Minister Cannon's Intervention at the Kabul International Conference on Afghanistan on July 20 in Kabul

In Canada, when G8 Foreign Ministers gathered in March and G8 Leaders gathered in June, G8 members reaffirmed our collective commitment to support Afghanistan on its road to peace and stability. We called upon Afghanistan for concrete action on the commitments made at the London Conference.

Today, we see the efforts made by the Government of Afghanistan to meet that call. Canada acknowledges the hard work that the Government of Afghanistan has put into reviewing its priorities and articulating the action plan presented today. The challenge now is to make that plan a reality.

A major obstacle to implementation is of course the security challenge we see before us. Violence and indiscriminate insurgent attacks continue to hamper Afghanistan’s transition to a self-reliant democracy. However, Canada continues to believe that the significant efforts that are currently being made by international and Afghan forces to protect the Afghan people will turn the tide against the insurgency.

The development of an autonomous and self-sufficient Afghan army and police force are key to the long-term sustainability of a stable Afghanistan. The framework for transition of security responsibility, outlined in the transition plan, sets out the right conditions for this.

In moving forward with the gradual transition of selected provinces, it will be important for civilian and military actors, both Afghan and international, to work closely together. Transition conditions, especially those linked to development and governance, must be realistic and measurable, reflecting the individual needs on the ground in each province.

We also recognize that the solution is not an exclusively military one, but also requires a political way forward. Central to that is a reconciliation process that is inclusive of all Afghans, no matter their ethnicity, tribe or gender. Those who are reconciling must renounce violence, accept the Afghan constitution and cut all ties to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda. It is, of course, equally important that the reintegration efforts be consistent with the Afghan Constitution and Afghanistan’s international legal obligations.

Addressing the legacy of past and present human rights abuses is a core element of building a relationship of trust between the Government of Afghanistan and its people. For that reason, Canada urges the Government of Afghanistan to update the 2006 Three Year Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice.

We have heard time and again from Afghans that limited access to justice and weak rule of law are some of the greatest challenges to their sense of security. We therefore, strongly encourage the Government of Afghanistan to commit to a review and re-vitalization of the National Justice Programme as well as the pursuit of the priorities identified in the Justice for all Programme.

All of the issues we are discussing today are interconnected. Good governance, in particular combating corruption, is central to all of our objectives. The Government of Afghanistan has taken an important step to establish an ambitious reform programme that encompasses anti-corruption, robust public financial management, capacity development, civil service reform, the promotion of human rights, and strengthening subnational governance.

Progress on these challenges is key to building the confidence of Afghans in their government and ensuring long term stability. We encourage the Government of Afghanistan to ensure that its governance programmes will also address the  short term need to bring government to the people.

We also urge the government to address the need for comprehensive electoral reform. Some steps have been taken to address the challenges of the 2009 election, but there is still much work that needs to be undertaken to build an electoral system that is both sustainable and credible in the eyes of all Afghans.

Canada remains committed to supporting those working to protect, promote, and uphold human rights across Afghanistan. The guarantee of those rights rests in the rule of law, in the independent voice of Afghan civil society and media and in the institutions that are responsible for promoting rights and accountability, such as the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the Independent Elections Commission, the Electoral Complaints Commission, the judicial system and elected bodies.

We look to the Afghan Government to fulfill its longstanding commitment to human rights by funding the Human Rights Commission from the state budget in the next fiscal year and annually thereafter.

Promoting women’s human rights is also essential to building a strong and stable Afghanistan. We are convinced that a stable Afghanistan requires that women’s voices be heard across Afghanistan’s institutions and throughout the political process.

Identifying benchmarks from the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan to integrate gender and women’s rights in priority programming will be an important step forward. Canada also looks to the Afghan government for a strategy to implement the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Stability in Afghanistan will be greatly enhanced by increased cooperation in the region. The presence of so many regional actors is a testament to this. The Dubai Process, led by Afghanistan and Pakistan and facilitated by Canada is a good example of what can be accomplished when two countries agree to coordinate on crucial issues such as customs and counter-narcotics efforts.

I was pleased to be able to launch with my G8 colleagues the Afghanistan Pakistan Border Region Prosperity Initiative at the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Gatineau, Québec in March, which is in line with the Government of Afghanistan’s Economic and Infrastructure Development programme.

The Government of Afghanistan coordination effort that was started following the London Conference has been an impressive effort at setting clear priorities for the Government of Afghanistan. And we applaud the Government’s efforts to ensure that internationally agreed principles of aid effectiveness are respected consistently by all parties. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government on defining the criteria and processes for ensuring the accountability and effectiveness of all aid, on or off the national budget.

I am pleased to be able to say that Canada’s current programming portfolio is already well aligned with the Afghan priorities identified through this process. But we would encourage the government to continue to prioritize basic health service delivery in the national programmes, particularly maternal and child health, which is supported by an initiative launched at the recent G8 Summit in Muskoka.

Canada looks forward to the continuation of the Kabul Process and the clear articulation of how progress on implementation of the action plan will be communicated to Afghans. Monitoring our mutual commitments will be critical to success.

Canada is encouraged to see representatives of civil society and the private sector present here at the table with us today. I hope that this will only be one step in an ongoing discussion amongst all of us that are interested in a secure and stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

Thank you.

 

• Media Advisory - July 19, 2010
• News Release - July 20, 2010
• Kabul International Conference on Afghanistan Communiqué (pdf 77 kb)