You have to figure out what you need to do, you have to figure out how much it is going to cost and then you have to ask for money, okay? This is the beginning of the process figuring out what we need to do. The World Bank assessments, as they go forward will come to define more -- once they define what needs to be done, how much is it going to cost and then we'll get the money. What's clear is there is a lot of support in the international community for this, a lot of people who intend to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan, and I think today's meeting and the meeting next week are clear signals of that. Second of all, let me remind you that there is a massive humanitarian effort under way to take care of the immediate needs of the people of Afghanistan. And what we are talking about planning for here is the reconstruction of a country that has been destroyed by many years of devastation and that's a process that will proceed over a longer term. QUESTION: That's what I'm getting at. Is the Islamabad -- are you expecting to have a firmer idea of the dollar figures needed for the longer term? And I wasn't trying to suggest that this is moving too slowly. I was only trying to figure out when exactly the actual amounts needed is -- when that's going to become clearer. Do you think that might happen at the meeting in Islamabad? MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't think that will happen in Islamabad, because the Islamabad meeting is to focus more technically. Today, you might say, this is what needs to be done in general terms. Islamabad will start looking more technically. If people agree that roads need to be built, they will look at what roads need to be built, and that kind of thing. But that then leads to an assessment process that will result in quite detailed planning and then an estimate of the costs. QUESTION: I'm not trying to suggest anything either. But I am having trouble juxtaposing the Secretary's plaintive appeal for quick action, how urgent it is, winter is approaching. And, you know, if you'll forgive me, there are other ways to go at this to have a quick fix and then plan long-term aid. And the US is -- is contributing a huge sum of money. I guess the question is, if it's so urgent, do you need all this exquisite planning? Shouldn't more be done right away? MR. BOUCHER: As I just mentioned two minutes ago -- maybe you weren't here yet -- but there is extensive assistance being done in the humanitarian area. We've got trucks moving. We've got trucks moving back into Afghanistan for the first time in a week from Peshawar to Jalalabad. There are six trucks that have gone over, arrived safely. The World Food Program is sending 48 more trucks today. There is a lot more movement, there is a lot being done. The World Bank staff, the World Food Program's female staff that used to work for them is back on board working again for them in normal program activities. So there is a tremendous amount being done. The World Food Program has got international staff going back into Afghanistan. There's an enormous amount being done for the immediate needs of the winter. But that has to transition into a longer-term effort. There will be things that can be done earlier in that effort. There will be needs perhaps identified through this process, where we can use the food assistance to help build roads. There is a natural transition in this process that can take place, and things can be done quickly. In addition to feeding the people who desperately need the food, as the needs are identified, some of the things can be done sooner rather than later. QUESTION: Can you say who will be attending the UN talks for the United States in Berlin? And are there any people who haven't been invited yet that -- or who aren't planning to attend that you would like to attend? If you see what I mean. MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't see what you mean. QUESTION: Well, are there any -- MR. BOUCHER: First of all, we're assuming that all the major Afghan leaders, groups, factions will be represented there, and we think it's important that, as a result of the talks the UN is having, as a result of the talks that Ambassador Dobbins had in Tashkent, and then in Bagram Airfield, the Northern Alliance has made it clear that they intend to participate in this process to form a broad-based government in Afghanistan. We certainly welcome the meeting that will take place in Germany, I guess starting over the weekend, or starting by Monday. As far as the United States, we'll be there. We certainly welcome this process and want to support this process. We do work closely with the United Nations, and in fact, Ambassador Haass is in touch with Mr. Brahimi several times a day, actually. As far as who will go to Germany over the weekend, certainly Ambassador Dobbins will be there, probably, possibly Ambassador Haass as well, and others. So we don't know for sure, but that's generally the kind of people we'd intend to send. QUESTION: Just back to reconstructing Afghanistan for a second. In this forum, will there be an appeal to other countries to contribute to just the relief effort, which has been primarily American now? MR. BOUCHER: This is a reconstruction conference. QUESTION: Right, but -- MR. BOUCHER: Remember, the UN identified $580 million worth of needs for relief in Afghanistan. That was oversubscribed by considerable amounts. The United States put up $320 million. If I remember correctly, there was a slightly larger than that amount pledged by other countries. So other countries are pledged to give very significant amounts to the relief effort, and I think that is an indicator of what we would hope to see