Council Common Position of 22 January 2001 on Afghanistan
Date: 2001-01-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Afghanistan, dictatorship, human rights, humanitarian aid, peacekeeping, the EU's international role

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

COUNCIL COMMON POSITION

of 22 January 2001

on Afghanistan

(2001/56/CFSP)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the European Union, and in
particular 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.

to receive considerable and
The Union continues
increasing numbers of
from war-battered
Afghanistan and has adopted an Action Plan addressing
the question of flows of illegal migrants and asylum
seekers from Afghanistan.

refugees

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

ination against women, denounces continuing discrim-
ination against women in Afghanistan and is particularly
concerned that
this discrimination is hampering the
humanitarian efforts of international organisations and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Union is deeply concerned by reports of massacres
and expulsions of innocent civilians, the execution of
prisoners of war, ethnic-based persecutions and execu-
tions, and the intimidation and assassination of Afghan
emigrés.

The Union is also concerned by the continued fighting,
in particular in certain provinces such as Takhar and
Baghlan, which has been accompanied by further
destruction of homes, crops and agricultural infrastruc-
ture, and by fresh population movements.

The further deterioration of the humanitarian situation
in Afghanistan as a result of the worst drought in thirty
years, coupled with the continued conflict, is an addi-
tional cause for concern.

The Council adopted, on 15 November 1999, Common
Position 1999/727/CFSP concerning restrictive measures
against
to implement UN
Security Council Resolution 1267/99 of 15 October
1999.

the Taliban (1)

in order

The Union will take measures to implement UN Security
Council Resolution 1333/2000 of 19 December 2000.

The present Common Position is intended to replace
Council Common Position 2000/55/CFSP of 24 January
2000 on Afghanistan (2); the latter should therefore be
repealed,

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

The objectives of the Union in Afghanistan are:

(a) to bring about a lasting peace, 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;

(1) OJ L 294, 16.11.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 21, 26.1.2000, p. 1.

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

(d) to provide effective humanitarian aid including the creation
of an environment free of discrimination, in which inter-
national organisations and NGOs can operate effectively
and to ensure that the international coordination of aid
allows for its provision in accordance with international
humanitarian principles and an impartial needs assessment,
taking into account the community based approach;

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

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

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

The Union shall also:

(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,

(g) to support the programmes of international organisations
and NGOs for Afghan refugee populations in neighbouring
countries.

Article 2

(i) continue contacts with the Afghan parties and prominent
Afghan individuals to point to the utility and grave and
unacceptable humanitarian consequences of the continued
fighting, and urge an immediate ceasefire 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 support efforts by influential Afghan
individuals and organisations, such as the ‘Rome Process’
launched by former King Zahir Shah which envisages the
holding of a Loya Jirgah as a step in the process towards
peace and a broad-based government;

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:

(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.

(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 implementation of the agreement subscribed
to on 2 November 2000 by the Taliban and the Northern
Alliance on undertaking a process of dialogue with the
objective of bringing an end to the armed conflict as soon
as possible by political means, and call on the parties
concerned to honour their commitments;

(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, and in particular urge Pakistan
to use its considerable and unique influence on the Taliban
to persuade them to participate seriously in peace talks
under UN auspices;

(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;

Article 3

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

(a) shall call on all parties to recognise, protect and promote
all human rights and fundamental freedoms including the
liberty and security of persons and also to
right to life,
respect
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to
which Afghanistan has subscribed;

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

(c) welcomes the deployment of civilian human rights moni-
tors in the Civil Affairs Unit of the UNSMA and shall
support the UN Secretary-General's proposals relating to
the operation of these observers;

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

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

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

(f) shall urge all factions to respect and protect the cultural
heritage of Afghanistan and shall encourage activities in the
field by UNESCO and the Society for the Preservation of
Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH).

Article 4

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;

(c) continue to support national and international efforts in
mine clearance and drought alleviation measures as impor-
tant preconditions 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 mine clearance 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
community and UN organisations and thereby encourage
the implementation of a more effective common program-
ming in Afghanistan;

Article 5

In order to promote the fight against drugs, the Union, shall:

regional

(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. The Union shall in particular call on the
Taliban to translate into action their undertakings regarding
the production and trafficking of drugs, and shall pay the
greatest attention to the implementation of
the decree
passed last July by the Mollah Omar on the total erad-
ication of the opium poppy crop;

(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, trafficking 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:

(h) continue to support the efforts of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan and
the neighbouring countries;

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

(i) support the UNHCR proposal for the establishment of a
forum on asylum and migration on Afghanistan, comprised
of donors, along with the first asylum countries,
the
UNHCR and other agencies.

(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;

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(c) urge the Taliban to comply fully and urgently with UN
Security Council Resolutions 1267/99 of 15 October 1999
and 1333/2000 of 19 December 2000.

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

Article 7

Article 10

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.

This Common Position shall be published in the Official
Journal.

Article 8

Done at Brussels, 22 January 2001.

Common Position 2000/55/CFSP shall be repealed.

Article 9

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

For the Council

The President

A. LINDH