YouSaid · the spoken record

Arnault

lines on the record: 262
first: 2004-05-27
most recent: 2018-10-10
sittings or episodes: 15
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The security dimension therefore remains at the heart of the joint efforts of the Government and the international community, both as a priority concern that needs to be addressed through military and non-military means and also as a limitation on the ability of the international community, and the United Nations in particular, to operate throughout the country. Let me now brief the Council on the planned transfer of operational authority from Operation Enduring Freedom to NATO. That will continue in 2006. The provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar, previously led by United States forces deployed under Operation Enduring Freedom, was transferred to Canada in August 2005 and will eventually operate under the command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“Hours before, a roadside explosive device was detonated in Kandahar city, killing three Afghan National Army soldiers and two civilians, and injuring another 10. In total, of the 19 suicide attacks over the past 12 months, 13 have occurred in the last 10 weeks - three in November, six in December and four in January. In another development, attacks using improvised explosive devices have been carried out against international military forces under NATO leadership in parts of the country where such attacks had been rare, such as Mazar-i-Sharif, Baghlan and Herat. Furthermore, violence and threats against local officials, religious leaders and schools are continuing and intensifying, particularly in the South and South- East of the country.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“In a suicide attack two days ago on 15 January, a vehicle-borne explosive device detonated near a convoy of the Canadian provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar, killing its political director, Mr. Glyn Berry. Three Canadian soldiers, as well as Afghan civilians, were injured in that terrorist attack. Let me reiterate the tribute paid yesterday by the Secretary-General to Mr. Glyn Berry, a senior member of the Canadian Foreign Service and former Vice-Chairman of the General Assembly's Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. At the end of that day, Kandahar province was hit again by another suicide bomber in Spin Boldak district, leaving a toll of 20 reported dead and 20 injured.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“Learning the lessons from the disarmament programme, the strategy clarifies that "success will not be defined by the collection of weapons alone, but the actual disbandment of illegal armed groups and advances in citizens' security, good governance and the rule of law". A concept of operations is near finalization. Herat and Kapisa have been identified as the first two provinces for implementation of the disbandment strategy. Along with those positive developments, I must once again bring the security situation to the attention of the Council. While the overall number of violent clashes and incidents countrywide has dropped over the past two months, in keeping with the seasonal pattern, the South, as members know, has witnessed a negative trend in the tactics used by anti-Government elements, with deadly effect.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“While the implementation of the Plan is bound to face some objections on the part of some groups, a conference on transitional justice that took place in December suggested that there is in fact broad support for truth- finding, the vetting of Government officials and justice as important components of the peace process. Building on the disarmament programme completed in July last year, a strategy for the disbandment of illegal armed groups has now been agreed by national and international partners. Those groups number in the hundreds and are linked to the drug trade, factions and organized crime and are major contributors in the countryside to the weakness of the Afghan State.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“Qanooni has stressed his intention to cooperate with the Government and the international community. That is a good start, and it is very important that cooperation between the two branches of Government should continue. On other political developments, I am pleased to report that, on 12 December 2005, the cabinet approved the National Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice after several months of discussions and consultations. The plan acknowledges the plight of the millions who were victims of the conflict and seeks to address their needs through reparation, truth-seeking, the strengthening of the justice institutions and national reconciliation.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“At the request of the President, the actual review of appointments will take place after the London conference to be held at the end of this month, as he has indicated that many of his cabinet members are fully involved in the preparation of the Afghanistan compact to be launched in London. The Government also decided on the establishment of a ministry for parliamentary affairs to facilitate the interaction between the cabinet and the National Assembly. While representatives from the National Assembly will not be part of the Afghan delegation to the London conference, the chairperson of the lower house, Mr. Qanooni, has expressed an interest in working with the Government and the international community to examine the post-Bonn agenda and to identify ways and means to ensure that the benchmarks can be met. More generally, Mr.