Agreement on Future of Afghanistan Signed

Chancellor Schröer, center left front, and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, right front, stand with participants of the closing session of the UN Talks on Afghanistan on the Petersberg near Bonn. German Press and Information Office photo

Afghan delegates meeting on the Petersberg near Bonn have signed an agreement on a provisional administration for the country, marking the successful conclusion of UN-led talks on the post-Taliban process. The agreement includes a request for the deployment of an international peace-keeping force in Afghanistan. Chancellor Gerhard Schröer, who attended the close of the talks, said that if there was a UN request, Berlin would not refuse to contribute troops within a European framework.

Chancellor Congratulates Delegates, Praises UN

Chancellor Gerhard Schröer attended the close of the talks and congratulated the participants on reaching an agreement that had seemed impossible not too long ago. He also praised the dedication, diplomacy and competent direction of Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN special representative for Afghanistan.

?The historic agreement which delegates of the Afghan ethnic groups gathered here have negotiated to politically reshape your country has required a readiness on the part of all parties to compromise,? the Chancellor said. ?You have shown the courage and the foresight to set aside personal interests, because you believe in the future of an Afghanistan in which all ethnic groups can live together. We too believe in the future of your country!?

Interim Authority to Take Power

The delegates have agreed to the establishment of an interim authority to take power in Afghanistan on December 22. The interim authority will consist of an interim administration; an independent commission to convene a traditional national council, a Loya Jirga, within six months; and a supreme court. The delegates have selected the chairman, five vice chairmen and almost all of the 24 other members of the interim administration.

The agreement signed on December 5 outlines the process leading eventually to a broad-based, multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan:

• The interim authority will run the country for six months.
• An emergency Loya Jirga will be convened.
• A transitional authority, endorsed by the Loya Jirga, will rule for approximately two years.
• A constitution will be developed.
• A broad-based, gender-sensitive, multi-ethnic government will eventually be in place.

The UN-led talks began on November 27, bringing together representatives of four Afghan groups: the Northern Alliance, the Rome group associated with the former king, the Peshawar group and the Cyprus group. Women were among the delegates and the signers of the agreement.

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