DRUG TRADE UNDERMINING EFFORTS, UN SAYS

Link Between Opium Profits, Terrorism And Drug Lords Stronger Than
Ever

An alliance of terrorists and drug smugglers is undermining
Afghanistan, as opium profits soar and a bumper crop of poppies is
expected by the end of this year, say United Nations experts.

"In the south of the country, the vicious circle of drugs funding
terrorism, and terrorism supporting the drug lords is stronger than
ever," said UN anti-drug chief Antonio Maria Costa.

Costa told a meeting of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan
yesterday, in the centre-north of the country, progress is being made
against trafficking as farmers are "turning their back on drug
cultivation."

But in five southern provinces including Kandahar -- where Canadian
troops are based -- "ever-increasing opium cultivation ... is an issue
of insurgency as much as a drugs problem" that "occurs in a security
vacuum where illicit crops coexist with other criminal activities that
support such cultivation."

In an atmosphere of lawlessness, huge amounts of precursor chemicals
for producing heroin are being imported into Afghanistan, and last
year $3 billion in illicit drug money was "moved into havens where it
was laundered and put beyond reproach," added Costa, executive
director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

UN experts and diplomats agreed that while some gains had been made,
violence and drug trafficking had worsened in Afghanistan, with risks
to civilians increasing. The meeting followed a report on Afghanistan
from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling for stepped-up
international support as the country reaches a "critical juncture."

Canadian Ambassador John McNee told the council that "progress is
undeniable" since the Taliban were driven from power. But, he added,
"insurgency-related violence, driven in part by a tolerance for weak
governance and corruption, represents a real obstacle to the
development of political, social and economic rights in
Afghanistan."

And he said credible authority is needed in Afghanistan's provinces:
"There must be mechanisms in place to ensure the integrity of
officials, and where leadership falters, qualified and capable Afghans
must be encouraged to come forward."

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, who was in New York
yesterday, said that an international conference was needed, focusing
on the "regional dimension of security and stability of
Afghanistan."

But the UN secretary-general's special envoy for Afghanistan, Tom
Koenigs, said that the Afghan government should seek "local solutions"
to the flaring violence.

"While insurgency-affected areas are concentrated along the
Afghan-Pakistani border, with suicide attackers, facilitators and
Taliban commanders continuing to cross over from Pakistan, the
insurgency has a distinct local profile from district to district," he
said.

"It is critical ... for the Afghan government to recognize that
alienation along tribal lines has resulted in many cases from past
actions of government officials."

Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram said that his country's commitment to
peace in Afghanistan was "complete, unswerving and unquestionable ...
despite unfortunate media reports."

Koenigs urged the Afghan government to make reforms, and said
President Hamid Karzai should extend his outreach to the unruly provinces.

But he also cautioned Afghan and international forces to "take greater
care to ensure that they are doing no harm to civilians -- and are
perceived so."

Canada has recently been criticized for failure to monitor detainees
who are handed over to the Afghan government. And NATO countries have
been involved in the accidental killing or wounding of Afghan civilians.

"The resulting disaffection and civil unrest, loss of public support,
as well as victims' right to justice, place the international effort
to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan under additional stress,"
Koenigs said.

But, he added, attacks by militants have spiked, and suicide bombing
is taking a high toll of civilians: "Despite some successes by Afghan
security forces in detecting and dismantling suicide attack
facilitation networks, there have been 27 suicide attacks so far this
year -- a figure that exceeds by far the rate in the same period last
year. Over 80 per cent of the victims are civilian bystanders."