UNIC/UNDP Event | A Turning Point for Afghanistan | Monday, October 20

The UN Information Center and UNDP’s Washington Liaison Office would like to invite you to attend a UN Washington Roundtable on Monday, October 20.  The topic will be “A Turning Point for Afghanistan: Implementing the New National Development Strategy.” Our Roundtable will feature Kathleen Cravero, Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery; Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber, Director of the Asia and Middle East Division at the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations; Vance Serchuk, Legislative Assistant for National Security Policy to Senator Joseph Lieberman; and Alexander Thier, Senior Rule of Law Advisor at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The Roundtable will take place from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which is located at 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW.  Lunch will be served. “Six and one-half years ago, the people of Afghanistan and the international community joined hands to liberate Afghanistan from the grip of international terrorism and to begin the journey of rebuilding a nation from a past of violence, destruction and terror.  We have come a long way in this shared journey.”  So writes President Hamid Karzai in the foreword to Afghanistan’s new five-year National Development Strategy.  “I hasten to point out,” he added, “that our achievements must not distract us from the enormity of the tasks that are still ahead.” At the Paris Conference this past June, over 80 governments and international organizations expressed their support for the new Strategy.  The Strategy presents the Government’s priorities in three areas: (1) Security; (2) Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights; and (3) Economic and Social Development.  According to President Karzai, the Strategy is the country’s “roadmap for the long-desired objective of Afghanization, as we transition towards less reliance on aid and an increase in self-sustaining economic growth.”  See the full ANDS: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files_156/afghanistan_498/international-conference-in-support-of-afghanistan-paris-12th-june-2008_6366/colonne-droite_6385/key-documents_6386/the-afghanistan-national-development-strategy-ands_11311.html The attendees to the Paris Conference also supported the expanded role of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in leading international efforts for reconstruction.  Subsequently, Special Representative Kai Eide told the UN Security Council that the launching of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy comes at a critical moment.  “We need a clearer sense of direction,” he said, “and we need to inject greater energy in our work.”  Most recently, Mr. Eide has called for greater political dialogue to achieve the goals of a durable peace and a broad-based development. Our Roundtable will discuss the major challenges for the Government of Afghanistan, the United Nations, and other governments and donor organizations in implementing the comprehensive new strategy. Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 15, by sending an email to wdc.events@undp.org.  And please feel free to pass on this invitation to your colleagues. Sincerely, Will Davis, Director of the UN Information Center (Washington) & Fred Tipson, Director of the UNDP Washington Liaison Office