Kabul Conference

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Wednesday 21st July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Foreign Secretary’s Statement made earlier in the other place. We all join the Foreign Secretary in his words of support, gratitude and condolence offered to our Armed Forces. Their courage and fortitude, and indeed their family support, continue to be hugely valued and respected by the whole nation.

Clearly, we are looking forward to the moment when the Afghan authorities can take responsibility for their own security, and we all want to do all that we can to see support for their efforts on peace and security. We also all want to see support for their efforts to advance the provision of essential public services, including education and health, which the Minister mentioned and which must be delivered in an efficient and accountable way.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations said in Kabul that the aim has to be to stay engaged for the long term and to see the establishment of effective democratic governance. There is still a great deal to do and a long way to go if we are to see, in the timescales envisaged, a safer, better-served and well-governed Afghanistan. Does the Minister agree that we need to see, first, much better management of public finances and, secondly, a functioning justice system, better policing and procedures for dealing with alleged crimes? These are key elements in legitimising that country’s security forces, and I seek from the Minister some detail of what has been achieved since the London conference.

The Foreign Secretary’s response in the other place on security policy made no reference to the considerable investment by the European Union in, for example, policing or support for the judicial system. This is done through trust funds and through EUPOL. It is worth acknowledging that these investments are making a difference and that we are taking them into account when we discuss our engagement with matters in Afghanistan.

Can the noble Lord confirm whether the UK is encouraging the European Union to continue to support the elections due to be held in September, which again have not been mentioned? The noble Lord will, I am sure, agree that the electoral structures and institutions need to be strengthened after the last election—we saw some flawed evidence from that election—if the people of Afghanistan are to feel confident about the credibility and transparency of the election processes.

Does the Minister agree that the focus must be set on objectives, not on predetermined timetables? While we are told that we will not be there in 2015, there have been some mixed messages and inconsistencies. For example, the Foreign Secretary said that he would be surprised if the security transition took longer than 2014, while the Prime Minister confirmed 2015 and, in Washington last night, said that withdrawal would begin next year. Timetables are all well and good, but clocks are ticking away while the insurgency continues and the casualties grow.

Can the Minister give the detail of any current thinking on the likelihood of some sort of negotiation with the Taliban? Are the Government aware that the Taliban has already said that talk of withdrawal in July by the United States shows that it is on the road to victory? How does the Minister respond to these assertions from the insurgents? Also, is there a proposal to present a clear plan for the critical period between 2011 and 2015 and is not clarity really necessary—essential, in fact—in the context of the Taliban position? It is very clear that, as far as it is concerned, talks will not begin until foreign forces leave Afghanistan. There are those who intimate that unthinkable compromises will have to be made, but political settlement and reintegration got scant mention in the Foreign Secretary’s Statement.

Finally, I turn to the importance which must be attached to women’s rights in Afghanistan. We know that, last year, President Karzai signed the Shia personal status law, which forbids women from refusing sex with their husbands or leaving home without their husband’s permission. Will the Government press for stronger diplomatic efforts to support groups working with women, especially Afghan groups? The Minister will, I am sure, recognise and reiterate advances which most certainly have been made by and for women, but many experts and many women that we have spoken to doubt the depth of the cultural and institutional changes which have taken place. That is critical; you might have the advances that can be seen in terms of education and so on, but festering underneath those issues remain the cultural and institutional difficulties that women are facing daily. It was heartening to hear Hillary Clinton being absolutely determined that any future Afghan agreement ensures the rights of women in a future political system. If women are silenced or pushed to the margin of Afghan society, then peace, justice and security will clearly and obviously be seriously threatened. The,

“centrality of women’s rights … to the future of Afghanistan”,

in the words which appeared in the communiqué, is not enough; they want to hear and see more.

The women of Afghanistan want peace with justice, and I fear that even in these meetings in London and Kabul not enough understanding or attention was given to the demands that women are making. They fear that the progress they have seen will be jettisoned in favour of deals which the authorities will want to make with the fighters. They feel that their presence at the conference was symbolic and that they were not consulted. They are, justifiably, demanding guarantees of equal protection under the law and that their rights should not be compromised in any peace negotiations or agreements. In order to get what they want, some may be prepared to sacrifice the interests of Afghan women. Whatever objectives the Afghan Government may have, they must not be made at the expense of the women and children of that country. A lot needs to be done. The average life expectancy for a woman in Afghanistan is 44—the worst in the world—and one in eight dies in childbirth, which is one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

The Minister mentioned the Ministerial Statement tomorrow but I would appreciate more detail now or in a letter on how DfID funds will be used to deal with inequities such as access to professional training, which I know the US is focusing on, and all the other important areas of concern in relation to gender inequality. A great deal is at stake at this time for the people of Afghanistan and, indeed, for the whole region and the world. They demand strong and effective leadership from the Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister and the Government.