Afghan officials will meet with their international partners on Monday in Bonn, 10 years to the day when they came together under the aegis of the United Nations to lay down the foundations of the post-Taliban political system in Afghanistan. The goal of the conference will be to lay the groundwork for an independent, confident, secure and prosperous future for the country. Already, the international engagement is changing. Long-term political, economic and security partnerships are increasingly taking place amid the ongoing military stabilization effort.
This past summer, Afghan police officers and soldiers began to take over the responsibility for security in their country. We have agreed to complete the withdrawal of international combat forces by the end of 2014. This is what the people both in Afghanistan and in the countries of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force want, and it corresponds with our common understanding that international forces should stay in Afghanistan only as long as they are needed.
From 2015 onwards, a sovereign Afghanistan will bear full responsibility for its security, which, above all, is an Afghan responsibility. But many Afghans are asking: Will the international community abandon us again, just as it did in the past?
We cannot allow that to happen. Even after the withdrawal of the I.S.A.F., we must continue to work together to build upon the progress we have made. Afghanistan needs a clear and reliable commitment to a long-term engagement beyond 2014. That is the goal of the International Afghanistan Conference. We are expecting representatives from almost 100 countries and international organizations as well as Afghanistan’s civil society, including Afghan women.
The agenda will focus on three important topics. First, the civilian aspects of the gradual handover of security responsibilities to Afghan forces. We must focus on the critical work of further developing public administration, undertaking reforms toward the rule of law and fighting corruption.
Second, the long-term international engagement after 2014 needs to be clearly defined. We propose three pillars for this: continuing civilian reconstruction, sustained support to the training and equipping of Afghan national security forces for as long as necessary, and helping the country unlock its enormous economic potential for the benefit of the Afghan people and of the region.
Third, international support for the Afghan peace and reconciliation efforts must continue. The Afghan government has outlined a comprehensive peace process. Despite severe setbacks, reconciliation remains the surest path to a durable and inclusive peace.
Renouncing violence, breaking with international terrorism, and respecting the Afghan Constitution and the fundamental human rights enshrined in it — including the equal rights of Afghan women — are all indispensable and nonnegotiable elements of any outcome of the peace process. Afghanistan must also be able to count on its neighbors to respect and support its peace effort.
The last 10 years have demanded great sacrifices from the people of Afghanistan and the international community. It is precisely because of this that we have achieved much for international security and for Afghanistan’s development. Never before have the Afghan people had comparable access to education, infrastructure and health care.
But we cannot be satisfied with what we have achieved so far. Afghanistan must become stable, a country that is in no way a threat to peace. It will continue to require the assistance of the international community, especially after the agreed withdrawal of international forces. In Bonn we want to lay the cornerstone for strong engagement beyond 2014 — an engagement that will mainly show a civilian face.
By Zalmai Rassoul and Guido Westerwelle, the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Germany, respectively.