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Pdf | 526.35 Kb CIVIL - MILITARY FUSION CEN TRE Afghanistan Review Week 12 23 March 2011 Comprehensive Information on Complex Crises INSIDE THIS ISSUE This document provides a weekly overview of developments in Afghanistan from 16 March—22 March 2011, with hyper-links to source material highlighted in blue and underlined in the text. For Economic Development more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to events in Afghanistan, feel free to con- Governance & Participation tact the members of the Afghanistan Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org. Humanitarian Affairs Infrastructure Rule of Law Security Economic Development Steven A. Zyck ► [email protected] Socio-Cultural Development dults and children working in brick- revealed the Bank‟s financial weakness and making kilns in Afghanistan and unorthodox lending practices – had received ABOUT THE CFC Pakistan are kept in a state of pro- death threats in early 2008. Rather than view- A The Civil-Military Fusion Centre tracted indentured servitude, according to an ing these death threats as a likely sign of prob- (CFC) is an Information and article by The New York Times. The report lems and wrongdoing at Kabul Bank, USAID Knowledge Management describes a process in which kiln workers be- permitted inspectors to cease further on-site organisation focused on come indebted to a kiln owner and begin examinations. In the absence of such examina- improving civil-military interaction, working for them to re-pay the principal. tions, corruption and financial improprieties at However, kiln owners set exceptionally low Kabul Bank became more difficult to detect. facilitating information sharing and wages which are designed to prevent the loan Formerly the largest private financial institu- enhancing situational awareness from ever being repaid. Workers are often tion in Afghanistan, Kabul Bank is estimated through the CimicWeb portal. forced to make their children labour at the to have lost USD 900 million and has now kilns in order to pay down the loan, though been taken over by the Afghan government. CFC products are developed with few such loans are ever ultimately repaid. The open-source information from a article describes this situation as “a seemingly The Afghan Ministry of Communications and wide variety of organisations and endless cycle of poverty that keeps them in- Information Technology (MCIT) announced media sources. debted to their employers”. A 2004 report by that Afghanistan would begin using postal the BBC noted that Afghan refugees were first codes to help deliver packages more quickly The CFC is represented in Kabul by forced into this type of indentured servitude at and accurately, says Tolo News. The move is a Forward Military Liaison Officer, brick kilns in Pakistan. The practice was then expected to increase the use of the Afghan Maj. Gary Evans, who is embedded expanded in Afghanistan once Afghan refu- government's postal service – as opposed to within ISAF. gees began returning home after 2001 (See private mail services – and to double the December 2010 CFC Report, Child Labour postal service's revenues. Between March By design, CFC products or links to and Trafficking, for additional information). 2010 and March 2011, the Afghan independently produced articles do postal service, known as Afghan not necessarily represent the The Wall Street Journal reports that the Post, generated USD 118 million in revenues. opinions, views or official position United States Agency for International Devel- opment (USAID) has suspended a portion of Finally, Pajhwok Afghan News noted that the of any other organisation. its contract with Deloitte Consulting LLP, a Pakistani government agreed to release the private firm USAID had paid to provide tech- approximately 9,000 Afghanistan-bound con- . CONTACT THE CFC nical assistance to Afghanistan‟s Central tainers which had been stranded at Karachi Bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB). The sus- port for as long as six months. Logistical ar- For further information, contact: rangements intended to prevent smuggling of pension comes in light of a forthcoming report Afghanistan Team Manager from USAID‟s Inspector General that criti- goods into Pakistan had held up the departure Valeria Davanzo cises Deloitte for failing to draw attention to of these containers, nearly half of which con- [email protected] widespread, endemic corruption at Kabul tained food, from the port. Tolo News reported that the now-lifted Pakistani government re- Afghanistan Editor Bank. The same report also faults US govern- ment officials for similarly overlooking the strictions on Afghanistan-bound containers at Amber Ramsey possibility of corruption, says The New York Karachi port had reduced imports into Kanda- [email protected] Times. USAID, for instance, was aware that har province down to a trickle. As a result, commerce in Kandahar slowed, imported The Afghanistan Team contractors providing on-site examinations of goods such as fuel became increasingly scarce [email protected] Kabul Bank‟s records – which could have and government customs revenues declined. Governance & Participation Anne-Catherine Claude ► [email protected] cannot stand on its own two feet if its state institutions remain n 17 March, the United Nations Security Council weak and are undermined by various parallel structures, and if (UNSC) discussed the situation in Afghanistan follow- capacity is not strengthened”. Therefore, the Afghan govern- O ing the release of the first 2011 quarterly report from ment requested increased focus on channelling aid through the the United Nations Secretary-General on the situation in Af- Afghan budget as well as an expanded role for UNAMA in ghanistan and its implications for international peace and secu- civil-military coordination with ISAF. The Afghan govern- rity. In his report, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasised ment also outlined that, in terms of electoral reform, the re- that the country must overcome “major obstacles” to prove its sponsibility lies solely with the Afghan government and as ability to control its own future, reports the Associated Press. such, declared that it was not necessary to make reference to In particular, the Secretary-General noted that despite pro- UNAMA‟s support to electoral reform in the new mandate. gress, the tension between the executive, legislative and judici- The members of the UNSC fully supported the transition to ary branches over the status of the new parliament will likely full Afghan responsibility, emphasising the need to prioritise lead to an “entrenched political crisis” and be detrimental to capacity-building of Afghan institutions, particularly those the credibility, effectiveness and inclusiveness of the Afghan related to security and rule of law. government. The Special Representative of the Secretary Gen- On 22 March, the UNSC, through resolution 1974, unani- eral in Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Assistance mously extended UNAMA‟s mandate for another 12 months. Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Staffan de Mistura, pre- According to a UN press release, the Council decided that sented the report to the members of the UNSC. During his UNAMA, guided by the principle of reinforcing Afghan sover- speech, he highlighted that “the primary focus for the coming eignty, ownership and leadership, would continue to lead inter- months will be on transition of security arrangements as inter- national civilian support to the Afghan Government in accor- national forces begin the gradual transition in lead responsibil- dance with the London and Kabul conference communiqués, ity for security to Afghan security forces”. However, he further with a particular focus on strengthening coordination between stated that a successful and sustainable transition can only take international programmes in development and governance place if linked to three elements: (i) a political and develop- assistance and between civilian and military operations. ment process, (ii) peace and reintegration and (iii) a substan- tive regional process. SRSG de Mistura also noted that the UN In other news, Agence France-Presse reports that Fazlullah is “now positioned to assist the government and the Afghan Wahedi, the governor of Kunar province, survived a rocket people in key areas as long as needed and if as such re- attack on the convoy he was travelling in. The Taliban have quested”. claimed responsibility for this attack, which came just weeks after a district governor was shot dead in eastern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Ambassador Zahir Tanin, the Permanent Repre- Earlier in March, during a hearing of the US Senate Armed sentative of Afghanistan to the UN, introduced a request from Services Committee, James Clapper, the Director of US Na- the Afghan government for the renewal of UNAMA‟s mandate tional Intelligence (DNI), warned that the Taliban might in- for an additional 12 months. The request also called for a com- crease attacks against key government figures. According to a prehensive review of the UNAMA mandate, consistent with transcript of the hearing, Mr. Clapper declared “the Taliban principles outlined in the Kabul and London Conference com- will use high-profile attacks, assassination of key government muniqués, which seek to restore Afghan ownership of security, figures and efforts to extend shadow governance to undermine governance and development. While underlining the progress local perceptions of security and influence segments of the made so far, Ambassador
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