in the future, that everybody will be there to support reconstruction as well. QUESTION: Can I ask you about the Northern Alliance's statement that this is merely a symbolic meeting? Does that suggest -- MR. BOUCHER: I'm sorry; we just talked about three different meetings. Which -- QUESTION: I'm sorry, I beg your pardon. Not the humanitarian meeting, the Berlin meeting, the post-planning for diverse whatever -- whatever you call it. It sounds like they're not enthusiastic about it. They backed away from insisting on Kabul. But they say it's only a symbolic meeting. MR. BOUCHER: I haven't seen any particular quotes like that, Barry, so I am not going to take two words out of context for that. What we have found in our meetings and in their public statements is that they have agreed and supported the idea of forming a broad-based government for Afghanistan, that we would hope this meeting in Berlin or near Berlin would register progress toward the creation of an interim political authority, interim political arrangement that leads to that kind of broad-based government for Afghanistan. So we think it's a useful meeting. Clearly, all the parties have said that we want the process to move back to Afghanistan as soon as the parties can move back to Afghanistan and continue the work. QUESTION: Let me ask three very, very quick questions all kind of related to the same thing: Dobbins, Haass and the King. One, is the -- does the United States believe that the former King -- sorry, Zahir Shah, is he an adequate representative for the Pashtuns at the meeting in Berlin? And then, two, Ambassador Haass apparently is going to India in the beginning of December. Can you say why? And number three, over the weekend, the Secretary referred to Ambassador Dobbins as the ambassador to the Northern Alliance at one point. Was that a slip of the tongue, because that would seem to imply diplomatic recognition. Is he still the special envoy -- special representative to the Afghan opposition? MR. BOUCHER: Yes, of which the Northern Alliance is part. So he is -- QUESTION: But he is not ambassador -- MR. BOUCHER: He is our guy to meet with the Northern Alliance. He is an ambassador. He is our man who meets with the Northern Alliance in the field. And that's as accurate a description of some of his activities as anything. Now, moving backwards -- QUESTION: But his title hasn't changed? MR. BOUCHER: No, his title hasn't changed. Moving backwards slowly, because I'm trying to remember -- Haass in India, I will have to check on. QUESTION: The King representing the Northern Alliance, is he -- MR. BOUCHER: My understanding, I was watching Mr. Vendrell on television this morning, and he was talking about quite a number of other Pashtuns who we expect to be there. The King, and the people who have been working with them in this group are indeed Pashtun leaders as well. So I would expect that there will be others in addition to them that would be there. But, as you know, we are encouraging everybody to participate and the United Nations will be working on the participation in the meeting. QUESTION: There are reports, I think mostly out of London, of some concerns between the British and Americans regarding the behavior of the Northern Alliance around the Bagram Airport, reports that they were not welcoming British troops coming in working on humanitarian aid, had asked them to leave. What can you tell us about that and what the United States is conveying I guess again and again to the Northern Alliance, that they are not yet the government of the new Afghanistan and they shouldn't be treating their allies this way. MR. BOUCHER: Are you referring to brand new reports or the reports from the other days, because there were sort of reports like that a couple days ago and then I think the Northern Alliance said that they didn't object to us; they just wanted to talk about it. I assume that people have been talking about it. You can get probably a better update from the British than anybody on that. QUESTION: Have the British expressed concerns to you or dissatisfaction to you with perhaps the message that -- MR. BOUCHER: As far as military deployments, really, I would leave it to the military, and I am sure we are coordinating very, very closely with the military on that. QUESTION: No, I am talking about diplomatically, are they discussing that with us? MR. BOUCHER: As far as military deployments go, we are coordinating with the British, I'm sure. But I don't have anything new on that front. As far as I know, nobody has really objected to those things. QUESTION: Richard, one gets the impression that the Northern Alliance have been very grudging about yielding any ground on issues such as power sharing and a number of issues. And you are not lending any credence whatsoever to that, is that -- MR. BOUCHER: I don't think it is something to make a big deal of, frankly. I would say if you look at the behavior of the Northern Alliance, I know there were a lot of fears, I know there were a lot of concerns, I know there were a lot of concerns, I know there were a lot of people who thought events moved very, very quickly and that the rest of the political organization didn't catch up. But I think the history of this is quite clear. Before Kabul fell, they formed an arrangement with the former King to try to work on a broad-based government. We initially felt that they shouldn't try to go into Kabul, but events moved so quickly that they did. But they have still left the bulk of their forces outside. And they seemed to have provided security, and based on all the news reports that I see, it appears that life in Kabul is returning to normal, pre-Taliban normal, and that people are able