Framework for the International Engagement

The basis for the international engagement in Afghanistan is UN resolutions, which underlines that the situation in Afghanistan constitutes a threat to international peace and security. The resolutions call on the international community to help the Afghan Government to establish and maintain security and to extend its authority to the entire country, to promote peace and stability in the region and globally, and to contribute to improving the living conditions of the Afghan people. UN resolutions also state that the international efforts are best implemented through close interaction between the political, civilian and military efforts. The mandate for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is laid down in UN Security Council Resolution 1386 from 2001, which was adopted as a result of the terrorist attack on 11 September the same year. NATO took over command of ISAF in 2003. NATO plays a key role in the security and stabilisation efforts, and most recently at the summit in Bucharest in 2008 the organisation emphasised the linkage between the stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in its comprehensive political-military plan for the efforts in Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Compact from 2006 is the international community’s agreement with the Afghan Government, which together with the Afghan development plan - Afghanistan National Development Strategy formulated in 2008 - constitutes the overall framework for the Afghan security, stabilisation and reconstruction efforts. The interaction between political, military and civilian efforts is a key element of the Afghanistan Compact, both at the strategic and operational level, which is reflected in the Afghanistan Compact’s three pillars: (1) Security; (2) Good governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights; and (3) Economic and Social Development. The narcotics industry is highlighted as a special challenge that must be tackled across all three pillars.

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaking next to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the opening of The Afghanistan Donors Conference in Paris, 12 June 2008 Photo: AP images