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“A number of the draft provisions have already been adopted, and the remainder will be applied on a provisional basis for three months, after which they will be revisited for further consideration. The National Assembly has also decided on the establishment of parliamentary committees, although their membership will need to be determined. One of the major rules of procedure that has yet to be finalized relates to the process by which the parliament will exercise its constitutional prerogative of endorsing the members of the cabinet. The parliament has yet to decide whether it will do so for the cabinet as a whole or for each minister individually.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“Following the inauguration of the National Assembly, in a narrow vote the lower house elected as its chair Yonous Qanooni, one of the architects of the Bonn Agreement, a former presidential candidate and, until his assumption of that parliamentary post, a leading opposition figure. The upper house elected as its chair Mr. Sigbatullah Mojaddedi, former President of Afghanistan, former chair of the Constitutional Loya Jirga and current leader of the national reconciliation programme. Of the five office-bearers in the lower house, one - the second deputy speaker - is a woman. Since the inauguration, both houses have made some progress in the discussion of their rules of procedure.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“That inauguration was the capstone in a process that saw, in a very short four years, the installation of an interim, and subsequently a transitional, authority, the adoption of a new democratic constitution, the holding of presidential elections and, most recently, the parliamentary elections of September 2005. As a result, the permanent Government institutions have now been re- established, as required under the Bonn Agreement, and, it is fair to say that, as called for in the same Agreement, they are broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender- sensitive and representative.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“Mr. Arnault: I wish to thank the Security Council for this opportunity to report to it on developments in Afghanistan since the most recent briefing by Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guehenno, on 23 November 2005, and ahead of the very important conference on the future agenda of the Afghan peace process, which is to be held in London in two weeks. As the Council is aware, almost four years to the day after the signing of the Bonn Agreement, the political transition in Afghanistan was completed with the inauguration, on 19 December 2005, of the new Afghan National Assembly.”
2006-01-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5347 (2006) · source
“In the meantime, we are particularly keen to see closer links between Afghanistan and its neighbours in all fields, including security cooperation, trade, development and counter-narcotics. We believe that the proposed conference could play an important role in that respect. As a landlocked country, Afghanistan's long-term stability and the sustainability of its development are inextricably linked to the stability and the prosperity of the region at large. For his part, immediately after the election, the Secretary-General will initiate consultations with President Karzai and the Government of Afghanistan, as well as with other concerned stakeholders, with a view to defining the role of the United Nations in the post-Bonn period.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“We are encouraged to see that the international community appears committed to working with the Government of Afghanistan towards an extended compact around some key benchmarks and timelines for the achievement of the objectives to which I have referred. In the next phase, international financial, technical and security resources will remain indispensable complements to the Afghan State's own political will and fiscal effort. In this respect, the Government of Afghanistan has approached UNAMA and other international partners with the proposal that a high-level conference on the post-Bonn compact be held during the second half of January, shortly after the anticipated inauguration of the National Assembly, which should be adequately involved in that process.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The strengthening of key State institutions - police, justice and civilian administration - will have to catch up with the progress that has been made in the creation of the Afghan National Army and will have to become tangible where it is most needed: at local level. What has been so far an array of reconstruction interventions will have to come together into a comprehensive development strategy that can maximize the use of Afghanistan's economic assets and create a reliable revenue base for the State. Finally, steady progress in the elimination of the narcotics industry will remain a key goal on which progress in so many other areas is predicated.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“This democratic approach is also generating new popular expectations vis-a-vis the Government and elected officials, and more demanding criteria by which they will be judged. That democratic approach is thus also shaping, to a large extent, the contents of the post-Bonn agenda. Security is paramount, and bringing extremist violence and other forms of insecurity under control will remain at the top of the agenda for the Government and for millions of Afghans for whom the most basic dividend of peace - security - remains a distant goal, even as the Bonn process draws to a close.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“Looking back, as the report of the Secretary-General does, to the successive stages of the political transition since 2001, this is, indeed, a remarkable achievement. It illustrates that, against the odds - with failed institutions, high levels of militarization and violent extremism - calling upon people to participate, through traditional mechanisms or modern ones, in reshaping their society is, indeed, a very powerful tool. It is not only giving Afghanistan legitimate institutions; it also serves to drive the process of disarmament, the retooling of security agencies, the creation of political parties, new legislation on media and administrative structures and, more important, the emergence of a culture of political pluralism that rejects the use of violence in the search for political office.