Southwest Asia

EWI’s Brad L. Brasseur argues that full mutual recognition of the Durand Line would allow both countries to more effectively police their borders, and would facilitate much-needed economic development in the border regions. The validity of the Durand Line is already supported by international law and practice, he writes, but only mutual recognition will allow the two countries to cooperate and move forward in peace.

Arguing that the international community has an interest in a stable and secure Afghanistan–Pakistan border, Brasseur adds that outside investors can incentivize a resolution to the long-standing border issue by promising investment on the condition that border control and local security conditions improve.

The Forum brought together representatives from 34 U.N. Member States. The aim: to establish a foundation of trust among these crucial states and identify the next milestones on the path to global zero.

 In an effort to make the Nuclear Discussion Forum an organic, Member State-led process, participants were asked to select five high-priority topics for discussion and form a core working group. This core working group met before each forum meeting to review the prepared “policy reference points,” raise specific issues to be discussed and suggest a speaker and discussant. Six Member States volunteered to serve in the group alongside EWI and the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan: Austria, Costa Rica, Egypt, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Uruguay.

 This short report is intended to capture a sense of the debate as it proceeded in the Forum, which has gained praise from key international leaders:

 “As a member of the core group, Egypt participated actively in the activities of the Nuclear Discussion Forum, which it sees as a commendable initiative facilitated through the partnership of the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan and the EastWest Institute, and expects the NDF to continue to contribute valuably to raising international public awareness on the merit of the goal of total and comprehensive nuclear disarmament.”

His Excellency Maged Abdelaziz

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations

 “The Nuclear Discussion Forum has provided a major and sustained opportunity for conducting a healthy exercise in the context of international relations: exchanging points of views on issues of great concern that  generate multiple positions. For a peaceful country as Costa Rica, deeply committed to disarmament and a world free of nuclear weapons, the Forum has opened an arena for discussion, not with the aim of convincing fellow countries or forging common proposals, but, rather, of deepening a constructive dialogue that will certainly contribute to our aspirations.”

His Excellency Eduardo Ulibarri

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations

 “The Nuclear Discussion Forum has contributed to the cultivation of an informal disarmament community among officials with relevant responsibilities both in the Permanent Missions and in the Secretariat’s office for Disarmament Affairs. And it has provided a welcome opportunity for all participants to receive briefings from outside experts on specific subjects on the international disarmament and nonproliferation agenda.”

Sergio Duarte

United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

 “The debate on ridding the world of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and ensuring non-proliferation must continue with purpose among all stakeholders. My delegation was pleased to participate in the very constructive Nuclear Discussion Forum, the report of which aptly underscores the urgency of mobilizing political will to undertake the States’ stated commitments on achieving the vision of global nuclear zero. My commendation to the Mission of Kazakhstan and EastWest Institute for undertaking this highly important effort.”

His Excellency Hasan Kleib

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations

 “Austria has actively participated in the Nuclear Discussion Forum as a member of its Core Working Group. This commendable partnership between the EastWest Institute and the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan has underscored the urgent need for new progress in the field of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, and I hope that the Forum will continue its important functions next year”.

His Excellency Thomas Mayr-Harting

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations

“Participants  agreed that the relationship between the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan will determine the success of reconciliation.  The recent increase in tensions between Afghanistan, the U.S. and Pakistan gives reason for concern,” said Guenter Overfeld, EWI Vice President and Director of Regional Security.

Discussions with the insurgency require that Kabul and the international community make more efforts to work towards a successful transition not only in the military field, but also through strengthening good governance and economic development. A political settlement is particularly urgent, according to participants, given that NATO intends to hand over responsibility for Afghanistan’s security to the government in Kabul by 2014.

To speed up reconciliation, participants repeated their earlier call for an “address,” or standing political office, for the Taliban. With an office, it would be easier to streamline fragmented negotiations efforts and ensure the safety of negotiators.

Participants also discussed how to build intergovernmental trust, recommending the establishment of a Pakistani body committed to working with the Afghan High Peace Jirga and a format for talks between the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan that is more effective than the current trialogue meetings.

