33 Amendments of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2009/2217(INI)
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the international community has implicitly recognised that nine years of war and international involvement have not succeeded in eliminatnding the Taliban insurgencycivil war and bringing peace and stability to the country,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas an impasse has been reached in Afghanistan: a coalition of occupying powers in place but unable to defeat the Taliban and the other insurgents, and an insurgency and Taliban movement unable to prevail against these military forces; and whereas there is no obvious end in sight,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas security conditions have deteriorated, along with the popular consensus the coalition’s presence enjoyed at one stage, and the coalition is being increasingly perceived as an occupying force,
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas Afghanistan is the world’s leading source of opium production, and the main supplier to the EU and the Russian Federation; whereas the drug sector continues to be the only operational sector of the economy in Afghanistan and dominates the rudimentary legal economic sector,
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the EU has played an active role in supporting counter-narcotics efforts from the outset of the reconstruction process, but without success so far in the effort to effectively restrict the pervasive influence of the drugs industry on the economy, the political system, state institutions and society,
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes, therefore, that a new EU strategy for Afghanistan will have to take as its starting point two premises: an acknowledgement of the continuing deterioration in security and socio- economic indicators in Afghanistan despite almost a decade of international involvement and investment; and the need to encourage a profound shift in the mindset of the international community, which has all too often in the past shaped plans and decisions withshaped plans and decisions involving a renewed attempt from the top down to catch up and modernise the country primarily as a nation state that – in the face of the dominance of anti- nation state, anti-modern and anti- democratic forces in the country and of the de facto non-existence of a state and an economy – ignored the Afghan realities and all too often showed scant regard for Afghan involvement;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that any long-term solution to the Afghan crisis will involve the elimination of poverty, underdevelopment and discrimination against women, an end to opium production, and the integration of Afghanistan into the international community; stresses that the immediate and complete end to all fighting, the start of a comprehensive peace and reconciliation process in which each side undertakes not to undermine the other, and an end to all forms of external domination and influence are indispensable preconditions for this;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates that the EU and its Member States should support Afghanistan in the construction of its own state, with stronger democratic institutions capable of ensuring Afghan self-determination and national sovereignty, state unity, territorial integrity, sustainable economic development, gender equality and the prosperity of the people of Afghanistan, and respecting and actively including the historical, religious, spiritual and cultural traditions of all ethnic and religious communities in Afghan territory;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Emphasises that a major strengthening of political will and commitment is necessary to intensify civil reconstruction efforts, in order to consolidate achievements and restore the confidence of the Afghan population on a long-term and sustainable basis; in this regard, also notes that the humanitarian community – the UN and NGOs – need to enhance coordination, avoid ad hoc initiatives and develop preparedness and contingency planning;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16 b. Stresses the need for the international community to better coordinate its efforts to provide efficient and sustainable civilian aid; therefore also calls for a balanced budget allocating sufficient funds for civil reconstruction and humanitarian assistance;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls, too, on all the main humanitarian and development bodies active in Afghanistan (from EU Member States and the US to the UNDP and UNOPS, and from the World Bank to the main NGOs) to drastically prune their operating expenses by allocating funds (at least 80% more than at present) directly to Afghan institutions; with regard to this underlines that Afghan institutions shall have the right to decide on the use of the funds, whereas the humanitarian and development bodies shall control their legitimate application;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20 a. Stresses that the security situation and the geographical distribution of assistance are mutually dependent and calls therefore for help for Afghanistan to be dispatched directly to the immediately affected population;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recognises the potential for local corruption but believes that this will be outweighed by the strengthened legitimacy the Afghan Statestate structures will gain by being responsible for implementing aid and by ensuring that aid effectiveness indicators and effective monitoring mechanisms, agreed upon by both donors and the Afghan Government, are in place;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. Stresses that the deployment of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in reconstruction and/or development aid actions is inappropriate since the distinction between civilian development aid workers and the military is thereby blurred, to the detriment of efforts to rebuild and develop Afghanistan;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Believes, consequently, that the real strength of the Taliban, deriving from its anti-modern identity, its religious tradition and its initial role in bringing order, was overlooked, the ability of the Karzai government to provide governance overestimated, and little attention paid to the task of rebuilding and developing the country;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31 a. Points out that, viewed in historical terms, the conflict in Afghanistan is a war of modernisation and the resolution of the social crisis and the urgently needed renewal of the country in economic, social, political and cultural terms cannot be achieved by military means and from outside, but is conditional upon the preservation of territorial integrity, the unity of the state and the national sovereignty of Afghanistan;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Recognises