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“In the report, published yesterday, of their findings concerning the exercise of political rights in the past couple of months, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and UNAMA noted: "Despite the fact that extremists have failed to derail the process or pressure candidates to withdraw, the possibility exists that the threat of violent attacks will have an impact on the campaign process and on election day, potentially disenfranchising parts of the Pashtun population". Those developments on the security front are a reminder of the hurdles that Afghans face in rebuilding their country. Nevertheless, we are confident that, by the end of this year, a representative new National Assembly will be established and that, with it, the Bonn process will be successfully completed.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“That may indicate that extremists, perhaps wiser after last year's experience with the presidential election, have decided to target pro-Government and international forces rather than to try to stop the parliamentary elections. However, it is too soon to rule out attempts to cause major disruptions of the election before, during or after polling day. In addition, increased insecurity in the provinces along the eastern border is, in itself, a cause for concern for the elections in those areas.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“Fighting between anti-Government elements and national and international military forces also continues to result in high casualties. Attacks against community leaders - a phenomenon that was not present last year - have also resumed, and the killing of two moderate pro- Government mullahs last week brings to at least eight the number of clerics who have been killed. Against that background, the number of attacks against United Nations staff has decreased compared with last year, and those targeting the electoral process- attacks against candidates and electoral workers - have been, in the main, indirect rather than direct.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The report of the Secretary-General (S/2005/525) addresses in detail our concerns regarding the deteriorating security situation in the months of June and July - a topic that I also emphasized in my briefing on 24 June (see S/PV.5215). Those concerns have not abated since the report was completed. Indeed, quite the contrary: after a drop in the number of incidents in late July and early August, attacks have resumed with increased intensity in the south, south-east and east, with ambushes and the use of improvised explosive devices remaining the tactics of choice of the extremists. In recent days, a large number of improvised explosive devices have been laid in Kandahar city. In a serious incident on 17 August, an Afghan National Police (ANP) bus was targeted, leaving one ANP officer dead and 11 wounded.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“After various ballot designs were tested to ensure their suitability for an electorate with a very low literacy rate, the option eventually adopted was a large tabloid-like ballot, with up to seven pages in the case of Kabul province. That, in turn, implied highly complex and expensive ballot printing requirements; the format and size of the ballots also require much larger ballot boxes than those used in 2004. Finally, the sheer weight and volume of those supplies has resulted in a tenfold increase in requirements in terms of transportation and distribution. I should be grateful if the Security Council would join us in urgently requesting the international community to fill the funding gap, which now stands at $29.6 million.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“With regard to provincial councils, last week the Government adopted the legislation that grants the councils an essentially advisory role in relation to the provincial administration, including with regard to Government expenditure in the provinces. I should like to take this opportunity to brief the Council on an important and necessary adjustment to the earlier indicative electoral budget. In the past few days, the JEMB secretariat, in consultation with us, has stated that the originally projected resource requirements of $149 million had to be revised to $159 million. That increase of $10 million is largely attributable to an increase in polling and counting costs due to higher ballot production and transportation requirements.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“This will be done by secret ballot on a single day throughout the country. The President will also have to appoint 17 members of the upper house based upon nominations from social organizations, political parties and the general public. The timetable that I have just outlined would culminate with the inauguration of the new National Assembly before the end of the year. In anticipation of the first meetings of the National Assembly, the recruitment and training of 120 staff of the National Assembly secretariat has been completed and the staff have been placed at foreign parliaments in Italy, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Morocco, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and France.