May 6, 2002

H.E. Mr. Kishore Makbubani
Security Council President
Permanent Mission of Singapore
231 East 51st St.
New York, NY 10022, USA
Téléc. : (212) 826-2964

Re: Expansion of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan

Excellency Mahbubani,

I am writing to you regarding the International Security Assistance Force (peacekeeping force) in Afghanistan.

In order to maintain peace and security and restore democracy and human rights in Afghanistan, I urge members of the Security Council to support the increase in the size of peacekeeping forces to at least 30,000, the deployment of peace troops throughout the country with a mandate to disarm warring factions, and the extension of term of the forces beyond six months. I also urge members of the Security Council to ensure that Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security is implemented in Afghanistan, in particular through the mainstreaming of a gender perspective and the provision of gender training for the peacekeeping force as well as the inclusion of women peacekeepers.

Security is absolutely essential to peace in Afghanistan so that the Afghan Interim Administration can fully function throughout the country, the rights of women can be restored, reconstruction can begin, and desperately-needed assistance can be delivered to women and children.

As you know, Hamid Karzai, Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority, called on the Security Council on January 30, 2002 to authorize the expansion of the presence of peacekeeping forces in Kabul to other cities. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his March 2002 report to the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council expressed the hope that the Security Council consider the existing Afghan and international security structures in Afghanistan to be inadequate to address the threat to security. He called attention to the wishes of the Afghan people for the expansion of the international security force. The Secretary General also expressed fear that security threats are likely to increase as the convening of the emergency loya jirga to establish a new government in Afghanistan approaches in June.

Indeed, on April 25, 2002, Dr. Sima Samar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women's Affairs of the Afghan Interim Administration urged the Security Council to expand the international peacekeeping force and said that peace and women's rights in Afghanistan cannot be assured without security. Dr. Samar said that the lack of security has endangered women's ability to register to vote and participate in political life:

The future of women and indeed of a peaceful, democratic Afghanistan depends on a international commitment to a robust peacekeeping force. The deployment of additional international forces in Afghanistan must be made an urgent priority before the situation deteriorates further and the risk of relapse into civil war becomes a reality. We hope that members of the Security Council will heed this call.

Yours respectfully,

Warren Allmand, P.C., O.C., Q.C.
President