“It is difficult to imagine that a final settlement can be achieved without greater clarity on the future of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan,” the report points out.
Still, participants emphasized that “reconciliation must be Afghan led and Afghan owned.” They called on Afghan authorities to deliver better public services, improve governance and emphasize that there will be no return to the Taliban policies of the 1990s.

“Ironically, some of the older Taliban leaders, who are committed to a largely nationalist agenda, may be less militant on these issues than the ‘neo-Taliban,’ the younger generation of Taliban leaders,” participants observed. “It may be easier to strike a deal with the Taliban now, while the old leadership is still in place, than with their successors.

The report also stresses that reconciliation must not jeopardize the Afghan constitution and human rights. “Any return to the Taliban policies of the 1990s, including their attempts to banish female education, would be a recipe for disaster,” it states.

Click here to download the first and second reports from the Abu Dhabi Process

Click here to download the report.

The report, Enhancing Security in Afghanistan and Central Asia through Regional Cooperation on Water: Amu Darya Consultation Report, is the product of an international consultation held on December 7, 2010, at the European Parliament, organized by EWI, the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention, Wageningen University and the Amu Darya Basin Network.

The report’s recommendations call for the five countries that depend on the Amu Darya – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan – to pursue an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach to the river at the local and basin level.

“An IWRM approach would help basin countries balance competing demands for water use between agricultural, industrial and hydropower sectors, and between upstream and downstream users,” the report points out.

The report also calls for development efforts to begin on a local level, such as training experts from different countries in joint forums to build trust and encouraging European countries to share best practices.

The report cautions that pursuing multilateral legal and economic agreements should not be the focus of regional policies, as existing mechanisms are generally “too broadly defined” to be effective. Another challenge is that Afghanistan, one of the Amu Darya’s major upstream countries, is not party to any international or regional treaties on water.

“With Afghanistan’s economic development, there will be more of a strain on existing water resources in the basin” says Rizk. “Forging international cooperation is therefore all the more crucial.”

The report’s recommendations will be pursued through the Amu Darya Basin Network, created by EWI in partnership with the Development Policy Review Network. EWI now coordinates the Network with the support of the Gerda Henkel Stiftung Foundation. To learn more about the Amu Darya Basin Network, please visit www.amudaryabasin.net

The report is based on concrete recommendations made by more than 70 leading lawmakers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Muslim countries, as well as representatives from Europe and the U.S., convened by EWI and the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention at an international conference hosted by the European Parliament on December 7, 2010.

Meeting participants called for President Hamid Karzai’s government and the Taliban leadership to commit to unconditional talks in a trusted environment, ideally in a ceasefire zone with a mediator from a neutral country. Participants also recommended making talks more inclusive, saying that the engagement of tribal leaders along the border is “vital to the success of reconciliation.”

To improve the Afghanistan and Pakistan relationship, meeting participants suggested a “mechanism for a regular and genuine information exchange and cooperation,” such as an Afghanistan-Pakistan Jirga process.

Participants also recommended that to decrease the trust deficit between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both countries should address the role of India in Afghanistan in a frank and transparent manner.

The meeting was also a step towards building person-to-person trust between Pakistani and Afghan leaders, according to Ambassador Overfeld: “To the participants’ credit, palpable tensions gradually gave way to a constructive spirit -- a real determination to bring sustainable development and peace to the region.”

Bringing together Afghan and Pakistani politicians, diplomats, scholars and former military officials, the meetings seek to build confidence, ensure stability, and enhance regional development.

“There is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.  A dialogue leading to political settlement should therefore begin soon,” the report concludes.

Among the report's key recommendations: the use of open dialogue to solve the conflict in Afghanistan, rather than the use of military force; the active pursuit of delisting selected Taliban leaders; the continuation of the Abu Dhabi Process to help build trust between Afghanistan and Pakistan and create strategies towards a political settlement.

The report points out the need to address the bilateral trust deficit at three levels: senior government, the wider bureaucracy and civil society: “Both Afghanistan and Pakistan may wish to consider the appointment of a respected personality from each country to a senior position solely dedicated to the bilateral relationship.”

"The quality of the Afghan-Pakistani relationship is a decisive factor for political reconciliation in Afghanistan and stability and development in the region," added Guenter Overfeld, EWI Vice President and Director of Regional Security. "A fundamental lack of trust has persisted and has prevented substantive cooperation and collaboration."