01 February 2010

GPPi Fellow interviewed on UN role in Afghanistan

On 28 January 2010, an interview with GPPi Fellow Philipp Rotmann was featured by Deutsche Welle World in a piece on the role of the United Nations in Afghanistan. As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon just appointed a new Special Representative, Staffan di Mistura, the article looks at the challenges he and his operation, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), will be facing this year.

Personally, di Mistura brings not only a wealth of experience in the UN system but more importantly, a very good relationship with the U.S. government and military to the job. Given the Pentagon's increasing role within NATO forces in the country and in relation to the Karzai administration, no UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General could be effective without such a relationship, argued Rotmann. Before his current assignment as head of the World Food Programme, his "last post ... was Baghdad as head of the UN in Iraq which has taken on a larger role in the last year or two as the US troops started to withdraw". At the time, di Mistura worked closely with General David Petreaus, now the commander of U.S. Central Command overseeing Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, with the re-engagement with Afghanistan, the space for UN efforts at donor coordination is already shrinking. "In terms of resources and in terms of political standing in the Western capitals, the UN is clearly third to NATO and the European Union right now in Afghanistan," said Rotmann who adds that with the appointment of Britain's ambassador Mark Sedwill as the new Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan NATO has further strengthened its position in the country. In this context, effective and coordinated development will depend on the efforts of donor governments themselves to work closely with the Afghan government and with each other.

Instead, Rotmann argues, the UN should focus more on its political role as the most neutral institution in Afghanistan and work on the upcoming parliamentary elections as well as efforts to reach out to members of the Taliban to bring some of these groups into the political process. Having one of the best political staffs in Kabul with a long experience in the country makes UNAMA best placed to facilitate some of these negotiations.

To view the entire article, entitled "New UN chief in Afghanistan faces old problems," please click here.

For more information, please contact Philipp Rotmann.

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