Actions and Involvement
Under Brahimi’s leadership, and that of subsequent Special Representatives, UNAMA has taken a minimal involvement policy, especially in regard to political processes in Afghanistan. This commitment to a “light, expatriate footprint” upholds the UN Security Council’s statement in resolution 1401 that sort to reaffirm the UN’s “strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Afghanistan”.
The mission has provided extensive support for political processes to take place though. Transport, communications, voter registration and information campaigns and election monitoring were all provided by UNAMA in efforts to allow a fair, representative and successful transition in government. UNAMA’s efforts have continued from the initial Emergency Loya Jirga in June 2002 to presidential elections and national assembly elections in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
The position of UNAMA and the Special Representative as co-chair of the Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), which aligns international and Afghan efforts to succeed with the aims of the Afghanistan Compact, also gives the mission great access, responsibility and influence in the country.
UNAMA and the JCMB helped to conduct the 2004 elections in which 10.5 million Afghans voted (41% of which were women.
UNAMA’s success is shown in other walks of life with over 4.2 million children now in education and around 3 million refugees repatriated to Afghanistan since 2002.
Read more about this topic: United Nations Assistance Mission In Afghanistan
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“From a purely external point of view there is no will; and to find will in any phenomenon requires a certain empathy; we observe a man’s actions and place ourselves partly but not wholly in his position; or we act, and place ourselves partly in the position of an outsider.”
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“But they who are unconcerned about the consequences of their actions are not therefore unconcerned about their actions.”
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“Not only do our wives need support, but our children need our deep involvement in their lives. If this period [the early years] of primitive needs and primitive caretaking passes without us, it is lost forever. We can be involved in other ways, but never again on this profoundly intimate level.”
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