Address

by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
at the Rome conference on the rule of law in Afghanistan

[President Karzai], Minister, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking the Italian authorities for having organised this event.  As the G-8 lead nation for the Rule of Law pillar of Security Sector Reform, Italy has already led a number of substantial efforts to improve the justice sector in Afghanistan over the past 5 years. 

Further strengthening of the rule of law pillar will certainly be one of the major contributors to long-term success in Afghanistan.  But it is clear that, like so many other areas of reconstruction and development, the justice sector cannot function properly without a secure security environment.

This leads me directly to the points I wish to make – which are about NATO’s lead role, under a UN mandate, in assisting the Afghan authorities to provide that essential secure environment in their country.

It is now nearly four years ago that NATO took the lead role of the International Security Assistance Force at the specific request of the United Nations and the Government of Afghanistan.  Since that time, NATO-led operations have led to considerable improvements in many parts of the country. 

As we all know, in the past few months the security situation has from time to time been difficult, especially in the south of the country, where we have been forced to conduct serious military action to counter those who want to bring reconstruction and development to a halt.  Despite this, I remain absolutely convinced that the international community, and NATO, will continue to bring significant improvements to the quality of life of the Afghan people, and that we will prevail over those who are trying to undermine this goal.

To ensure our success, I believe we need to focus our attention on the following key elements. 

First of all, there needs to be a major increase in development, and especially in economic reconstruction.  Success in Afghanistan will never be achieved through a military victory – overall success will depend on reconstruction and development – it will depend on jobs, electricity, roads, schools, and teachers.  And NATO cannot deliver this.  NATO is not a development organisation. 

What NATO can do, together with the Afghan National Army and its partners,  and indeed is doing, is create the environment in which those who are able to promote reconstruction and development can do so safely.  We are an enabler for many of you around the table to fulfill your responsibilities.

Second, we must do more to train and equip the Afghan National Army – and this is indeed a key priority for NATO. 

It is perfectly understandable, and we heard this from President Karzai, that the Afghan people wish to assume complete responsibility for security in their own country, and a fully capable National Army, together with an effective police force, are essential elements for them to assume this responsibility.  It was good to hear about the ESDP Police Mission from the European Commission. We have already established Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams to help with training the 14 brigades that will make up the Afghan National Army.  And we have recently received offers from NATO nations and Partners of help for fielding even more Teams, as well as offers to donate equipment.

These efforts are most welcome, but I believe we need to do more to help the Afghan army take on greater responsibility for security, and to do so more quickly.  Not only will such efforts now help to strengthen the Afghan population’s confidence in their own security forces, but just as importantly, it will allow the NATO-led forces to focus even more effort on providing direct security for the essential reconstruction work.

Although you’ll hear me continue to emphasise the importance of reconstruction and development in Afghanistan, we must be careful that this does not become an alibi for reducing our military efforts.  And so my third point is that we have to sustain the military presence, and the military effort, to see this mission through. 

It’s clear that our opponents are no match for our troops in the classic military sense.  We prevented them from launching a massive offensive, and they are consistently defeated in direct engagements with our own forces. 

And that is why they have chosen to adopt an alternative strategy – a strategy of indiscriminate roadside bombings and suicide attacks that are taking a heavy toll on the very population they claim to represent.  Yes, they can still cause much suffering, both for the Afghan population and us. But if we keep up our military effort, they cannot win.  And we can demonstrate to them, and to the Afghan people, that the Taliban era is well and truly over.

As part of our efforts to enhance the effectiveness of our ISAF mission, we have made progress in lifting the caveats, as we call them in our jargon, or limitations that some nations had placed on the use of their forces.  And we have substantially increased our overall troop strength - ISAF is now just under forty thousand strong.  And let me say here, how much I appreciate the major contribution that Italy is making in this effort. 

With over two thousand troops, Italy is playing a vital role in Region Capital, as well as in Western region where Italy not only provides the Regional Command, but also leads the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Herat and provides important manoeuvre forces.

In addition to Italy, all 25 other NATO Allies are engaged, as well as 11 non-NATO nations. 

Many of our Euro-Atlantic partners, are making invaluable military and non-military contributions, and so are several nations from further afield, such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

My next point is that while it is essential to maintain our military pressure, it is imperative that we reduce the loss of innocent civilian life and damage to civilian property.  If we do not, then we risk losing the support that we continue to receive from the vast majority of people in Afghanistan. 