to do things, live comfortably and safely in the city once again. The Northern Alliance has agreed to attend these meetings, agreed to continue working on a broad-based government. So obviously we judge people by their behavior, but things seem to be moving in a direction that was set towards a broad-based government, and so far that's the way things have proceeded. QUESTION: But what do you think about Rabbani saying that he is still president, especially as we recognized him as president all these years? Doesn't that put us in a quandary if we don't want him declared president automatically now? MR. BOUCHER: No. QUESTION: Why not? MR. BOUCHER: Because Ambassador Dobbins and others have met with Mr. Rabbani and the whole leadership of the Northern Alliance. That was the meeting that we had yesterday at Bagram Airport. And all those people, including Mr. Rabbani, have made quite clear that they intend to participate in this process to create a broad-based government for Afghanistan, and that a whole variety of Afghan leaders will be there, and they intend to work with them. QUESTION: Do we not consider him president in this interim time? MR. BOUCHER: I'll get you the specific sort of formal guidance on recognition if I can. QUESTION: Thank you. QUESTION: Richard, this morning, Secretary Powell and the other two speakers who kicked off the conference all took great pains to mention the role of women in Afghanistan, and the role women should play and ought to play and deserve to play in reconstruction and the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Has Ambassador Dobbins raised this in his talks with any of the groups? And if so, what has the response been from groups he has raised it with? MR. BOUCHER: Let's just say, the United States has raised this. I don't quite remember which meetings it's been raised in. But the United States has certainly made this point in our diplomatic discussions and our meetings with Afghan faction leaders, and our meetings with Afghan representatives. The importance that we attach to seeing women participate in the political process, participate in the reconstruction process, and participate in the future life of Afghanistan. One would say it's sort of a basic part of "broad-based," to have all segments of society represented, and that includes two genders. But this is an issue that we have raised, and I think we found some receptivity to that. QUESTION: Can we assume then that this means that if the future Afghan government chooses to exclude women from power, there will be consequences? MR. BOUCHER: I would say this means that you can assume that the United States will continue to promote the idea that women have to be involved in all aspects of Afghan life, and that we see that as essential to the creation of a broad-based government. (end excerpt) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112006.tlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml 20 November 2001 Nations Around the World Start Planning to Help Afghanistan Recovery (UNDP chief says U.S. sponsored meeting will lead off efforts) (1080) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- As the military and political developments on the ground move quickly toward a day when the Taliban will no longer be in a position to influence events in Afghanistan, the United Nations, the United States and other nations have also begun work on plans to help the country rebuild. A series of meetings scheduled over the next weeks and months will work on plans for Afghanistan's long-term recovery, the third and final leg in the international community's efforts to help the Afghans with political stabilization, humanitarian relief, and physical and economic rebuilding. Mark Malloch-Brown, the Administrator of the UN Development Program, has been asked by Secretary General Kofi Annan to take responsibility for the recovery effort while Annan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi is involved in trying to set up a meeting of all Afghan parties to form an interim administration and his deputy, Francesc Vandrell, has returned to Kabul to coordinate UN humanitarian efforts. The United Nations system "is braced and poised for a major effort and what I can do is offer some leadership at the global level to try to make sure that we have a strong partnership with other organizations...make sure, given the scale of needs, that there is room for everybody in this important international recovery and reconstruction operation," Malloch-Brown said. The United States and Japan have organized the first Afghan reconstruction meeting of donors and international organizations for November 20 in Washington and it will be followed by another session in January. A previously scheduled meeting of the UNDP, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank -- in which 200 Afghans are participating -- is set for later in November and the European Afghan support group under the chairmanship of Germany is also to meet later this year. The November 20 meeting is "a very useful effort by the U.S. and Japan to start a process to clarify thinking and trying to arrive at a consensus on the scale of approaches and mechanisms," the UNDP Administrator said at a press conference at the UN November 19. "It is important that while there is this level of political attention to the problem and display of real political will behind helping Afghanistan that we capture and channel that energy into a bankable series of commitments to the reconstruction of the country," Malloch-Brown said. "Now we have a new and equally vital challenge which is to structure a recovery and reconstruction program which supports Brahimi's peace building efforts." As the