6/7/2007
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, ”EU Commitment to the Governance and Rule of Law in Afghanistan”, Afghanistan Conference on Rule of Law,  Rome, 3 July 2007

Let me start by thanking our Italian hosts [and you particularly dear Massimo] for organising this very important event.

We are all aware of the large Italian contribution in Afghanistan, with troops in the west of the country and a significant assistance programme, particularly in the justice sector that laid the basis for what we will be doing in the future.

I think we all agree that this conference on the rule of law marks the number one priority for Afghanistan today. And I was heartened by listening to President Karzai who underlined the political will of his government and the Afghan people to take ownership of this important issue.

But let us pause a moment to look back on the last five years.

Much progress has been made. There are signs of real improvements in health and education, and many sectors of the economy – agriculture and construction for example - have experienced sustained growth.

In the health sector, some 80% of the country now has access to basic health care and infant mortality has been reduced. Some 40,000 babies are alive today in Afghanistan that would not have been 6 years ago.

We should not lose sight of these achievements when we discuss the challenges and problems that remain.

That said, it is a hard, undeniable truth that all these reconstruction efforts, all the work building up democratic and accountable systems of governance, will ultimately fail if there is no proper functioning rule of law in Afghanistan. This, of course, cannot be separated from the overall situation as described by President Karzai.

It is in this light that I want to briefly set out the latest phase in the EU’s commitment to Afghanistan – a commitment that has already seen significant support to the police and which will also assist the judiciary in the years ahead.

As many of you will already know, only a week or so back in Kabul, the EU launched a new police mission in Afghanistan. Some 200 police officers will be on the ground, training and mentoring the Afghan National Police (the ANP).

The mission represents a significant drive by the EU to enhance not only the Afghan National Police but also the wider rule of law in Afghanistan. We are aiming to build up people’s trust so that they can see the ANP as a police service for the future; a police service, that is, rather than a police force.

But the new police mission is just one part of an enhanced EU effort in rule of law sector.

Indeed, as many of you know, the European Commission has been the most important supporter of the so called Law and Order Trust Fund, the Fund that has been paying for the salaries of the new Afghan National Police these last 5 years. Some €135 million has been already provided by the EC since 2002, and a further €70 million is planned for the next two years.

The EC’s support to police salaries is a crucial element in our continued commitment to building up a well functioning police service for Afghanistan.

But another element I want to mention today is the new European Commission programme for the justice sector. We have of course spoken a lot about the need to continue support to the police service but it is vital that we look at the law enforcement and criminal justice system as a whole.

As Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said, we have to assist the Afghan society to be a just one. And I can only repeat and emphasise what he said on human rights in general and the necessity to build a just society where men and women are equal before the law.

The European Commission’s new programme in the justice sector is now about to start; our experts will be arriving in Kabul later this week. The new programme will work with our Afghan partners in the building up of a professional, well motivated and accessible judicial and public prosecution service. Let me outline a little more on what we aim to do.

There are around 1,500 judges and 2,500 prosecutors in Afghanistan. They hold significant responsibilities in their regions and yet there lacks any real career structure in their profession.

The European Commission will aim to address a number of key areas in the justice sector :

Firstly, we will work with Afghan partners in introducing merit-based systems of recruitment,

Secondly, proper pay and grading for judges and prosecutors along with a strongly-embedded code of ethics and improved conditions of service will be developed,

And thirdly, we will look at developing a new national system of legal aid to improve peoples access to justice across the country.

These together are key elements that are needed to build up any proper justice system, where professionals feel motivated and valued. But also, these are key elements in making that public institution accessible and accountable to the people: that word of trust comes to mind again – as I raised a few moments ago when talking about a future police service.

Over the past few years, we, the international donors, have worked with our Afghan colleagues in providing training to judges and prosecutors. But we have to be honest with ourselves: there is little point in training judges when, after the training is completed, the same judges return to the same institutions on the same poor pay. We need to address these fundamental issues.

A judge today earns less than a policeman. Such low salaries of course only increase the potential for corruption. And in terms of public trust, it is the issue of corruption that is the most corrosive.

Dealing with corruption is a major factor in building up a credible state anywhere in the world, including Afghanistan. We all need to try and address this problem BUT it has to have an Afghan lead, be this in the police, judiciary or any other sector. It is an important issue and one which is so intertwined with the drugs economy.

We, the European Commission, are ready to address the issue of poor pay in the justice sector. BUT, any new salary scale has to go hand in hand with reforms in the justice sector and it is here that we will be working with our Afghan colleagues in taking forward reforms so that Afghanistan can have a judiciary in which its people have confidence.

Today, there is clearly a lack of confidence. Only 10% of Afghans use the formal justice system – it is far removed from ordinary people’s everyday life. There are many reasons for this. But, as with the police, we now desperately need to bridge this gap between the Afghan public and the institutions that are there to protect and serve them.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope I have spelt out clearly something of the EC’s future commitment in Afghanistan. In terms of financial commitment, we stand ready to invest a lot.

Up to €200 million is earmarked for the next four years for the rule of law and governance sectors, targeting in particular the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the police, and the justice sector.

Indeed, of this €200 million (- which I think by current exchange rates is over a quarter of billion dollars ! -) up to €60 million will be channelled in to the judiciary.

We will work with our Afghan partners in developing and implementing the kind of reforms I mentioned earlier as well as supporting a fund for enhanced judicial salaries.

However, for the latter, it is critical that any donor support for salaries goes hand-in-hand with reforms in the justice sector. I know there has been much discussion of this issue in the technical panels at this conference. Again, I wanted to underline this point.

In closing, I would like to set out a simple picture for you, it is a picture looking from the viewpoint of ordinary Afghan. What do we want him – or her – to think if they are the victim or witness of a crime?

We want him or her to have the confidence and trust to go to their local police and report it. Bear in mind, most crimes, in any country of the world, are not solved by the police detecting but by the public informing.

We also want him or her to have the trust and means to take their case to court to get a fair trial.

In order for that ordinary Afghan to have that trust and confidence, he or she needs to see that the fundamental issue of corruption is being firmly tackled in the police, judiciary and other sectors.

If, in a few years time, we start to see signs of both these things happening more and more in everyday Afghan society, then I believe we could confidently say that we have built the foundations for a fairer and more just life for all the people of Afghanistan.

Thank you again for allowing me the time to set out our thoughts and plans for the future.