2000/55/CFSP: Council Common Position of 24 January 2000 on Afghanistan
Date: 2000-01-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Afghanistan, economic development, fight against crime, human rights, humanitarian aid, peacekeeping

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(Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL COMMON POSITION

of 24 January 2000

on Afghanistan

(2000/55/CFSP)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union and in particu-
lar Article 15 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

The conflict in Afghanistan has caused untold suffering
for the Afghan people, and threatens the stability of the
region and its economic development;

The war's exports of terrorism and illegal drugs cause
serious damage to Member States of the Union, and
more widely;

The Union continues to receive considerable numbers of
refugees from war-battered Afghanistan;

The Union is determined to play an effective role in
efforts to stop the fighting, and to restore peace, stability
including human
and respect
rights,

for
in Afghanistan;

international

law,

The Union reminds the warring parties that they bear
the ultimate responsibility for finding a political solution
to the conflict which can bring about a lasting peace to
Afghanistan and enable the establishment of a broad-
based and representative government;

The Union considers it imperative that all countries with
an influence on the parties should exercise it in support
of and in close coordination with the United Nations'
peace efforts, and that the supply of weapons, munitions
for military use to the warring
and other material
factions
the
involvement of foreign military, paramilitary and secret
service personnel, should cease;

from outside Afghanistan, as well as

(7)

The Union attaches the highest importance to respect
for international
including the
Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrim-

law and human rights,

(8)

(9)

(10)

ination against women, and denounces continuing
gender discrimination in Afghanistan;

The Union is deeply concerned by reports of massacres
and forced expulsions of innocent civilians, the execu-
tion of prisoners of war, ethnic-based persecutions and
executions, and the intimidation and assassination of
Afghan emigrés;

The Union is also concerned by reports from the
Shomali Plain of house and crop burnings and the delib-
erate destruction of the agricultural

infrastructure;

The Union has adopted, on 15 November 1999,
Common Position 1999/727/CFSP concerning restrictive
measures against the Taliban (1) in order to implement
UN Security Council Resolution 1267/99 of 15 October
1999;

(11)

This Common Position is intended to replace Common
Position 99/73/CFSP of 25 January 1999 on Afghani-
stan (2); the latter should therefore be repealed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

The objectives of the Union in Afghanistan are:

(a) to bring about a sustainable peace in Afghanistan, put an
end to foreign intervention, and encourage intra-Afghan
dialogue through support for the central role of the United
Nations;

(b) to promote the stability and development of the whole

region through peace in Afghanistan;

(c) to promote respect for international humanitarian law and
human rights, including the rights of women and children;

(d) to provide effective humanitarian aid and ensure that the
international coordination of aid allows for its provision in
accordance with international humanitarian principles and
an impartial needs assessment;

(1) OJ L 294, 16.11.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 23, 30.1.1999, p. 1.

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(e) to reinforce the fight against illegal drugs and terrorism;

former King Zahir Shah, to contribute to an intra-Afghan
dialogue;

(f) to assist in peace-building activities and, once a durable
the

the reconstruction of

peace settlement
country after years of civil war.

is in place,

Article 2

In order to support the United Nations peace efforts, reaffirmed
by UN General Assembly Resolution 203 A and B of 18
December 1998, the Union shall continue to:

(a) support and strengthen the work of the UN Special Mission
including its civil affairs unit;

to Afghanistan (UNSMA),

(b) support the comprehensive efforts of the UN Secretary-
General and his Special Envoy for Afghanistan, and in
particular the reactivation of the Special Envoy's mission as
soon as circumstances permit;

(c) urge other countries with influence on the parties to exer-
cise it constructively in support of and in close coordina-
tion with UN peace efforts;

(d) call upon the warring parties to honour their obligations as
stated in the Tashkent Declaration on the fundamental
principles for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Afgha-
nistan which was signed by both parties on 20 July 1999;

(e) demand from the Taliban their commitment to the imple-
mentation of the Agreements signed with the UN on the
safety and security of UN personnel;

(f) take into consideration the report of the UN Credentials
Committee on the representation of Afghanistan at the
United Nations;

(g) maintain its embargo on the export of arms, munitions and
military equipment
to Afghanistan provided for in its
Common Position 96/746/CFSP (1), and urge other coun-
tries to adopt a similar policy of restraint;

(h) urge countries concerned to stop the involvement of their
military, paramilitary and secret service personnel in Afgha-
nistan and cease all other military support provided to
parties in the Afghan conflict, including the use of their
own territories for such purposes.

The Union shall also:

(k) continue to impress upon all those countries with influence
in Afghanistan the importance the Union attaches to the
early settlement of the conflict under UN auspices, and
urging them to lend the UN every support.

