AFGHANISTAN: Government to present five-year development plan at London conference

Henk Elegeert HmjE at HOME.NL
Mon Jan 23 18:46:58 CET 2006


REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51279&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

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AFGHANISTAN: Government to present five-year development plan at London
conference

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]


KABUL, 23 January (IRIN) - The Afghan government will present a
five-year development plan to its international supporters at a key
conference in London at the end of this month, officials at the Afghan
foreign ministry confirmed on Monday in the capital, Kabul.

Known as the Interim National Development Strategy (INDS), the plan
focuses on security, governance and the rule of law, human rights,
sustainable economic and social development, and counter narcotics.

The INDS was approved at an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Saturday,
according to the foreign ministry.

"The government of Afghanistan will present the INDS plan to the
delegates of participating countries and international economical and
financial institutions for endorsement," Navid Ahmad Moez, a spokesman
for the foreign ministry, said.

"We the international community to support and endorse the INDS, and
commit itself politically and financially in the long-term process of
reconstruction and stabilisation of Afghanistan," Moez noted.

The plan is due to be signed by Kabul and the international community at
the conference scheduled to take place on 31 January and 1 February in
London.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
are expected to attend the meeting.

According to officials, only 22 percent of all foreign assistance is
channelled through the Afghan government, with the remaining 78 percent
being spent through NGOs. The Afghan government is now struggling to
receive more donor support.

Afghanistan's international partners are likely to use the event to
reassure the country of its continued support as it battles an
increasingly deadly and destabilising insurgency while trying to rebuild
the country after decades of brutal war.

Despite the presence of about 30,000 foreign troops across the country,
the insurgency launched after the US-led coalition forces toppled the
Taliban regime in late 2001 has become more violent, with around 20
suicide blasts in the past four months alone.

The country's economy also continues to rely heavily on the trade in
illicit drugs - a threat NATO's top operational commander, US Gen James
Jones, has described as more serious than the Taliban insurgency.

The UN and the government have estimated the total export value of
Afghanistan's opium in 2005 at US $2.7 billion - equivalent to 52
percent of the country's official gross domestic product (GDP).
"



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AFGHANISTAN: Amnesty International condemns the killing of civilians in
south


©  Amnesty International

KABUL, 19 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - Amnesty International (AI) on Wednesday
condemned a recent spate of civilian killings in southern Afghanistan,
calling on the government to take solid measures to investigate these
crimes and to bring those responsible to justice.

"Amnesty International condemns the recent wave of killings of civilians
in southern Afghanistan, notably the 16 January suicide bomb attack on
spectators at a sporting event in Spin Boldak, in southern Kandahar
province, killing at least 22 people and injuring 20 other," the rights
group said in a statement.

The groups and individuals carrying out indiscriminate attacks such as
that in Spin Boldak were criminals, the watchdog added, noting such
actions undermine any claim they might have in pursuing a legitimate cause.

The US-based group called upon the government of Afghan President Hamid
Karzai to take concrete measures to investigate these crimes and to
bring those responsible to justice, including those involved in the
planning and organising of such attacks, while maintaining full
compliance with international standards of fairness, AI said in a statement.

According to the United Nations, there has been a wave of 19 suicide
attacks over the past 12 months, including 13 in the past 10 weeks.

The attacks come at a time Washington is considering to cut back its
troop presence in the Central Asian state from more than 18,000 to
16,500 over the next few months. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (NATO), who have an Afghan peacekeeping force of almost
10,000 on the ground, are due to increase their numbers to 15,000 and
take over responsibilities from US forces in the restive southern parts
of the country.

AI urges armed groups to immediately cease all attacks against civilians
and indiscriminate attacks, and calls on community leaders who remain in
contact with the leadership of armed groups to speak out against such
attacks, ensuring that there can be no circumstances that allow or
justify war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Insecurity remains a key issue in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Despite the
deployment of thousands of US and NATO forces, at least 1,600 people
died in conflict-related violence last year. Ninety-one US troops died
in combat and through accidents in 2005, more than double the total for
2004.

[ENDS]
"

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