UN envoy says international efforts in Afghanistan "too fragmented"

Apr 9, 2008, 16:06 GMT

Kabul - New United Nations envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide said Wednesday that international efforts in the country were 'too fragmented', and vowed to create a 'new sense of urgency'.

The Norwegian diplomat, in his first address to media since taking the new post of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Afghanistan, said more coordination was needed among the international communities.

'The first and most important priority is the coordination of international efforts,' Eide said, adding: 'I think we have all seen these days, (it is) still too fragmented to have the effect that we want to have on the ground.'

More than six years since the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan still faces insecurity caused by Taliban resurgence, corruption and unemployment that has pushed so many Afghans towards Taliban's ranks.

Despite the presence of some 47, 000 NATO-led forces and some additional 14,000 of US-led coalition forces, Taliban militants remain a force to be reckoned with.

'We have to get away from a situation where an Afghan administration which is still in need of capacity building is faced with too fragmented an international community,' Eide said, adding: 'That simply is not going to work at all.'

The new UN mandate is for Eide to coordinate the civilian and military work of the international communities. The synergy between the civilians and military operation has raised concerns that the UN could lose its impartiality.

Eide said: 'I will take seriously my mandate with regards to the civil military coordination but I will never do it in a way that compromises the impartiality of the United Nations and the unique role that it has to play in the political and civilian fields.'

He also insisted that the international communities must stick to a single Afghan agenda to tackle problems. 'We have to make sure that the agenda that we have to pursue is the Afghan agenda, not a number of national agendas.'

Prior to Eide taking his post, Afghan President Hamid Karzai vetoed British Diplomat Paddy Ashdown's appointment after Western media speculation that the post would give Ashdown more power and influence over the Afghan government.

Eide declined to comment on the controversy over Ashdown, saying: 'I have a mandate that I believe is sufficient, and it is shaper than the mandate has been. I have the confidence of Afghan authorities and international communities. Those are the tools I need.'