military situation on the ground has changed, he said, donor nations, Afghanistan's neighbors, as well as Afghans themselves have become increasingly anxious to see reconstruction planning get underway. Malloch-Brown feels that the United Nations and its agencies are in the best position to coordinate the effort because of the knowledge of the country they developed working in Afghanistan on humanitarian aid programs for years. "We have some clear thoughts at the country level and the national level of the first tasks to be undertaken. The key thing is to organize them," he said. "We have 250 international staff in the region both ready to go back in to work on the humanitarian tasks...but also to work on these recovery efforts under the UN development group banner." The UN also has 2200 Afghan nationals working for UNDP, UNICEF, the World Food Program, and other UN agencies both inside Afghanistan and in refugee camps in neighboring countries. "The pool of human Afghan talent that we can deploy to begin moving things forward is enormous," he said. "That is, of course, critical because...it is not the UN's intention to run Afghanistan for the next few years. Its (intention) is to deploy support to an Afghan-led government and administration of the country." "As a general point we think it is time to get going. It is time to get our people into the country and be working as aggressively as possible," Malloch-Brown said. Until the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, "Afghanistan was one of those forgotten causes" where only the traditional donors such as the United States, Sweden and the other Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom were the only ones providing aid -- although with great difficulty because of the obstructions placed by the Taliban regime, the UNDP administrator said. Now with a new political climate in Afghanistan, the UN is hoping to see nations from other regions, such as the Persian Gulf, provide assistance for the monumental work that needs to be done. Also important is getting the World Bank and the IMF involved early in the process, so there is no gap between the relief and reconstruction phases, the UNDP Administrator said. "We want to overcome the situation in the past where you have this very fragmented effort where you would have a relief operation which one day would be declared a victory and stop. You then get a terrible gap period while the international financial institutions mobilized and financial stability is assured. In fact, in that period many countries actually slip in terms of their peace building," he said. How many years and how much such projects will cost no one yet knows, Malloch-Brown said. However, he noted that the "non-paper" the U.S. and Japan have prepared for the November 20 meeting talks of a period of five to eight years. "So everybody is thinking long term. But once one comes up with a credible figure and starts to pass out shares, I'm sure there will be some digestive difficulties," he added. Malloch-Brown said "quick impact projects" to begin now include restarting community development activities, restoring community services, and seeing that resources reach the people. Construction projects include restoring electricity, water supplies, and many roads that are now unusable. The country's infrastructure "has taken a terrible hit, not as a consequence of the bombing campaign, but it has deteriorated over many years," he said. "There is also an equally critical task of beginning to restore at least nascent national institutions, start building the human capacity among Afghans who can be the future staffs of ministries of health, education, and so on," the UNDP Administrator said.
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112103.nlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml Washington File 21 November 2001 Closing Remarks at Afghan Reconstruction Conference (UN role central; economic, humanitarian & political development linked) (1390) Addressing the participants in the November 20 Working Session on Reconstruction of Afghanistan, the U.S. and Japanese hosts of the conference outlined a series of meetings which will take place in the upcoming months to solidify international assistance in rebuilding Afghanistan. The European Union and Saudi Arabia will join the United States and Japan in leading a steering committee aimed at mobilizing international support for reconstruction programs. "One of the most important conclusions of the conference is to underscore the central role of the United Nations, which is playing and will continue to play a vital role in Afghanistan. It is also clear that the effort at reconstruction cannot be viewed separately from the process of political development," U.S. Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Alan Larson said at the conclusion of the conference. Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shotaro Oshima underscored the group's appreciation for "the importance of involving the Afghans themselves in this effort to reconstruct this country, Afghanistan, after the conflict is over." With an eye to re-establishing sound infrastructure throughout Afghanistan, participants tasked the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to conduct a comprehensive need assessment for review before the January ministerial conference in Japan on reconstruction. "We think that these institutions -- World Bank, UNDP, and ADB -- should develop and assess alternative approaches to facilitate the connection between relief, recovery and reconstruction," Japanese Vice Minister Kurode said. The interaction between humanitarian aid and economic reconstruction was under a great deal of discussion at the conference, said U.S. Treasury Under Secretary John B. Taylor, and "shows the direction where we're heading in the months ahead." (begin transcript) Closing Remarks at the Meeting on Afghan Reconstruction Alan Larson, Under Secretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs; Treasury Under Secretary Taylor; Japanese Dep. For. Min. Oshima; Japanese Vice Min. Kurode Washington, DC November 20, 2001 UNDER SECRETARY LARSON: Good afternoon. We've just had an extraordinarily significant and interesting conference next door. On short notice, we asked countries from all around the world to join us in having a discussion on the issue of reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan. There was a very rich debate and an action program that flowed out of this meeting that we'll be very busy implementing in the days, weeks and months to come. One of the most important conclusions of the conference is to underscore the central role of the United Nations, which is playing and will continue to play a vital role in Afghanistan. It is also clear that the effort at reconstruction cannot be viewed separately from the process of political development. There was a very clear understanding among all the participants that one of our top priorities is going to be to have quick-hitting projects in Afghanistan that can help inspire hope and that can help the Afghan people understand that the international community is ready and able to help them build better lives for themselves and their children. Today, we agreed to establish a steering group that will provide political guidance to this effort and help mobilize support from all around the world for the effort at reconstruction. Very significantly, four countries stepped forward today to agree to play a leadership role as co-chairs of this steering group: Japan and the United States, which were the co-chairs of this conference, as well as the European Union and Saudi Arabia. We're determined to have this be a light and effective organization, one that will provide some real political momentum. There was also a commitment on the part of the European Union to bring people together next month, to continue and deepen this work. There was a very strong request from the conference that Japan be prepared to hold a ministerial-level conference in January so that we could get commitments from countries to the task of reconstruction development in Afghanistan. And as my Japanese colleague will say, the Japanese Government gave a very positive response to that request. I want to underscore, before turning the podium over to Deputy Foreign Minister Oshima, that the degree of common feeling and like-mindedness and the focus on very, very specific issues -- agriculture and repairing of roads, ensuring shelter and things of that sort -- was evident throughout the session. This was a real roll-up-your-sleeves meeting, and I think it augers well for the effort that lies ahead. I'd like to invite Deputy Foreign Minister Oshima. DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER OSHIMA: Thank you very much. Thank you to all of you who are here. As my friend and colleague Under Secretary Larson just mentioned, we had a very fruitful and successful meeting this morning and this afternoon. Although this meeting was called at such short notice, there were very many participants, indicating the importance of the governments who have assembled attached to this endeavor, which is a major endeavor and a huge task ahead. On the substance, I have not much to add to the very able quick summary that Alan Larson has just made. But I did want to add one aspect that appeared throughout the whole meeting. And that was the importance of involving the Afghans themselves in this effort to reconstruct this country, Afghanistan, after the conflict is over. As to the process, as Alan Larson just mentioned, there was a strong call from the conference to have a succession of meetings, and the Japanese Government have agreed to host a ministerial-level meeting of this conference on a larger participation in the latter half of January next year. Thank you very much. UNDER SECRETARY TAYLOR: Thank you very much. A great deal of stress at this conference was placed both on humanitarian efforts to help the Afghan people, as well as on economic reconstruction efforts, which will also aim to have a lasting help to the Afghan people. And in regard to both those items, there was a great deal of emphasis placed on how there is interaction between the humanitarian effort, which is already under way, and the economic reconstruction, which will be continuing in the years ahead. There was a feeling that if we could make that connection clear, we could get results to the Afghan people in a more timely way. For example, working on agriculture at the beginning, trying to have ways in which the seed, for example, to begin to think about next year's crops, could already be brought into place in a very specific way. Another example of how the humanitarian will feed into the reconstruction is in the area of education. Education has been restricted dramatically in the last few years. We can help the Afghan people to begin with reconstructing schools, bringing teachers, especially women teachers, back into the classrooms, and that will have, of course, an important effect eventually on improving literacy rates, which are extraordinarily low right now, but in the short term, having direct income effects so that the Afghan people have more money to spend to improve their living standards in the short run. This interaction between the humanitarian and economic construction was a great deal of discussion at the conference, and I think it