Afghanistan, 2004

Nelson Mandela once

described his countryís transition to democracy as a

long journey to freedom comprising many milestones,

each a realization of new opportunities for him and his

nation. We, the Afghan people, started our journey to

stability and democracy almost three years ago. I am

delighted to report that, 18 days from today, our people

will go to the polls for the first time to elect their

President, marking the most significant milestone in

our journey.

As the presidential elections will mark the end of

the transitional period set forth in the historic Bonn

Agreement, I would like to outline some of

Afghanistanís achievements over the past three years

and discuss our challenges.

Much has changed in my country, but no change

is more visible than the confidence of the Afghan

people in the future of our country. We have seen that

confidence in the return of more than 3.5 million

refugees who are now rebuilding their lives. We have

seen that confidence in the enthusiasm of families who

are sending their boys and girls to school, rebuilding

their homes and setting up their businesses. And we

have seen that confidence in the enthusiasm of 10.5

million Afghans who have registered to vote in the

upcoming elections.

Earlier this year, the Constitutional Loya Jirga

adopted an enlightened Constitution establishing a

democratic Islamic republic. It guarantees equal rights

and equal protection for all citizens ó men and

women. The vision of the Constitutional Loya Jirga is

becoming a reality. Approximately 42 per cent of the

registered voters are women, and women will make up

at least 25 per cent of our future parliament. Our

Constitution also guarantees freedom of speech and

freedom of the press.

During the past year, we enacted the election law,

established the necessary mechanism to organize and

manage elections and completed voter registration, and

we are now preparing to hold presidential and

parliamentary elections. Thanks to the cooperation of

our two brotherly neighbours, Pakistan and Iran,

hundreds of thousands of Afghans still living in those

countries will also participate in the election.

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In partnership with the international community,

we have intensified our efforts to rebuild our national

security institutions. Today, there are 15,000 national

army soldiers and nearly 30,000 national police

officers providing security to our citizens. We are

grateful to the thousands of International Security

Assistance Force and coalition troops that are assisting

our security forces. We have also taken steps towards

disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating private

militias. Nearly all of the heavy weapons have been

collected from the city of Kabul, and thousands of

former combatants have been disarmed in various parts

of the country.

We have continued the reconstruction of our

country. At the Berlin conference this year, the

international community renewed its commitment to

rebuilding Afghanistan. The generous pledges that we

received in Berlin will be committed to national

reconstruction and development programmes that will

create economic opportunities for our citizens and will

further promote economic growth throughout the

region. Eradicating poverty and meeting the

educational and health needs of our citizens will

continue to remain among our top priorities. We will

continue to focus on building our roads to re-establish

Afghanistan as the land bridge for transcontinental

trade. Upon completion of Afghanistanís ring road,

every major Central Asian capital will be less than 32

hours from the Persian Gulf and the port of Karachi.

While our achievements are significant, we

continue to face challenges. Terrorism remains one of

our main challenges. The remnants of terrorism

continue to attack our citizens and to threaten our

security. As long as terrorism continues to exist in our

region, neither Afghanistan nor our neighbours nor,

indeed, the rest of the world can be safe. Eliminating

the remnants of terrorism in Afghanistan and in the

region requires not only continued support from the

international community, but also strong and sincere

commitment from other countries in the region. To stop

the movement of terrorists across borders, the countries

in the region must cooperate closely.

The cultivation and trafficking of narcotics is

another major challenge to Afghanistan and to the rest

of the world. Drug profits finance terrorism and

undermine our efforts to build a healthy and legitimate

economy. Afghanistan is fully committed to

eliminating this menace. However, we cannot succeed

without the strong partnership of the international

community.

Poverty remains another serious challenge. Even

though we have made considerable progress over the

past three years, we are still one of the poorest

countries. We still have the second-highest infant and

maternal mortality rates in the world, and we have one

of the highest illiteracy rates. Very few Afghans have

access to safe drinking water, and only 6 per cent of the

Afghan population has reliable access to electricity.

Our achievements have not come without a cost.

During the elections for the Constitutional Loya Jirga,

terrorists did everything to disrupt the process,

including bombing an elementary school and killing

more than 20 children. During the registration for the

elections, terrorists showed their desperation by

intensifying their attacks. They bombed vehicles

carrying women registration workers, killed civilians

who carried registration cards and bombed religious

schools, killing children.

Those attacks have not stopped our people from

passing one milestone after another. The valuable role

of the international community has been crucial to our

success. Nations from different continents with

different cultures and religions have come together to

help rebuild Afghanistan. That is a clear example of

cooperation among civilizations. On behalf of the

Afghan people, I thank all the nations that have

supported us with their troops and resources, especially

the United States of America, Japan, Germany, the

United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Spain, France and

Turkey. We are most grateful to the United Nations for

the commitment and engagement of United Nations

agencies and employees during the past three years. We

especially appreciate the personal commitment and

dedication of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan;

his Deputy Special Representative, Mr. Jean Arnaud;

and his Special Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi,

whose wisdom and leadership have guided us

throughout the journey.

Afghanistan is on the road to recovery from the

devastation of more than two decades of war. Much has

been accomplished in the past three years. Yet

establishing a stable, democratic and prosperous

Afghanistan requires sustained and collaborative

efforts by the Afghans, by our neighbours and by the

international community. We, the Afghan people, will

do our share. Working together for a stable and

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prosperous Afghanistan not only is a good example of

successful international cooperation, but will also

contribute to regional prosperity and global security.