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The JEMB transport plan will ensure that the transfer of ballots from the polling places to the counting centres is protected in the best possible manner from manipulation and fraud. Partial results will be announced by province on a rolling basis as the counting progresses. It is expected that provisional results for all provinces will have been declared by 4 October. That will be followed by a two-week period during which complaints relating to the process and the provisional results will be adjudicated by the Electoral Complaints Commission. Final results of the elections for the Wolesi Jirga and the provincial councils should be certified towards the end of October. Following this certification, most likely in the first half of November, each provincial council will, in turn, elect its representative to the upper house.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The day-to-day management of field operations and security coordination is taking place in the Joint Electoral Operations Centre, which commenced operations last week, with the participation of the Ministries of Defence and the Interior, the national security directorate, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the coalition forces. I would now like to provide the Council with a preview of key electoral events that will take place immediately after polling day. On 20 September, the JEMB will begin the counting of ballots, which is expected to be completed by 4 October, before the start of Ramadan. Dedicated counting centres have been identified in the provincial centres; they provide better security conditions and allow for a broad presence of international and domestic observers.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“With more than 6,300 polling centres identified, some 30,000 members of the Afghan National Police will be required to secure the first ring around polling sites, counting centres and JEMB compounds and to allow for a quick-reaction force. An international military force surge capacity has arrived in Afghanistan with contingents from Spain, Romania, the Netherlands and the United States and will be deployed as a backup to national forces. In that respect, I would like to pay a special tribute to the 17 soldiers of the Spanish contingent who died in a helicopter accident on 16 August and also to express our gratitude to the Spanish Government, which is sending new troops and aircraft in order to secure the electoral process.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The JEMB secretariat is in the process of recruiting more than 160,000 polling station officials, many of whom are being selected from the pool of staff that worked during the presidential election last year. The training of 130 trainers was just completed two days ago in Kabul. Cascade training will now be implemented for more than 6,000 district field coordinators, who in turn will train polling station officials. In order to ensure equitable access by various minority groups, the recruitment and training account specifically for women, nomads and disabled groups. The secretariat of the JEMB has been working with national and international security bodies to establish the final security and force deployment plan for polling day.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“In addition, candidates have received information packages from the JEMB secretariat to assist them in understanding their campaign rights. For civic education purposes, 1 million sample ballots have been produced in the format of the actual ballot. They will allow voters throughout the country to familiarize themselves with what is often a very crowded ballot, with up to 300-plus names in Kabul province. The final preparations for polling day are ongoing. Some 40 million ballots for the 69 different elections have been produced and are ready for distribution throughout the country. So far, the ballots of 11 provinces have been delivered, and the rest will reach the provincial offices by 2 September. Contingency plans are in place, with enough surplus materials to address any shortages at the polling stations.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“Providing a level playing field for candidates has been a permanent concern since last year's presidential election and is a particularly difficult undertaking this year in a competition involving 5,800 candidates. The completion of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) has helped, and so has the disqualification of a number of candidates with linkages to armed groups. The latest report of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and UNAMA shows improvement with regard to the conduct of Government officials but also a lingering fear of intimidation among the citizenry. A sponsored advertisement programme is being implemented through the newly reconvened Media Commission; it provides candidates with free and equal access to pre-approved radio and television outlets.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The campaign period is governed by the electoral law and regulations from the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), which protect freedom of speech and freedom of assembly but also place restrictions on speeches and materials that incite violence or religious or ethnic hatred. The campaign is monitored by international observers from the European Union and by other international and Afghan electoral observers. For their part, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) will continue to verify the exercise of political rights by candidates and citizens throughout the period.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“Mr. Arnault: Thank you for this new opportunity to brief the Council on the situation in Afghanistan. Members have before them the report of the Secretary- General (5/2005/525), which describes developments since March 2005 and also attempts to provide a preliminary assessment of the implementation of the Bonn Agreement so far. With a little more than three weeks' time before polling day, let me begin by providing the Council with an update on the election preparations and a number of related developments. The electoral campaign was officially launched last week, on 17 August, and candidates have begun canvassing support throughout the country with posters, rallies and media announcements.”
