KABUL Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI).
Speaking at the hand-over ceremony here, Canada’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Kenneth Neufeld, noted “Canada is honoured to take over a leadership role in the IPCB at this key moment, when an ambitious reform plan for the Afghan National Security forces is well underway.”
He said they would continue to work with Afghan and international partners for a renewed and diverse police force trusted by all Afghans and that delivered professional, impartial and high quality police services.
The handover ceremony for the international co-chair role was held at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, attended by senior Afghan officials and IPCB international members. At the ceremony, the international co-chair role was passed from Germany to Canada.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Interior, Taj Mohammad Jahed, acknowledged and thanked both Germany and Canada for their support and contributions to the IPCB, and renewed his government’s commitment to reform the police sector.
Established in 2006, IPCB is a joint Afghan-Donor Country coordination body that coordinates and prioritizes technical assistance to the Afghan Ministry of Interior in support of Afghanistan’s police professionalization and reform agenda, including implementation of the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) Roadmap for Reform recently announced by President Ashraf Ghani.
The IPCB is chaired by the Minister of Interior Affairs of Afghanistan, assisted by a co-chair ambassador drawn from the IPCB donor country membership.
The IPCB membership consists of 14 Nations (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States) and seven organizations.
Canada will co-chair the IPCB for the next one year. Amongst its priorities will be continued emphasis on anti-corruption efforts and implementation of the Afghan Ministry of Interior’s Civilianization Plan, especially including recruitment of and improvement of conditions of service for women in the Afghan National Police, to improve women’s access to justice and ensure that the MOIA fully reflects the diversity and needs of the entire public that it serves.
An important focus during Canada’s tenure as co-chair will be implementation of the Afghan Roadmap for ANDSF Reform, a key element of which will be withdrawal of the Afghan National Police from paramilitary combat support roles to focus exclusively on civilian policing and rule of law issues.
“This development presents a new and unique opportunity to advance police professionalization and improve access to justice for all Afghans. The IPCB, as the apex donor coordination body for technical assistance to the MOIA, will play a vital role in helping to chart the course for renewing, reorienting and revitalizing the Afghan police sector”, said Ambassador Neufeld.
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