What impact have European Union security sector reform policies had in Afghanistan? This paper from the European Union Institute for Security Studies analyses the evolution and impact of EU police and justice sector reform policies in Afghanistan. It argues that while the particular Afghan context poses considerable challenges for SSR, the fragmentation of both international and European efforts has also complicated matters. Only by improving coordination and increasing resources and efforts towards joint strategies will the EU have a positive impact on SSR in Afghanistan.
The EU engages in SSR in Afghanistan through EUPOL Afghanistan, the police mission launched in 2007, and through the European Commission’s contributions to justice reform. Internally, institutional constraints have meant that the coordination of EU instruments has been difficult to achieve. Member states, meanwhile, have until recently focused primarily on bilateral contributions to police and justice reform or on military contributions. Externally, the resource gap and differing philosophies underlying police reform have meant that coordination between the US and EU has been lacking. Limited resources for police reform exacerbate these difficulties, translating into a loss of political influence for the EU at the strategic level.
Police and justice sector reform in Afghanistan have faced a number of challenges:
- The main actors involved in police reform were initially the US and Germany. However, German and US concepts of police training differed fundamentally. Training efforts therefore both overlapped and contradicted one another.
- Due to procurement, staffing, administration and security problems, EUPOL Afghanistan got off to a slow start. These problems were compounded by frequent changes in the position of the EUPOL Head of Mission and disputes with NATO.
- EUPOL has improved cooperation and coordination between the EU and the US. However, the resource gap between the US and the EU undermines the case for EUPOL assuming coordination functions or political leadership in police reform.
- EUPOL’s non-executive mandate means that police reform depends on the receptivity of the Afghan government to reform efforts. However, EUPOL does not have the means to provide strong incentives to enhance the engagement of Afghan authorities.
- A lack of attention to justice reform was a key flaw in the international strategy for reform of the police. Initial justice reform efforts undertaken by Italy were deemed insufficient, while individual justice projects were not coordinated.
- Since 2006 the European Commission has been involved in justice sector reform efforts, implementing its own programmes and coordinating member state activities. However. it has not assumed a coordination function among international actors.
The EU has made significant progress in increasing its overall political and operational role among international actors operating in Afghanistan. However, EU engagement in SSR suffers from a severe shortage in staff and other resources. In order to maximise its impact and achieve its mission objectives, the EU must improve its approach to overall policy coordination and implementation by:
- providing EUPOL with sufficient personnel, endowed with the necessary professional qualifications and undergoing targeted training;
- increasing member state political and financial support for EUPOL;
- reforming and strengthening the work of the International Police Coordination Board to provide a forum for coordination; and
- coordinating EU instruments in the pursuit of joint positions, in order to strengthen the EU’s profile in relation to other actors, including the US.