2005-08-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5249 (2005) · source
“The prerequisite for success in that difficult endeavour is the restoration of minimum security conditions. Without that, there is no hope. We must acknowledge that, after three years of striving, the extremists' capacity to cause harm and to stonewall in certain regions has not been diminished. There are urgent lessons to be learned without delay.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Along with the Afghan authorities and representatives of the international community, we hope on the basis of those principles to develop a platform on which the internal political forces and Afghanistan's neighbouring and distant partners can agree. The completion of the Bonn process is in sight. Certainly, the political transition is too far ahead of the building of the State, which remains very fragile, and of economic reconstruction, which remains fragmented and distorted by the drug situation. The Government and the new Parliament must redouble their efforts to catch up on the political transition before they themselves are overtaken by the disenchantment of the people with their democratic experience. However difficult the circumstances, with the support of the international community the difficulties are not insurmountable.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Since then, the Afghan Government has reiterated its hope that international cooperation will continue after the installation of the National Assembly and that it will be carried out within a framework and with specific objectives reflecting future national priorities. Those priorities would include institutional reform - which is particularly weak at the local level - the application of a coherent strategy for economic development, and combating drugs. Moreover, the Afghan Government hopes, as we do, that the new cooperation framework will offer the opportunity to improve the effectiveness of international assistance, especially in strengthening local capacity, ensuring that the State is endowed with sustainable institutions, and the closer involvement of regional countries in the next phase of Afghanistan's reconstruction.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Since then, the Government of Afghanistan, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and UNAMA have worked together to draft a plan consisting of a series of short- and long- term measures to ensure dignity and respect for victims and their right to truth, compensation and justice. At a recent conference in The Hague, several Member States offered support for such a plan and we trust that the first actual steps will be taken as soon as possible. I should like to say a few words on the post- electoral agenda for peacebuilding in Afghanistan. In his last report to the Council on Afghanistan, the Secretary-General offered some ideas on that topic.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Like all nascent endeavours, the programme is not perfect, but some have wrongly distinguished between the openness in our approach to former Hezb- i-Islami and Taliban members and the programme for disarming local commanders. In fact, however, the two approaches are not different - the Government is reaching out to all those willing to forsake violence, without renouncing the possibility of prosecution that their past activities may call for. My second point relates to the needs of the conflict's many victims. In resolution 1589 (2005) of 24 March, the Council welcomed the report of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission on transitional justice and called for international support for that endeavour.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“The first relates to the so-called peacebuilding programme to reintegrate members of the Taliban and the Hezb-i-Islami who have renounced violence, pledged allegiance to the Constitution and agreed to cooperate with the authorities. The members of the multiethnic national commission chaired by Mr. Mujaddedi have been chosen and will be announced soon. The commission's regional offices have not yet been set up, but procedures are under way to check the backgrounds of candidates for reconciliation and to monitor them once they return to their communities. About 150 individuals, including approximately 50 former Hezb-i-Islami and 100 former Taliban members, have benefited from the programme to date.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Illegal armed groups - which may include as many as 180,000 men across the country - may not pose a direct threat to the State of Afghanistan, but they are a serious obstacle to the restoration of State institutions - police, judiciary and civilian administration - at the provincial and district levels. The Government is currently conducting two pilot projects, with the support of UNAMA and international military forces; negotiations with local commanders are underway; and the provincial reconstruction teams of the International Security Assistance Force and the coalition are defining the type of support that they will be required to provide. (spoke in French) Allow me briefly to raise three additional points that I believe are of interest to the Council.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Over 90,000 personnel from the Afghanistan militia forces have been taken off the Ministry of Defense payroll, resulting in over $100 million in savings for the national budget. Over 9,000 heavy weapons have been cantoned and millions of tons of ammunition surveyed, and efforts are being made for their safe disposal. That is a significant achievement for the Afghan authorities and a first step in the larger effort of demilitarizing the country and paving the way for the Afghan national army and police. In the coming months, the focus will shift to the next step: the disbandment of illegal armed groups, which I already mentioned in the context of the elections.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“As I mentioned in my last briefing, there is very little breathing space in the electoral calendar and any delay in funding will result in the inevitable postponement of election day. In my last briefing, I mentioned that, while the delay of the election until September was not our preferred option, it was not without some advantages. One of those advantages was the opportunity to make progress on disarmament. Indeed, on 30 June, the disarmament of the former army units should end, in keeping with the timeline endorsed at the Berlin conference last year. At this point, over 60,000 officers and soldiers have been demobilized and over 49,000 have entered - and in some cases completed - reintegration into agriculture, vocational training and small business programmes.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“This is not a comprehensive voter re-registration, but rather an opportunity for those who were unable to take part in last year's registration drive to register, and for registered voters to change their polling place to reflect the province in which they actually reside and wish to vote. Additional efforts will be made to accommodate returning refugees through the provision of voter registration in Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees encashment centres until close to election day. I should make a special mention of funding. Indeed, funding for the elections project remains a concern. The election project is still $78.8 million short. The United Nations Development Programme expects that major pledges totalling $34 million will be disbursed shortly, bringing the gap to $44 million.