OSCE could have tremendous impact in Afghanistan by training police, top NATO commander says

VIENNA, 2 July 2008 - The international community needs to do more to secure Afghanistan and the OSCE could have a tremendous impact in those efforts by helping to train the country's police, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe told the OSCE today.

"I am of the opinion that the international community - the United Nations, NATO, the European Union and the OSCE - all can and all must do more in Afghanistan," General John Craddock told the OSCE's Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC).

"The OSCE has made indispensable contributions to peace and stability for the past 30 years. It no doubt can play an important role in the campaign to secure and stabilize Afghanistan," he said.

The general said while the Afghan armed forces had made great strides the Afghan national police force lagged behind and needed much improvement.

"I believe this is an area in which the OSCE could have a tremendous impact. The OSCE has a proven track record in this area, having successfully trained the police force in Kosovo and border security personnel in Georgia and elsewhere," Craddock said at the ASRC, which seeks to enhance dialogue on security among the 56 OSCE participating States and to review the Organization's security work.

Craddock said he had seen proposals for OSCE involvement in Afghanistan that seek to improve national law enforcement capability and increase border security and cross-border co-operation.

"I indeed applaud this effort and both welcome and encourage the engagement of the OSCE in this area - an area that has vast potential to have an enduring effect in this developing nation," he said.

The December 2007 OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid approved a decision to strengthen the Organization's engagement with Afghanistan. The decision puts particular focus on intensifying OSCE action to help secure and manage borders between the OSCE's Central Asian participating States and Afghanistan. The decision also calls for police training and support in the fight against drug trafficking.

Participants at the 1-2 July ASRC are discussing transnational challenges to security in the OSCE region. They are also discussing arms control arrangements and confidence- and security-building measures, as well as early warning, conflict prevention and resolution, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.