PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR AFGHANISTAN

PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR AFGHANISTAN

At a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, said that while many serious problems remained in Afghanistan, he was hopeful that peace would be consolidated, and reconstruction would take place.

"There is absolutely no room for complacency", Mr. Brahimi said.  But there was every reason to be hopeful that some 24 years of incessant conflict and destruction were behind the people of Afghanistan, he said.  The recent address to the General Assembly by the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, was the first occasion in many years that the President of a fully recognized Afghan Government had spoken to the General Assembly and other United Nations fora.

The main problem threatening the process in Afghanistan was security, or the lack of it, he said.  He had been asking a question for which he had no answer, namely, how many people were trying to disrupt the peace process.  The people who bought into the process had not withdrawn from it.  Where were the people who had not bought into the process? he asked.  The answer to that question was unknown, which was why there was great need for vigilance. 

Another problem facing Afghanistan was the slow process of reconstruction, he said.  Afghanistan had been totally devastated, and it would be difficult for those who had fled the country some 20 years ago to come back to Afghanistan.

How would be the current situation in Iraq including any future military action impact the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan?, a correspondent asked.  Mr. Brahimi said he did not see a direct link between the two.  A major crisis in the region, however, was much too close for comfort.  If Pakistan and Iran in particular were disrupted, Afghanistan would also be affected.  Although there was no direct link, he was very apprehensive.  He was looking forward to the breakthrough that the Secretary-General had worked out yesterday.

Asked whether he had taken measures in anticipation of a possible war, Mr. Brahimi said there were no measures he could take in Afghanistan, except perhaps to pray.

Were more troops and police needed on the ground to improve the security situation?, a correspondent asked.  Mr. Brahimi said he was hopeful that the project for a national police force and army would take form and would be a credible, achievable objective.  He also hoped that in a year or two, the Afghans would be in a position to take care of most of their security needs.  In the meantime, however, it was no secret that the Secretary-General and others, including President Karzai, had called for more international support to the security situation.  The United Nations had been told repeatedly that expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was not possible.  He was encouraged however, by the public recognition that some kind of support was needed. 

In response to a further question on the security situation, Mr. Brahimi said there had not been a decision as to who would take over after Turkey completed its role.  He had seen a dispatch yesterday, however, in which a Turkish General had indicated that Germany might be interested in the task, but there had been no decision.

Asked to comment on financial commitments for reconstruction efforts, Mr. Brahimi said that according to Afghanistan's Minister of Finance -- a twenty-year veteran of the World Bank -- compared to other post-conflict situations, the disbursement of funds was faster and better than anywhere else in recent years.  The needs were so big, however, that that was not enough.  Much of the money was being absorbed by on-going humanitarian emergencies.  Some five to six million Afghans were still in need of food.  An excessive part of incoming funds went to emergency needs.  The United Nations Mission was working closely with the Afghan Government to redirect as much money as possible to medium- and long-term reconstruction efforts.

In response to a question on the role of women in the new society, Mr. Brahimi said the Afghan society was very conservative.  There had been a huge leap forward, however, in that women were no longer considered "non-beings".  About half of the three million children attending school were girls.  More women than men were teachers, and women were returning to work in the ministries.  There were a few women working for the United Nations, and the Mission was trying to recruit more.  The Ministry for Women's Affairs was working to produce programmes acceptable to Afghan society and at a pace that would not be counterproductive.  He hoped interested men and women abroad would help Afghan women, but in a way that supported an Afghan agenda.

Asked to comment on the return of refugees, Mr. Brahimi said the humanitarian situation was very serious.  Some 1.6 million refugees had returned and more were expected to return, especially from Iran.  About 400,000 refugees were living in Kabul, representing a huge burden on a city that had no services.  Many of those refugees were not originally from Kabul.  Some refugees were living in destroyed houses or in tents.  While that was not a problem in summer, the winter would be difficult.  That was the case all over Afghanistan, not only Kabul.  Most of the refugees had decided to return freely, which was a sign of hope.  But as with other problems in Afghanistan, there was no room for complacency.

Apart from the security situation, the refugee issue was the second most important issue he was working on with the Government, Mr. Brahimi said.  The United Nations was calling on Pakistan and Iran to encourage the refugees to delay their return.  In addition to the refugees, there was also a huge internally displaced population.  The country was facing humanitarian, social, political, and environmental problems all at the same time.

What was the latest thinking on the possibility of expanding the Security Force throughout Afghanistan?, a correspondent asked.  There had not been much change, and the matter was still uncertain, Mr. Brahimi said.  The only change was that prospective contributors were recognizing that there was a need.  He hoped to spend much of October discussing a national army and police force. 

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