Structure
UNAMA is a political mission of the UN and comes under the remit of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Its headquarter is in Kabul. In addition UNAMA has 23 regional and provincial offices across Afghanistan and liaison offices in Islamabad and Teheran. The regional offices are in Kabul, Herat, Bamyan, Gardez, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Kunduz, and Mazar-i-Sharif. Currently, UNAMA has more than 1,600 civilian staff. Around 80% of UNAMA’s staff are Afghan nationals, who work in various positions and levels within the political mission. Both the widespread presence and inclusive nature of the staff of UNAMA are considered a valuable asset, especially with attempts to coordinate relief and recovery programmes with the various interested parties around the country.
UNAMA is headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš, who was appointed to the post in January 2012, replacing Staffan di Mistura. There are four earlier Special Representatives – Lakhdar Brahimi (former Algerian Foreign Minister) who served from October 2001 to January 2004, despite resigning from the post 2 years earlier;, Jean Arnault who held the post from February 2004 to February 2006, followed by Tom Koenigs who held the post from March 2006 to December 2007 and Kai Eide who held the post from 2008 to 2010.
The head of UNAMA is responsible for all UN activities in the country. There are also two deputy Special Representatives (DSRSG) who oversee the main pillars of the mission – developmental issues and political matters. Included under these pillars are departments specialising in human rights, policing, military, drugs and gender issues.
The developmental pillar of UNAMA focuses on relief efforts, delivery aid to where it is needed most, and the reconstruction of the infrastructure and other important components of society. This pillar is headed by Michael Keating, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction.
The political affairs pillar is led by a Deputy Special Representative responsible for supporting political outreach, conflict resolution, disarmament and regional cooperation. The political mandate of UNAMA supported the implementation of the institutional and political objectives of the Bonn Agreement, signed in November 2001, as well as a range of peace-building tasks. The political affairs pillar also includes an Election Support Unit, a Military Advisory Unit, and a Police Advisory Unit, which are responsible for coordinating international support for institution-building in each of those sectors.
Read more about this topic: United Nations Assistance Mission In Afghanistan
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