shows the direction where we're heading in the months ahead. Thank you. VICE MINISTER KURODE: Thank you. As prior speakers emphasized, we had a very good, useful, constructive discussion on the rehabilitation and the reconstruction of the Afghan economy. Particularly in the context of reconstruction discussion, the World Bank, UNDP and ADB contributed greatly so that we understood quite well about the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the need to reconstruct, rehabilitate the Afghan economy. In that context, we asked the World Bank, UNDP, and ADB to conduct urgently a comprehensive need assessment so that the ministerial conference to be held in Japan should be informed about the need of assistance to Afghanistan. We think that these institutions -- World Bank, UNDP, and ADB -- should develop and assess alternative approaches to facilitate the connection between relief, recovery and reconstruction. And all participants recognize that the need assessment would be increasingly comprehensive with time. Thank you. 3:00 P.M. EST (end transcript)
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112106.nlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml Washington File 21 November 2001 UN Convening Talks on Broad-based Afghan Government (Coalition Spokesman Kenton Keith in Islamabad) (930) The Coalition spokesman in Islamabad, Kenton Keith, said the United Nations had made progress on convening talks to promote a broad-based, multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan, and that the talks would most likely take place in Berlin early next week. Keith spoke in Islamabad on November 21. Keith said that after two decades of war, Afghanistan is on the verge of peace, and that reconstruction of the country would require massive international assistance. Outlining the three key areas for work, Keith said, "Initially, we must provide basic humanitarian aid for at least two years, until Afghans can provide these basic needs for themselves." "Then there must be reintegration and community development," he said, including ensuring access to education. "Lastly, we need to help the Afghan people reconstruct their nation. The Afghan people need to be able to build government structures, health care and education networks. We need to help them rebuild industries to provide a national income and employment," Keith said. The U.S. and Japan co-hosted a meeting on Afghan reconstruction in Washington on November 20 to set in motion the effort to help the Afghan people rebuild their country. Keith said the action plan that resulted from this meeting is a clear commitment from the international community "that we will not forget the people of Afghanistan." Following is the text of Keith's remarks in Islamabad. (begin text) Statement by Kenton Keith, Coalition Spokesman, Islamabad Berlin I would like to open by welcoming the progress that has been made by the United Nations in convening talks to further the effort to promote a broad-based, multi-ethnic government. It now seems likely that they will take place in Berlin early next week. I would like to pay tribute to Special Representative Brahimi and his deputy Francesc Vendrell who have been working tirelessly to help to bring about a stable, broad-based, multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan. Reconstruction Meeting I want to talk to today about the need for reconstruction in Afghanistan. After twenty-two years Afghanistan is on the verge of peace. But I think it is commonly understood that after those twenty-two years of conflict, the total destruction of infrastructure and the utter economic incompetence of the Taliban regime, it is in need of massive assistance to enable its reconstruction. We need to help Afghans create the basis for a stable society - civil discipline, the rule of law, the basic institutions of a civilized society. Schools and hospitals need to be built and rebuilt. So that the elements of decent living can be established in Afghanistan and established quickly after decades of neglect. As Special Representative Brahimi told the UN Security Council last week, reconstruction is key to bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and is at the heart of the political transition. Yesterday's Washington meeting on Afghan reconstruction co-hosted by the United States and Japan was a crucial start to this long process. The conference was convened at very short notice to set in motion the effort to help the Afghan people rebuild their country to enable them to live in stability and security in the future. The conference was attended by many countries and international organizations who all have an important role to play in the future of Afghanistan and its people. At this early stage the conference identified three key areas for work over the coming weeks, months and years. Initially we must provide basic humanitarian aid, in the form of food, shelter, clothing and health care. Years of drought, crop failure and economic mismanagement mean that we expect it to take at least two years to before we are in a position to say that all Afghan people will be in a position to provide these basic needs for themselves. Then there must be reintegration and community development. The many refugees and displaced people must feel secure returning to their homes. We also must ensure that the Afghan people begin to have access to education, particularly the women and girls who have missed out under the Taliban. Lastly we need to help the Afghan people to reconstruct their nation. The Afghan people need to be able to build Government structures, health care and education networks. We need to help them to rebuild industries to provide a national