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“The security team of the Electoral Authority is working with the national security agencies and international military forces to plan for possible security implications resulting from candidate disqualifications. On the basis of that and other measures, we hope that the Afghan Government - supported by the United Nations and the international forces - can improve further the environment in which the electoral campaign and polling will take place and ensure that the outcome of the elections is as representative as possible of the national will, as prescribed in the Bonn agreement. The next step in the electoral calendar will be the update of the voter registry that will start tomorrow and last one month until 21 July.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Once all nominations were received, the Electoral Complaints Commission requested that - on an ex officio basis - the Ministries of the Interior and Defence, the National Directorate for Security, the international military forces, UNAMA and the United Nations disarmament body indicate whether any of the nominees maintained such links with armed groups. As a result, 254 nominees suspected of having such links have been identified and have been informed by the ECC that, in order to prevent their disqualification, they have until 7 July to disarm or to provide evidence that any links with armed groups have been severed. The exercise is not without risk, as some commanders are keen to run for office and retain their military influence at the same time.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“One such measure is the strict implementation of the electoral law that disqualifies candidates who command or belong to armed groups. The process of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, which is nearing completion, has reduced the ability of a number of senior commanders to use large military formations to control the political process. At the same time, many smaller commanders are still linked to local militias that can exercise undue influence in the context of provincial elections.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“At the same time, a countrywide assessment carried out by UNAMA and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission indicates that, while only a handful of cases of intimidation, violence and other infringements of political rights actually occurred, there is a broad perception that people linked to armed groups are determined to prevail and will use violence and intimidation to succeed in getting elected. That perception could still undermine the fairness of the election, particularly if electoral competition should become more acute and more violence-prone in the last stages of the process. Many measures are therefore yet to be taken in order to neutralize those inclined to use intimidation and to reassure the majority of candidates and the population at large that they can vote in September without the risk of reprisals.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“One of our key concerns about the nomination process was that, given the amount of power still wielded at the local level by commanders, the latter could have highjacked the electoral process from the very beginning by preventing others from nominating themselves. However, of the total number of candidates, only approximately 4 per cent are considered to have actual links to armed groups. In addition, only 212 Government officials have nominated themselves. That suggests that officials and commanders have not dominated the nomination process and that ordinary Afghans were not discouraged from nominating themselves as candidates. Subject to further analysis, that also suggests that Afghans will be presented with a genuine political choice on polling day.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Those seats will therefore remain vacant during this term of office. Candidate-to-seat ratios varied widely across the country, indicating that some elections will be much more competitive than others, in particular in the eastern and south-eastern provinces. Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, only 12 per cent of the candidates who registered indicated an affiliation to a political party; whereas the number of parties officially registered has reached 72. While that may be because of the electoral system chosen, most consultations indicate that the overwhelming perception with respect to political parties remains negative and that candidates prefer to run as independents, even when they have the support of a political party.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Its five members, three of whom are appointed by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and one each by the Supreme Court and the Afghan Human Rights Commission, are currently supported by 15 staff. Candidate nominations started on 4 May and ended on 26 May. With the exception of notable but isolated incidents of violence, the candidate- nomination process was generally calm. All in all, more than 6,000 candidates submitted their applications for the 249 seats in the lower house and the 420 seats in the 34 provincial councils. Roughly 12 per cent of those candidates are women, which guarantees that the quota of women in Parliament will be fulfilled. In three provinces, however, the number of female candidates is less that the prescribed quota for the provincial councils.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“That staffing component will gradually rise, and will reach 500 international and 200,000 national staff on election day, the bulk of whom will man the polling stations. The secretariat of the electoral authority also includes a dedicated electoral security component consisting of 36 personnel, assigned to Kabul and the eight regional offices. Like last year, physical security will be provided by the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army, with support from the international military forces and with the coordination of the electoral authority. In addition, an independent Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has been created, which is responsible for handling and adjudicating all electoral complaints and challenges, including those against candidates and against the electoral authority and its secretariat.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“We welcome the recent high-level contacts between the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. As guarantor of international security, the Security Council has a duty to follow the situation closely and to use its authority to support greater cooperation against terrorism, something which Afghanistan needs today. (spoke in English) It is against that difficult background that I am able to report some encouraging developments with regard to preparations for the elections. Since my last briefing, some important steps have been taken. The electoral administration has now been deployed countrywide. Offices are fully operational in Kabul and in the eight regional centres, as well as in all 34 provincial capitals. The secretariat of the electoral authority currently employs 350 international and 8,000 national staff.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source