International Conference On Afghanistan, Bonn (2011)
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On 5 December 2011, an International Conference on Afghanistan was held at the
Hotel Petersberg The Hotel Petersberg is a hotel and official guest house of Germany, termed the "Bundesgästehaus" (the official title being ''Gästehaus der Verfassungsorgane der Bundesrepublik Deutschland''). It is located on the Petersberg (Siebengebirge), Pete ...
in
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, Germany. The conference was hosted by
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and chaired by
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. At the NATO Summit in Lisbon in November 2010, Afghanistan’s President
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
had asked Federal Chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
to host a follow-up conference ten years after the 2001 Bonn Conference. In order to prepare the second Bonn Conference, the
Afghan Government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and informally known as the Taliban government, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is ...
worked in collaboration with th
International Contact Group on Afghanistan
which consists of the Special Representatives on Afghanistan of 50 states. The Contact Group was headed by the German Special Representative
Michael Steiner Michael Steiner (born 28 November 1949) is a German diplomat who served as head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). He was the German Ambassador to India from March 2012 to June 2015. Early life and education Michael Steiner was ...
, and the German diplomat Holger Ziegeler was appointed conference coordinator. The conference, which was attended by 85 states, 15 international organizations and the United Nations, focused on three main issues involving the conclusion of the
Afghan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in t ...
and the transition of security responsibility to the Afghan Government, scheduled to occur in 2014. These were: civil aspects of the transition process, the role of international community in Afghanistan after the handover, and long-term political stabilization of the country. The conference concluded by issuing a statement affirming continued international support for Afghanistan for the next decade. Progress was hindered by
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
's boycott of the conference following the
2011 NATO attack in Pakistan Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...
.


Participants

Delegations from 85 states, 15 international organizations and the United Nations attended the conference. Pakistan withdrew from participation Bonn Conference due to a NATO airstrike with its territory on November 26, 2011 that resulted in the deaths of 26 Pakistani soldiers. Prior to the conference, Afghanistan had said that the purpose of conference would be hampered if Pakistan did not attend the conference and encouraged the United States to do everything it could to assure the Pakistani participation. In June 2011 there were speculations that the conference could mark formal start of Afghan peace process and that representatives of the Taliban might be invited to attend the conference. However, the Taliban said they would not be represented at the upcoming Bonn Conference; Taliban Leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said in an Eid message that the conference was symbolic and the Taliban would not participate in it. Ultimately, the speculated invitation was not extended.


Proceedings

At the 66th UN General Assembly President Hamid Karzai's statement delivered by Foreign Minister Dr.
Zalmai Rassoul Zalmai Rassoul (; born 11 May 1943) is an Afghan politician who served as Foreign Minister of Afghanistan from January 2010 to October 2013. He previously served as National Security Advisor from June 2002 to January 2010. Through his various ro ...
said that the conference would also be an opportunity for Afghanistan to "share our vision for the next ten years – the vision of developing Afghanistan into a stable country, a functioning democracy, and a prospering economy". The conference focused on three main areas: * Civil aspects of the transition process, the transfer of responsibility for security to the Afghan Government by 2014 * Long-term engagement of the international community and further international commitment to Afghanistan after the handover * Political process that should lead to a long-term stabilization of the country, i.e. national reconciliation and the integration of former Taliban fighters According to Miriam Safi of the Kabul-based
Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies The Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (abbreviated CAPS) is an independent research centre based in Kabul, Afghanistan. The centre came into being in July 2006. CAPS is one of the very few research centres in Afghanistan that are managed ...
, Afghanistan's goal for the conference was to ensure donor support for Afghanistan beyond 2014. Afghanistan had originally intended the conference to serve as a showcase for diplomatic efforts at achieving Afghan-Taliban reconciliation, but negotiations broke down before the conference, and no Taliban delegate was present. Pakistan's withdrawal from the conference also hindered discussion of the Taliban issue, since Pakistan's support is considered to be vital for any Afghan-Taliban agreement. Hamid Karzai began the conference with an opening speech in which he stressed the need for regional cooperation, international aid, and military training. Following this, discussion concentrated on the issue of international aid, with Afghanistan indicating that it would require $10 billion per year for the next ten years in order to sustain security and reconstruction efforts. US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
pledged continued US support but cited economic difficulties at home as a possible limiting factor and urged Afghanistan to reduce corruption in order avoid repelling potential foreign aid donors. Karzai promised to fight corruption by reforming Afghan institutions and the electoral process and extending the rule of law. The conference ended by releasing a set o
Conference Conclusions
affirming the commitment of the international community to continued support for Afghanistan after 2014. Reactions to the document were mixed, with some ridiculing their overly vague nature, although the conference was hailed by the ''
Tehran Times The ''Tehran Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Iran, founded in 1979 as the self-styled "voice of the Islamic Revolution". While not state-owned, it is considered state-controlled and closely tied to the hardline factio ...
'' as "a very good opportunity to help create a brighter future for Afghanistan."


See also

* Bonn conference 2001 *
Bonn Agreement (Afghanistan) The Bonn Agreement (officially the Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Re-Establishment of Permanent Government Institutions) was the initial series of agreements passed on December 5, 2001 during an international co ...
*
Politics of Afghanistan Afghanistan is a theocracy, theocratic emirate with a Totalitarianism, totalitarian regime ruled by the Taliban, a political and miliant Islamism, Islamist movement adhere the Deobandi jihadism, Deobandi jihadist ideology with Pashtunwali influen ...
*
List of international conferences on Afghanistan After the ousting of the Taliban in 2001, repeatedly international conferences on the future of Afghanistan were held at several places. the first conference took place from 27 November to 5 December 2001 on the Petersberg in Königswinter near ...


References


External links


German Federal Foreign Office — International Conference on Afghanistan (2011)

German Federal Foreign Office — Conference Conclusions
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Conference on Afghanistan, Bonn (2011) Diplomatic conferences in Germany International Conference on Afghanistan 2011 2011 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 2011 in Germany 21st-century diplomatic conferences 2011 in international relations History of Bonn 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan December 2011 in Germany 21st century in Bonn Afghan peace process