for use in assistance to Afghan refugees, up to a maximum of $120 million. By January 2001 it had provided around $122.1 million to the UNHCR, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the ICRC, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In addition, NGOs operating under “the Japan Platform,” a system which facilitates cooperation among NGOs, the business sector, and the government, implemented relief for Afghan refugees using government start-up funding amounting to ¥580 million.

## (3) Peace Building

After a conflict ends, the international community needs to work together to provide recovery and reconstruction aid quickly to the affected nation or region in order to establish an environment in which further outbreaks of conflict can be avoided. It is also necessary to rebuild shattered infrastructure and heal scars of people so that affected people can begin their own development efforts as soon as possible. To achieve these goals, the gap between emergency humanitarian assistance and development assistance must be bridged. Also, donor nations and humanitarian and development agencies need to cooperate in close partnership with NGOs and other civil society groups. $ ^{16} $

A recent example of such cooperation is Japan’s active contributions to Afghanistan’s reconstruction process. In November 2001 Japan and the United States co-chaired the Senior Officials Meeting on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, which planned the subsequent process by the international community, including the December 2001 meeting in Brussels of the Steering Group for Assistance in the Reconstruction of Afghanistan and the January 2002 International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in Tokyo. At the first steering group meeting in Brussels, interim reports on surveys of reconstruction requirements were presented, and priority areas were identified. Japan announced that it would contribute $1 million to a fund set up to support the interim Afghan administration that was established under the Bonn Agreement in December 2001.

The Tokyo conference of donor nations in January 2002 was co-chaired by Japan, the United States, the European Union, and Saudi Arabia. The meeting was attended by Hamid Karzai, chairman of Afghanistan’s interim administration, as well as ministers and other representatives of 61 governments and 21 international agencies. The presence of so many delegates sent a strong message of support by the international community for reconstruction in Afghanistan. Visions and policies for reconstruction and development in Afghanistan were presented by Chairman Karzai and others. Another indication of the success of the meeting as a crucial first step towards reconstruction was the announcement of pledges and contributions totaling $1.8 billion for 2002 and $4.5 billion overall.

At the conference, Japan emphasized the need to support the peace-building process, national reconciliation, and human resources development. It also announced specific support measures, including the provision of up to $500 million for priority areas over a period of 30