The international community is committed to helping Afghanistan recover from decades of conflict.  A host of government and non-governmental organisations from all over the world are working hard in, and with, Afghanistan to help secure a better future for Afghanistan.

The United Nations (UN) in Afghanistan acts as the coordinator of the international community’s effort.  It is also acts as the contact between the Government of Afghanistan and the international community.

The role of the United Nations

The UN has taken a central role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. The many different UN agencies working in Afghanistan were consolidated under one mission on 28 March 2002, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). UNAMA is headed by the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Norwegian Kai Eide.

UNAMA statement on the appointment Kai Eide, 10 March 2008

In December 2001 Lakhdar Brahimi, the then UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, chaired talks in Bonn with representatives of the main Afghan groups opposed to the Taliban to agree on the way forward to restore representative government in Afghanistan.

The Bonn Agreement, signed on 5 December 2001, established an Interim Authority to bring an end to the conflict in Afghanistan and to promote national reconciliation, lasting peace, stability and respect for human rights.

The Authority was charged with convening an Emergency Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly), which took place in Kabul in June 2002.

Acting within its UN authority, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) assisted with the provision of security during the Loya Jirga process.

The Afghanistan Compact (see below), launched on 31 January 2006 at the London Conference on Afghanistan, reaffirmed the continuing importance of the UN’s role.

In particular, under the Compact the UN co-chairs the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), which met for the first time in April 2006. The board aims to achieve greater coherence of effort between the Afghan Government and the international community as they work together to achieve the goals set out in the Compact. The JCMB most recently met in Tokyo, February 2008 (opens in a new window).

The UN & Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Compact (PDF 72kb, opens in a new window)

The European Union

Under the UK Presidency, the EU and Afghanistan signed a Joint Declaration in November 2005 at Strasbourg, which establishes a framework for strengthened relations.

The European Union (EU), through the European Commission (EC), is one of the largest donors to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and is one of the four co-chairs of the Reconstruction Steering Group, established to discuss a common and coordinated approach to international contributions to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The EU has its own Special Representative in Afghanistan, currently Francesc Vendrell.

The EU and Afghanistan

G8

The UK's G8 Presidency in 2005 promoted international support for Afghanistan. G8 Foreign Ministers issued a Statement on Afghanistan at their meeting in London on 23 June 2005, supporting the efforts of the Government and people of Afghanistan to reconstruct their country and calling on the international community to continue to assist this process.

G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting Statement on Afghanistan  (PDF, 12.3K)

Under our G8 Presidency the UK also co-hosted, with the Afghan Government, a successful Regional Economic Cooperation Conference in Kabul on 4-5 December 2005 (see Useful documents).