Kabul - New United Nations envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide
said Wednesday that international efforts in the country were 'too
fragmented', and vowed to create a 'new sense of urgency'.
The Norwegian diplomat, in his first address to media since taking
the new post of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to
Afghanistan, said more coordination was needed among the
international communities.
'The first and most important priority is the coordination of
international efforts,' Eide said, adding: 'I think we have all seen
these days, (it is) still too fragmented to have the effect that we
want to have on the ground.'
More than six years since the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan
still faces insecurity caused by Taliban resurgence, corruption and
unemployment that has pushed so many Afghans towards Taliban's ranks.
Despite the presence of some 47, 000 NATO-led forces and some
additional 14,000 of US-led coalition forces, Taliban militants
remain a force to be reckoned with.
'We have to get away from a situation where an Afghan
administration which is still in need of capacity building is faced
with too fragmented an international community,' Eide said, adding:
'That simply is not going to work at all.'
The new UN mandate is for Eide to coordinate the civilian and
military work of the international communities. The synergy between
the civilians and military operation has raised concerns that the UN
could lose its impartiality.
Eide said: 'I will take seriously my mandate with regards to the
civil military coordination but I will never do it in a way that
compromises the impartiality of the United Nations and the unique
role that it has to play in the political and civilian fields.'
He also insisted that the international communities must stick to
a single Afghan agenda to tackle problems. 'We have to make sure that
the agenda that we have to pursue is the Afghan agenda, not a number
of national agendas.'
Prior to Eide taking his post, Afghan President Hamid Karzai
vetoed British Diplomat Paddy Ashdown's appointment after Western
media speculation that the post would give Ashdown more power and
influence over the Afghan government.
Eide declined to comment on the controversy over Ashdown, saying:
'I have a mandate that I believe is sufficient, and it is shaper than
the mandate has been. I have the confidence of Afghan authorities and
international communities. Those are the tools I need.'
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