HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA CANADA IN AFGHANISTAN Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Kevin Sorenson, MP Chair JULY 2008 39th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs, in whole or in part, must be obtained from their authors. Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca Available from Communication Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 CANADA IN AFGHANISTAN Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Kevin Sorenson, MP Chair JULY 2008 39th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CHAIR Kevin Sorenson VICE-CHAIRS Bernard Patry Vivian Barbot MEMBERS Hon. Raymond Chan Johanne Deschamps Paul Dewar Peter Goldring Wajid Khan Denis Lebel Hon. Keith Martin Deepak Obhrai Hon. Bob Rae OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Bill Casey Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh Francine Lalonde Alexa McDonough Caroline St-Hilaire Hon. Bryon Wilfert CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Angela Crandall LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Gerald Schmitz, Principal, James Lee And Natalie Mychajlyszyn, Analysts iii THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT has the honour to present its TENTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), and the motion adopted by the Committee on November 20, 2007, your Committee has undertaken a study of Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAIR’S FOREWORD.................................................................................................... 1 PREFACE ....................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 7 PART I: CANADA’S ROLE IN THE SEARCH FOR PEACE AND REGIONAL SECURITY .................................................................................................................... 19 The Military Contribution to Security ........................................................................ 20 Establishing the Conditions for a Multi-level Peace Process ................................... 22 Strengthening The Role of the United Nations......................................................... 28 Understanding and Addressing the Regional Dimension......................................... 32 Engaging Pakistan ................................................................................................... 35 PART II: CANADA’S ROLE IN RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT .............. 43 Scope of Canada's Reconstruction and Development Activities and Achievements ................................................................................................... 45 Recognising the Relationship Between Development and Security......................... 46 Rebalancing Priorities .............................................................................................. 50 Strengthening Aid Effectiveness and Accountability ................................................ 52 National and Local Level Reconstruction and Development Programs and Projects............................................................................................................. 56 Balance of Short- and Long-Term Projects.............................................................. 58 Strengthening Coordination ..................................................................................... 60 PART III: CANADA’S ROLE IN ADDRESSING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE, INSTITUTIONAL, AND STATE-BUILDING CHALLENGES ........................................ 69 Good Governance as an Essential Objective of International Policy ....................... 70 Public Administration Reform from the National to the Local Levels........................ 72 Reform of the Justice System and Security-Sector Institutions................................ 75 vii Anti-Corruption and Counter-Narcotics Efforts......................................................... 80 Support for Accountable Governance, Multiparty Democracy, Elections, and Effective Legislative Institutions ............................................................................... 84 The Future Role of Canada’s Strategic Advisory Team-Afghanistan (SAT-A) ......... 87 Achieving Domestically and Internationally Coordinated Assistance to Good Governance.................................................................................................... 89 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 101 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................. 105 APPENDIX I: MOTION ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS MARCH 13, 2008 ........................................................................................................ 115 APPENDIX II: INTERNATIONALLY AGREED BENCHMARKS AND TIMELINES FROM THE 2006 LONDON AFGHANISTAN COMPACT ........................................... 119 APPENDIX III: DECLARATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF AFGHANISTAN ISSUED UNDER THE AUTHROITY OF THE THREE CO-CHAIRS PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI, SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON, PARIS, 12 JUNE 2008 ............................. 129 APPENDIX IV : REGIONAL MAP OF AFGHANISTAN AND ITS 34 PROVINCES ..... 133 APPENDIX V : LIST OF WITNESSES (39-2).............................................................. 135 APPENDIX VI : LIST OF WITNESSES (39-1)............................................................. 139 APPENDIX VII : LIST OF BRIEFS .............................................................................. 143 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE........................................................... 145 DISSENTING OPINION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA ................ 147 SUPPLEMENTARY OPINION OF THE BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS .................................... 149 viii CHAIR’S FOREWORD Canada’s continuing multi-faceted engagement in Afghanistan represents both a major opportunity and an ongoing challenge for Canadian leadership in world affairs. That is the overriding thrust of our Committee’s Report Canada in Afghanistan containing 35 recommendations to the Government of Canada, notably in the crucial inter-linked areas of security, development and governance. It has been almost two years since we began our study of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan since 2001. In October 2006, Chief of the Defence Staff General Rick Hillier accompanied the then Minister of National Defence as our first witnesses on the situation in Afghanistan. Fittingly, in April 2008, several months before his retirement, General Hillier was also our last witness. Our Committee’s study looked at the totality of Canada’s role in Afghanistan, including the many non-military aspects. Sustainable development and achieving a lasting peace were the subjects highlighted in our January 2008 Preliminary Report. In this main report, our perspective on the important contribution being made by the Canadian Forces’ mission in Afghanistan is integrated into an overall picture of the security objectives required for Afghanistan’s long-term stability. We recognize as well that Canada’s efforts must be coherent with the priorities agreed to by the Government of Afghanistan and the international community. The Committee’s report is based on the testimony of many expert witnesses and pertinent supplementary analyses. We have also taken into account the January 2008 Report of the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan and, most importantly, the March 13, 2008 motion passed by the House of Commons (see Appendix I). In addition we have taken in consideration the London Afghanistan Compact of early 2006 (see Appendix II), the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s new Afghanistan National Development Strategy (2008-2013), the Government of Canada’s first quarterly report to Parliament of June 10, 2008, Canada’s Engagement in Afghanistan: Setting a Course for 2011, and the outcome of the June 12, 2008 Paris International Conference in Support of Afghanistan (see Appendix III). The Committee has strived to be as frank and as forward-looking as possible because we believe that the Canadian public needs to have confidence that Canada is making its best effort in Afghanistan in support of internationally- agreed goals that are in the long-term Canadian and global interest. 1 As Chair, I want to express my thanks to my Committee colleagues from all parties for working in a collaborative spirit on this report throughout a long and sometimes difficult process. This report demonstrates what elected Members of Parliament can achieve on complicated contentious issues. Whatever our disagreements, all of us are motivated by serving the Canadian public interest. I also want to thank the Committee’s excellent and consistently reliable staff for their tireless work over