that the only possible solution is a political one, and that negotiations with the Taliban – which should take place against the backdrop of a ceasefire and should involve all combatant groups – lie at the heart of this process, with the aim of forming a government of national unity which can put an end to the civil war that has raged in the country for almost three decades;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Firmly believes that the EU’s three main prerequisites for the peace process must be an Afghan commitment to banishing Al Qaeda from the country, the elimination of poppy cultivation, and the will to strengthen the rule of law and to establish respect for fundamental human rights;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Believes, too, that all other issues should be left to the will and capacity of the Afghan people themselves; stresses in this context that the engagement of the USA and its alliance partners, and of the regional actors, should be limited, in the framework of a community of responsibility that must be protected by treaty, to involvement in efforts to overcome and eliminate the effects of war and the political, ethnic and ideological causes of conflict;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Stresses, however, that for peace to be allowed to take root in Afghanistan will require all its neighbours, in particular Pakistan, Iran, India, Russia and China, but also the Central Asian states, to agree to a common position of confidence- building and non-interference;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Points out that the EU Member State military presence in Afghanistan has the objective of combating the threat of international terrorism and tackling the fight against drug cultivation and traffickingnot achieved any of its objectives;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Notes that there can be no stability or peace in Afghanistan without the state guaranteeing security for its citizens on its own responsibility, and that part of the Taliban’s early success in establishing themselves was due to an ability to maintain order and security;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Stresses that Afghanistan must be provided with a police force capable of ensuring a minimal standard of security able to permit a subsequent withdrawal of the foreign military presence from the countrynd able, by showing respect for human rights and the rule of law, to improve its bad reputation, tarnished by acts of despotism towards the population, corruption and involvement in the smuggling of weapons and drugs;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Draws attention to the many different police training missions present on the ground, and to the funding being invested in police training, with little to show for it; stresses that as a result of their increasing involvement in paramilitary activities, the training missions run the risk of being drawn directly into armed conflicts for which they are unsuited either from their professional profile or from their training and equipment, and for which there is in most cases no mandate;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)
48 a. Recalls the need for a comprehensive reform of the Interior Ministry, without which the efforts to reform and build a new police force could fail, and points in this context to the importance of monitoring, support, advice and training at the level of the Afghan Interior Ministry and of the regions and province, which are laid down as a further objective of EUPOL;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. BelievNotes that the vagueness of EUPOL’s remit and the uncertainty of its achievements to date prevent it from acquiring the legitimacy it deservesEUPOL has proved to be ineffective so far and regrets that no conclusions are being drawn from this situation because its achievements have not yet been evaluated;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Believes that one of the main factors behind the ineffectiveness of overall training has been the practice, predominantly by the US, of relying on private contractors to train the policeare a lack of coordination of the various aspects of police training and the practice, predominantly by the US, of increasingly transferring duties to private military and security companies (PMSC);
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Notes that, while the EU and its Member States do not share the US approach, their commitment to the creation of a professional Afghan police force risks being compromised by the prevalence of practices such as the ‘fast-track’ approach (poor vetting of recruits, six weeks of training with no textbooks because of trainee illiteracy, minimal field training, recruits then given a badge, uniform and gun and sent out on patrol) implemented by a few big US security companies; emphasises the need for more coherent and sustainable police training enabling different Afghan police forces to work together; stresses that police training missions should not only focus on technical aspects but must guarantee recruits' literacy and a basic knowledge of national and international law;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Proposes that a large-scale training programme be launched and placed, in the first instance, under NATO command, and that EUPOL and national police mission staff be integrated into this new training mission, thereby eliminating duplication, waste and fragmentationCriticises the fact that NATO as a military organisation plays a key role in police training in Afghanistan (NTMA) and reminds the Member States that the strict separation between the police and the military is a fundamental democratic principle;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Regrets the paucity of efforts to phase out opium cultivation in Afghanistan through the provision of viable alternative livelihoods for the 75% or more of the Afghan population that lives in rural communities;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65
Paragraph 65
65. Notes successful attempts to phase out opium cultivation in Pakistan, Laos and Thailand through its replacement by alternative crops; take note also of the emergence in Afghanistan of promising new crops, such as saffron, that can deliver a much higher income than opium poppies; in view of the fact that approximately 90% of all goods on the Afghan market are imported from abroad, stresses the need for marketing and price guarantees for domestic products so as to protect alternative incomes;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70
Paragraph 70
70. Calls on the Government and Parliament of Afghanistan to enact specific legislation aimed at prohibiting all eradication practices that may involve the use of non-manual and non-mechanical means, since the use of chemical means such as herbicides causes serious health and environmental damage;