Let us in saying this not overlook, and the same goes for the coalition, that NATO has never intentionally killed any innocent civilians – and never will.  The loss of any life, whether it be an Afghan civilian or a member of the ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces, is always going to be dramatic and painful.  But our troops have to act in self defence, and they are often put in life-threatening situations by the Taliban, who use human shields and deliberately operate within civilian areas. 

Let us not forget either that the majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by Taliban suicide bombs and roadside bombs – these are indiscriminate attacks that frequently slaughter or maim the Afghan people and reveal the true character of the Taliban.  I ask you, what type of person is prepared to take his wife and children with him on a suicide mission to reduce the chances of being caught?  And what type of person is prepared to fit an explosive vest onto an innocent six-year old child? 

Quite simply, the morals of these people are abhorrent, and we must not overlook the fact that it is the their despicable actions that are directly responsible for most of the civilian casualties.

In order to minimize civilian casualties as a result of NATO-ISAF military operations, we are looking at further enhancing the coordination between ISAF, the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Afghan National Security Forces. 

Defence Minister Wardak of Afghanistan, when meeting with his ISAF counterparts in Brussels last month, explained that the Afghan authorities are developing proposals along these lines as well.

We are also working and indeed have to work to make sure that incidents are investigated promptly to establish the cause, draw the necessary lessons, and prevent similar occurrences in the future. 

Certainly, from the NATO perspective, it is in the interests of confidence and transparency that investigations should include representatives not just from NATO and OEF, but very much also from the Government of Afghanistan. As I said, we are working to the effect.

Furthermore, to help families and communities affected by conflict, I strongly believe that we need to make better use of humanitarian funds. 

Such funds already exist, but they need to be increased, which is why I call on nations – and not only on NATO nations, but on all nations – to invest more in these funds. 

My penultimate point is that we must engage more with Pakistan.  NATO, for its part, already has quite extensive military-to-military cooperation with Pakistan, but we do need to continue the process of building a serious political relationship as well. 

As part of this process, the Pakistani Prime Minister has visited the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and earlier this year I was in Pakistan to meet with Pakistani President Musharraf and the political authorities. During those discussions, it was made clear that like, all our countries, Pakistan has a strong interest in a stable Afghanistan and has already taken a number of steps to clamp down on the Taliban.  But many parts of the Afghan-Pakistan border region continue to offer sanctuary for insurgents – and as long as this sanctuary exists, our task in Afghanistan will remain difficult. 

That’s why it is so important for Pakistan -- but also Afghanistan’s other neighbours, including Iran -- to play their part in ensuring the security and stability of Afghanistan.

And talking of “playing their part” leads me to my sixth and final point – the need for a comprehensive approach. 

By “comprehensive approach”, I mean the coordinated application of both military and civil instruments, including those civil instruments that are the responsibility of other organisations, such as the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank, the G8, and the Non Governmental Organisations.

Like NATO, all these actors are making invaluable contributions to the future of Afghanistan, but I do feel that there is still too little cooperation between us, and that we could all do even more to coordinate our actions. 

That is why the latest UN Security Council mandate to UNAMA was so important, as it emphasises the UN’s leading role in bringing together the international efforts in support of the Afghan authorities.  And we are also working hard in NATO, not just looking at our internal procedures, but also at how we can better interact with the other main international players.

I am convinced that with Afghan ownership, and with the right relations in place between the UN, NATO, the EU, and the other international actors, we will be better able to find, and deliver, the best solutions for Afghanistan.  The effective application of a comprehensive approach by the whole of the international community will enable us to win not just the conflict, but also the peace in the interest of Afghanistan and its people. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The international efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan are already considerable.  And they are producing positive results, including in the area of the Rule of Law.  But more remains to be done.  It is very clear to me that development cannot take place without a safe and secure environment.  Quite simply, we cannot escape from the fact that security and development are two sides of the same coin.  And this is why I firmly believe we could achieve even more by better coordinating our actions. I think today’s conference is a major contribution to this effort, which is why I am so grateful to our Italian hosts for having organised it.

To the Afghans, I say this is your nation, your country -- the International Community will help you. I also ask you all to be solidly behind our men and women in uniform, the ANSF, NATO, and partner countries, and show solidarity. Thank you.