Article 3

In order to promote respect for all human rights, fundamental
freedoms and international humanitarian law the Union shall:

(a) call on all parties to recognise, protect and promote all
freedoms including the
liberty and security of persons and also to
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to

human rights and fundamental
right to life,
respect
which Afghanistan has subscribed;

(b) urge Afghan factions to end discriminatory policies and
recognise, protect and promote the equal rights and dignity
including access to education and
of men and women,
health facilities,
and
freedom from intimidation and harassment, and will point
to the negative implications of discriminatory policies for
the effective supply of aid;

employment, personal

security

(c) support the UN Secretary General's proposals for the early
deployment of civilian human rights monitors in the Civil
Affairs Unit of UNSMA;

(d) attach special importance to human rights aspects in the
international coordination of humanitarian assistance to
Afghanistan;

(e) support aid programmes in Afghanistan which integrate
gender concerns and actively attempt to promote the equit-
able participation of both men and women, and which
promote peace and human rights;

(f) urge all factions to respect and protect the cultural heritage

of Afghanistan.

Article 4

(i) continue contacts with the Afghan parties and prominent
Afghan individuals to point to the futility and grave and
unacceptable humanitarian consequences of the continued
fighting, and urge an immediate cease-fire and the nego-
tiation of a political
settlement under UN auspices,
including the establishment of a fully representative, broad-
based government;

(j) follow closely and encourage efforts by influential Afghan
individuals and organisations, such as the so-called Frank-
furt Process and the Rome based Loya Jirga Process of

(1) OJ L 342, 31.12.1996, p. 1.

In order to help the suffering civilian population of Afghani-
stan, the Union shall:

(a) continue to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan,

conditions permitting;

(b) urge the warring factions to ensure freedom of movement
as well as free and safe access of national and international
humanitarian personnel
those in need, without
to all
restrictions based on gender, race, religion or nationality,
and to cooperate fully and sincerely with humanitarian
organisations to respond to the humanitarian needs of the
Afghan people;

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(c) continue to support national and international efforts in
mine action as an important precondition for sustainable
development;

(d) urge the warring factions not to lay any more landmines,
while at the same time emphasising its standing policy not
to fund demining in regions where mine-laying is
continued;

(e) improve the effectiveness of aid by closer international
donor coordination, in particular by working through the
Afghanistan Support Group and the Afghanistan Program-
ming Body;

(f) ensure close coordination and complementarity between
the UN peace efforts and the aid effort, as envisaged in the
Strategic Framework common to the international donor
community and UN organisations;

(g) ensure that its aid is provided in accordance with the
common Strategic Framework adopted by the donor
to
community and UN organisations
effective
implementation of
encourage
Common Programming in Afghanistan.

and,
a more

thereby,

the

Article 5

In order to promote the fight against drugs, the Union, shall:
(a) use contacts with the factions and those countries with
influence on them to underline the Union's concern at the
sharp rise in the illicit production and trafficking of drugs
stability and
in Afghanistan which threatens
damages the health and well-being of the populations of
Afghanistan, neighbouring States and elsewhere, and also
to stress that the Union will take account of drugs control
objectives when considering contributions to development
aid to reconstruct Afghanistan once a durable peace settle-
ment is in place;

regional

(b) urge aid agencies to take account of drug control objectives
in the planning and implementation of projects by taking
into consideration their
impact on drug cultivation,
production, tracking and abuse;

(c) support sustainable alternative development as an impor-
tant component of a balanced and comprehensive drug
control
strategy. Alternative development programmes
should be adapted to the specific conditions in Afghanistan,
should respect human rights and incorporate the gender
dimension enabling women and men to participate equally
in the development process. Law enforcement measures are
a necessary complement to such programmes.

(d) support all consistent efforts, including those of the United
Nations Drugs Control Programme (UNDCP), aimed at
reducing substantially the production, trafficking and abuse

of drugs in Afghanistan, and notes the importance of
implementation of the Community's projects in support of
the Union's Central Asia Drugs Initiative.

Article 6

The Union condemns terrorism in all its forms, whenever and
wherever it occurs. To advance the fight against terrorism, the
Union shall:

(a) demand that all Afghan parties refrain from financing,
providing training or shelter for terrorist organisations or
otherwise supporting terrorist activities;

(b) urge all Afghan authorities to close down training camps
for foreign terrorists inside Afghanistan and to take neces-
sary steps to ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts
are brought to justice.

(c) urge the Taliban to comply fully and urgently with UN
Security Council Resolution 1267/99 of 15 October 1999.

Article 7

The Council notes that the Commission intends to direct its
action towards achieving the objectives and the priorities of
this Common Position, where appropriate, by pertinent
Community measures.

Article 8

Common Position 1999/73/CFSP shall be repealed.

Article 9

This Common Position shall take effect on the date of its
adoption.

It shall be reviewed at the latest twelve months after its adop-
tion.

Article 10

This Common Position shall be published in the Official
Journal.

Done at Brussels, 24 January 2000.

For the Council

The President

J. GAMA