Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Mr. Hague
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of mechanisms to co-ordinate international reconstruction and development work in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Thomas
I have been asked to reply.

The Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) is the overarching body for monitoring political and development progress in Afghanistan. It was established to monitor the implementation of the Afghanistan Compact and provide a forum to provide direction on major policy issues or blockages (e.g. problems with coordination or financing). It meets four times a year and is attended by heads of mission and chaired by the UN Special representative and the Afghan President's senior economic adviser (Professor Nadiri). The latest, sixth JCMB met on 3 October and focused on regional economic cooperation. In addition, various groups meet to co-ordinate international reconstruction and development work in Afghanistan:

Eight consultative groups (sector level) and 22 working groups (line ministry level); all comprising Afghan Government and international community representatives who co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of the Compact, contribute to budget formulation and monitor aid effectiveness within their sector.

The External Advisory Group meets every month and is a forum for donors to discuss progress on the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). Chaired by DFID since August 2006, it is a tool for pushing the government on ANDS issues and preserving donor buy-in.

The Policy Action Group was set up by General Richards and President Karzai as a short-term response to security difficulties in the South. It is chaired by Minister of Education Hanif Atmar and UNAMA. There are four pillars: Security, Information, Reconstruction and Development and International.

World Bank-led donor meetings are meetings of donors only, with no Government representation, to discuss Afghanistan national development strategy issues. These meetings are usually focused on economic issues.

DFID has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of these mechanisms to co-ordinate international reconstruction and development. However, we do believe that they have been successful in moving forward progress against the benchmarks of the Afghanistan Compact. The UN in Afghanistan has the potential to play a stronger role in donor co-ordination. DFID supports this.