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Afghanistan

Answer

The UK, as designated partner nation for counter narcotics, has worked closely with the Government of Afghanistan since 2002. Recently, we supported the Government of Afghanistan in reviewing and updating its National Drugs Control Strategy. The strategy was endorsed by the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Counter Narcotics, at which HM Ambassador is an observer, and approved by President Karzai in January 2006. The strategy was launched during the Counter Narcotics (CN) session of the London Conference on Afghanistan on 31 January. It sets out four key priorities, which we believe will help make a greater impact on the trade and sustain the reduction in cultivation we have seen in 2005. These are: targeting traffickers; strengthening and diversifying legal rural livelihoods; developing institutions; and demand reduction.The UK is working very closely with the Government of Afghanistan to help build Afghan capacity to tackle the drugs problem. We are funding a £12.5 million Institution Development project to strengthen the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, established at the end of 2004, and other institutions in Afghanistan.We have helped to establish and provide training for the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA)—the lead drugs law enforcement agency, headquartered in Kabul with seven provincial offices. The CNPA is currently around 500 strong, but will be expanded further to give it the capacity to operate nationwide. The UK is also providing training for the Afghan Special Narcotics Force (ASNF), an elite and highly trained force equipped to tackle high value targets across the country. Since January 2004, the CNPA and ASNF have seized approximately 165 tonnes of opiates, destroyed over 264 drugs labs and made a significant number of arrests.We are also working with the international community to recruit and train a counter narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghan investigators, prosecutors and judges to work with the CNPA, to be able to push through successful drugs investigations and prosecutions. The Criminal Justice Task Force is currently around 80 strong and made its first convictions in May this year for drug trafficking in Kabul. A new drugs law was also passed in December 2005.As partner nation, the UK is also responsible for co-ordinating international assistance and encouraging the international community to increase their support to counter narcotics activity. To this end, we helped design the Counter Narcotics Trust Fund which was officially launched at the Afghan Ministry of Finance on 29 October 2005. The fund will enable the Government of Afghanistan to raise funds from donors specifically for the CN effort and gives them a greater say over how this money is spent.In support of the Government of Afghanistan's efforts, the UK will spend £270 million over this and the next two financial years, including some £130 million on legal rural livelihoods and institutional development from the Department for International Development.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

48915; 442 c1442-3W;442 c1442-3W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Crime prevention Crops Development aid Drugs International assistance Peacekeeping operations Production Smuggling Afghanistan Opium

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk