Security Council extends U.N. mission in Afghanistan

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to extend the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, a show of support for the country's fledgling democratic government and its first post-Taliban parliamentary elections on Sept. 18.

The council called on the U.N. mission to continue to provide electoral support for the elections and urged donors to help finance the ballot quickly.

Afghanistan has only $40 million of the total $148 million needed to hold the election, the top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Jean Arnault, told the council Tuesday.

The parliamentary elections are supposed to complete a political process agreed to in Bonn, Germany, after U.S. and allied Afghan forces drove out the Taliban in late 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden.

The council stressed the importance of security for "credible" elections and called on member states to contribute troops and equipment to expand NATO's 8,500-strong International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and establish more Provincial Reconstruction Teams in new areas.

U.S. and NATO forces now run about 20 teams, up from just a handful last year, using them to channel millions of dollars in aid. American generals say that help has persuaded many Afghans to reject the Taliban.

The council welcomed the development of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police and the continuing efforts to increase their capabilities "as important steps toward the goal of Afghan security forces providing security and ensuring the rule of law throughout the country."

It called on the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO forces "to continue to address the threat to the security and stability of Afghanistan posed by Al-Qaida operatives, the Taliban and other extremist groups, factional violence among militia forces and criminal activities, in particular violence involving the drug trade."

The council welcomed international efforts to assist in setting up the new Afghan Parliament "and ensure its efficient functioning, which will be critical to the political future of Afghanistan and the steps towards a free and democratic Afghanistan."

Arnault told the council that over 100 Afghan staffers with expertise in different aspects of the legislative process are currently being trained, led by France with support from the U.N. Development Program.

Arnault told the council that delaying the parliamentary elections could have the unintended advantage of diminishing the influence of drug money on the electoral process.

The delay will also allow for more education of voters, candidates and parties, as well as better-trained police and army units. It will give the Afghan government more time "to complete the process of demilitarization that has gained much momentum in recent months," he said.

The resolution recognized "the urgent need" to tackle the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan, the lack of security in some areas, terrorist threats and to disarm and reintegrate Afghan militia forces.