income and employment. Despite the short notice at which the meeting was called we have already covered many of these topics in rich, constructive debate. Those present have agreed an action plan that underscores the importance of the UN at the center of the regeneration of Afghanistan, now and in the future. The conference agreed a steering group to be chaired by the US, Japan, the EU and Saudi Arabia. This will give the process continued momentum and the EU has already agreed to organize a meeting next month to continue to deepen and broaden this work. Japan has agreed to host a Ministerial Level meeting in January, with the aim of getting commitments from the international community to the task of reconstructing Afghanistan. And next week many of the international NGOs are meeting here in Islamabad and will begin to look at the technical detail of what needs to be done. We are still in the early stages of this process, but it is a clear commitment from the international community that we will not forget the people of Afghanistan. The Coalition is determined to ensure a more stable and secure future for people who have endured a generation of suffering. (end text) (end text)
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01112101.glt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml Washington File 21 November 2001 Famine Still Threatens Afghanistan, USAID Director Says (Relief effort must be intensified as reconstruction plans take shape) (700) By Charlene Porter Washington File Staff Writer The international humanitarian effort to stave off hunger in Afghanistan brought more than 50,000 tons of food into the South Asian nation from mid-October to mid-November, but the danger of starvation is still real, according to Andrew Natsios, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development. "Our problem now is the famine has not peaked," Natsios said at a Washington Foreign Press Center briefing November 20. The international effort to ship food must be unrelenting to save an estimated 6 million people at risk of starvation, the USAID director said. "We need to ratchet up the relief effort, which I believe now is being successfully done." Natsios had just returned from a trip to South Asia, where he met with the leaders of the countries bordering Afghanistan to urge continued cooperation with the humanitarian effort. Now that the Northern Alliance has seized control of most of the northern areas bordering on Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the USAID director foresees the opening of new routes to facilitate the shipment of aid to places where the three-year drought has been most severe and the risk of starvation is greatest. "The governments reiterated their support for the relief effort and their cooperation in opening the borders up," he said. Natsios is also urging leaders of the international humanitarian agencies to shift some of their operations from the Pakistani border with Afghanistan to the northern regions in order to better support relief activities. Natsios' delivered his briefing on the same day that he had participated in the Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development Conference held at the U.S. State Department in Washington. The meeting was held as an initial step to bring together potential donor nations and international institutions in support of the rehabilitation of the country, battered after more than 20 years of war and civil conflict. The long-term reconstruction of the country is a process that can only begin when greater security is restored and a coalition government has been formed, officials warn, but Natsios said that smaller-scale reconstruction projects on the village level can begin sooner. USAID is studying where and how such projects might get under way, placing "a heavy focus on agriculture." "The reconstruction of wells, of roads, of the irrigation system are all essential to restoring the agricultural economy and food security, getting people back to work and making the country self-sufficient in food once again," Natsios said. Much of the damage done to the Afghani agriculture infrastructure is attributable to what Natsios described as a "scorched-earth policy enforced by the Taliban." USAID is working on a plan that would outline the U.S. contribution to an Afghani reconstruction plan, and Natsios said the re-establishment of a functioning education system is an early priority. Education is only one reason why opening the schools is important, he said. "The children of Afghanistan have been in a sort of a chaotic circumstance for a very long time, and that's not healthy," Natsios said. "The best way to deal with the trauma is an ordered schedule, and that's what school provides, the socialization" of a structured educational system. Questioned about whether accidental U.S. bombing of humanitarian facilities may have strained U.S. relations with international relief agencies, Natsios repeated the explanation offered by the Department of Defense that the relief facilities were accidentally hit and not intentionally targeted. But he followed with a stinging attack on Taliban behavior in response to the bombing campaign. "Taliban was driving military vehicles, tanks and trucks all around those Red Cross facilities. ... It was despicable. They were violating the Geneva Conventions when they did that," Natsios said. The USAID administrator stepped into his position earlier this year after having spent 12 years in other relief organizations, years in which he was involved in humanitarian responses to other disasters, famines and conflicts. Drawing upon that experience, Natsios characterized the Taliban actions as "the most egregious I've seen."