Canada Provides Additional Support for the Rule of Law in Afghanistan
Backgrounder
Canada Provides Additional Support for the Rule of Law in Afghanistan
Canada recently announced that it will help strengthen the rule of law in Afghanistan through a contribution of more than $21 million:
- $20 million will be provided to the United Nations Development Programme Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan, which brings Canada’s total contribution to almost $70 million. The Trust Fund is the main instrument for paying the salaries of all Afghan National Police and Afghan corrections officers. Of this current contribution, $19 million will pay for the salaries of Afghan National Police and $1 million will support the salaries of corrections officers.
- $1.3 million will go to the Human Rights Support Unit within the Afghan Ministry of Justice, underlining Canada’s commitment to help strengthen the Afghan justice system and help build the Government of Afghanistan’s capacity to protect and promote human rights. In addition, Canada will contribute approximately $350,000 to support the reconstruction efforts required following the February 11, 2009, attacks against the Ministry of Justice and the Central Prison Department in Kabul.
On March 11, 2009, the Afghan Ministry of the Interior (MOI) accredited the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team Training Centre for the provision of Canadian instruction. This is an important development, as courses given by Canadian civilian police will now be officially recognized by the MOI. This will allow Canada to accelerate its training program to strengthen Afghan National Police reform and development by providing specialized and advanced courses in support of the overall effort of the international community, including the U.S.-led Focused District Development program. Courses would include, among other topics, leadership and management development, instructor development, officer safety and survival, basic criminal investigation, crowd control, driver training and first aid.
There are currently 24 civilian police officers from the RCMP and other municipal police agencies deployed with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. Civilian police have been deployed to Kandahar since August 2005. Their primary role is to monitor, advise, mentor and train the Afghan National Police.
