Hungary’s role in Afghanistan (ISAF, PRT)

Since 2001, the international community has extended considerable support for the building of a democratic state in Afghanistan. After many decades, Afghanistan now has a chance to leave behind an endless period of violence and warfare. For its success, a lasting role of the international community is needed to create a stable Afghanistan which, on a democratic basis, is capable of guaranteeing its external and internal security and a self-sustaining economy. This long-term commitment to the building of the Afghan nation has been confirmed by the participating countries and international organisations on many occasions - the most recent being at the NATO Bucharest summit and the June 12, 2008 Paris conference.

One of most important operations is the NATO ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) which operates with the authority of the UN Security Council, in which 26 NATO countries are participating side-by-side with 14 contributing countries. Altogether over 50,000 soldiers fulfil duties from these 40 countries in order to secure the necessary security conditions for peaceful rebuilding and development, support economic development, international forces for state-building, activities related to civil development, assisting the creation of Afghan capabilities, and setting up Afghan security forces capable of maintaining order.

The EU, UN and the United States, in multilateral and bilateral frameworks, have contributed several billion euros towards Afghanistan’s development. The World Bank fulfilled a signal role which facilitated the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). The projects realised from the ARTF range from training in public administration, through communications developments, to provincial water provision. Besides those already mentioned, a number of other international governmental and non-governmental organisations are also present in Afghanistan. The UN recently appointed a chief civil representative who has a substantial role co-ordinating the many military and civil international and national actors, and this is a significant development.

Since 2003, Hungary’s active participation in the Afghanistan international force has increasingly grown and it has taken on its share of the burden in proportion to its capabilities in supporting its stability. In doing so, it wishes to express that it is not just a recipient of common security but advances it both in NATO and the European Union.

At the start of October 2006 Hungary took over leadership of the Baghlan Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), raising the country’s contribution to a new level and supplementing it with development activities. In the Hungarian PRT there are several old, new and prospective European Union member states present, contributing to the realisation of development projects. Currently 210 members or the armed forces fulfil a number of roles besides military duties which include improving the living conditions of residents, and putting great emphasis on concluding projects which provide preparations for infrastructural developments as part of the so-called CIMIC (civil-military co-operation).

The implementation of civil development projects has an annual budget of 500 million forints (about 2,1 million euros). These are primarily realised through expert ministries and non-governmental organisations. The development programmes relate to Baghlan province and the needs of the local population as well as fulfilling goals attached to the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS). In the focus of developments are bringing about the conditions for a self-sustaining economy, with highlighted goals including job-creation, the creation of a constitutional state, educational institutions and agricultural development.

The basic implementation guideline is that projects should draw in local workers and local deliveries as much as possible. Clearly without local interest and participation external support would not lead to a sustainable outcome.

Stability and development is not a possibility without security and legal guarantees. This is why a priority is given to police training and building public administration. In 2007, the European Union initiated a police training operation (EUPOL) and it would like to contribute with this, too. Hungary’s Justice and Law Enforcement Ministry has contributed 5 members of staff to the EU operation and beside this it pursues various expert courses on a bilateral basis in contributing to the training of the Afghan police force.

In order to promote more effective PRT - government co-ordination and decision-making preparation, a government commission was set up on February 20, 2008. The body’s chairpersons are the foreign and defence ministers, and its other members are the finance minister, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Justice and Law Enforcement Minister as well as the National Development and Economy Minister. Besides regularly reviewing military and development tasks, the government commission follows developments in Afghanistan and activities of international organisations there, oversees the implementation of development projects suiting best the Afghan needs (monitoring) and participates in formulating government policies connected to Hungary’s participation.