§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to ensure that ethnic communities including the Pushtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Turkmen, Baluch and Nuristani are adequately represented in the future arrangements to be introduced in Afghanistan for central and provincial government; what is their evaluation of the necessity for such representation in order to 134WA build stability; and what is their policy towards representation of ethnic people in Afghanistan by their warlords. [HL2556]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foregin and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)We have long said that we want to see a broadly based representative government in Afghanistan. We continue to offer our full support to the UN-led political process, as set out in the Bonn Agreement. This process is the best hope that Afghanistan has to secure a government representative of all the Afghan peoples and stability in Afghanistan.
The Interim Administration, established on 22 December, will govern for six months until a Loya Jirga (a traditional Afghan Grand Council) is convened in June to select members for a transitional authority. The transitional authority will govern until elections can be held in 2003 for a fully representative government. The form of that government is for the Afghan people to decide.
§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their evaluation of the need to achieve a convincing cross-section of ethnic representation in provincial and central government in Afghanistan in order to ensure the success of the international reconstruction policy for Afghanistan. [HL2557]
§ Baroness AmosWe believe that a broadly based government is essential for the future stability and reconstruction of Afghanistan. In this regard we welcome the renewed commitment made by Hamid Karzai, Chairman of the Interim Administration, at the Tokyo Reconstruction Conference that this remains a top priority.
We also welcome the recent appointment of the Special Commission for the Co-ordination of the Emergency Loya Jirga by Ambassador Brahimi, UNSG's special representative for Afghanistan. The commission, which comprises 21 members, is drawn from a wide range of ethnic groups and is tasked to put in place arrangements, by June 2002, for the Emergency Loya Jirga which will govern Afghanistan for the next 18 months.
§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their evaluation of the interrelationship between the ethnic communities in Afghanistan and their "patron states" like Pakistan, Iran and Uzbekistan; what is the significance of this interrelationship in provoking instability; and how they intend to address this issue together with other members of the coalition against terrorism. [HL2558]
§ Baroness AmosWe have long said that we want to see a broadly based government in Afghanistan, representative of all the Afghan peoples. Afghanistan's neighbours have a crucial role to play in helping to bring about stability in Afghanistan. We have urged them to support the UN-led political process, as set out in the Bonn Agreement.