For over a decade, NGOs have implemented the vast majority of programs in most areas of Afghanistan, from all its urban centers to its most remote regions. We are working to strengthen civil society and build the capacity of Afghans to address their needs. Because of our independent voice and our practical experience, our inclusion in these discussions is critical. We are grateful for this opportunity and hope that the Implementation Group will continue to ensure that NGOs are represented in significant numbers at every level of the reconstruction effort.

At this time, we would like to focus the attention of the Implementation Group on four issues in particular:

1. We call on the international community to articulate its plan for supporting the Afghan Interim Authority’s (AIA) efforts to guarantee the immediate security needs of all Afghans.

We applaud donor commitments to train an Afghan security force, and we recognize the improvement that the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) have brought to Kabul. Nonetheless, civilians and relief workers continue to face life-threatening insecurity throughout Afghanistan. Despite the urging of the AIA, the international community has declined to expand ISAF beyond Kabul. Unless and until security takes hold throughout Afghanistan, the wider reconstruction and repatriation effort will be critically compromised. Without reconstruction, greater insecurity is almost certain. To break this spiral towards violence, we call on the international community to articulate its plan for supporting the AIA’s efforts to guarantee the immediate security needs of all Afghans.

2. We ask that humanitarian space and access are protected, and the distinction between military and humanitarian action is clearly maintained.

To operate effectively in an insecure environment, humanitarian actors must act, and be seen to act, independently from any partisan political or military agenda. We must be permitted to maintain our political neutrality and our impartiality in the provision of humanitarian services. When soldiers provide relief aid in civilian clothing, they risk blurring the lines between military and humanitarian action and thereby place all humanitarian workers in greater jeopardy than they already are. We applaud the International Coalition’s recent decision to require military personnel engaged in humanitarian activities in Kabul and Mazar to wear uniforms, and we ask that this policy be expanded throughout Afghanistan.

3. We urge that new coordination and funding mechanisms are integrated and implemented with urgency.

To solidify the nascent peace in Afghanistan, the reconstruction effort must move into high gear as soon as possible. We urge therefore that aid coordination and funding mechanisms are clarified and integrated as soon as possible, and we commit as NGOs to playing our part in improving these mechanisms. We support and commit to the principles of transparency, accountability, coordination and cost effectiveness, which lie at the heart of the National Development Framework.

We look forward to continuing working constructively under the guidance of the AIA. In that regard, we commend the developers of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). This coordinated funding mechanism will help to ensure that the AIA has the financial capacity to set national reconstruction priorities and implement its reconstruction program accordingly. We hope that this Trust Fund mechanism will build on lessons learned from other contexts. In particular, we urge the Management Committee of the ARTF to incorporate transparent mechanisms that provide clarity and equity in the receipt of applications and in determining which programs receive funding. We also appreciate the international community’s decision to keep open funding channels that will include but not be limited to the ARTF.

As we move from humanitarian response to reconstruction, we urge the ARTF and other donor mechanisms to ensure that the funding period for reconstruction programs is lengthened. Longer term funding in a context of reconstruction will permit agencies to better incorporate community priorities, to engage in well planned programs, to increase the impact and quality of our programs in measured ways, and to spend more of our time serving the Afghan people.

4. We ask that guidelines on staffing and rent are fully implemented as soon as possible and respected by all donors and international agencies working in Afghanistan

Both the hiring and house rental markets have been grossly distorted in recent months by the rush of funding and agencies into Afghanistan. NGOs and government ministries are already losing staff to higher paying organizations offering jobs that require lower qualifications. For years, NGOs have helped to reverse Afghanistan’s brain drain by providing employment opportunities and building capacity. We therefore urge the members of the Implementation Group to respect and promote respect for the draft Code of Conduct on Employment Practices. We also urge that the final Code of Conduct incorporates gender equity and gender representation as a priority issue.

NGOs are unable to find housing and office space in Kabul as UN agencies and more affluent NGOs pay ever-spiraling rents. Rent guidelines should be designed to promote stabilization of house rentals. In that regard, we ask the AIA to implement a rent control structure to ensure that smaller organizations and ordinary Afghans are not priced out of the housing market.

We thank-you for the opportunity to share our views in this meeting and look forward to continuing our constructive relations with the AIA, the donor community, international financial institutions and the United Nations. We share your vision of a future in which all Afghans can live in peace, security and dignity.