NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) – An international conference on Afghanistan has endorsed President Hamid Karzai’s proposals to combat corruption and promote good governance in the war-torn nation.
A communiqué issued on Tuesday also backed his call for the international community to channel at least half of development aid through the Afghan government within the next two years.
Following are some of the key points in the communiqué related to anti-graft and good governance.
Seventy donor countries and institutions took part.
CORRUPTION
The Afghan government pledged to:
-- establish the legal framework for a Major Crimes Task Force and a special court called the Anti-Corruption Tribunal to hear cases linked to graft within the next 12 months.
-- submit an audit law within six months for external audits aimed at strengthening the independence of the Control and Audit Office.
-- authorise the ministry of finance to carry out internal audits across all government departments within six months.
-- establish a legal committee within six months to review Afghan laws for compliance with the U.N. Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
-- adopt and begin implementing regulations and legislation governing bulk cash transfers.
-- establish a Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee for graft with a permanent secretariat within three months.
-- verify and publish the asset declarations of all senior officials annually starting in 2010.
-- implement reform in public administration over the next six months by simplifying appointment procedures for senior civil servants and making them transparent and merit-based.
-- introduce and implement a standard methodology to assess public financial management of ministries.
JUDICIARY & GOOD GOVERNANCE
The Afghan government pledged to:
-- work over the next 12 months to bring informal tribal judicial practices in line with the formal national justice system.
-- improve access to the delivery of justice by enacting the draft Criminal Procedure Code in the next six months, preparing Civil and Penal Codes, and strengthening policies to facilitate the return of illegally seized lands.
-- improve provision of legal aid services within the next 12 months.
-- initiate within six months a strategy for long term electoral reform that addresses in particular the sustainability of the electoral process.
-- undertake human rights, legal awareness and civic education programmes targeting communities across Afghanistan to foster a more informed public and civil society, and increase government accountability.
-- seek agreement with donors over the next six months on a harmonised salary scale for donor-funded salaries of persons working within the Afghan Government.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
