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Afghanistan Program Overview

The Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) works with the Government of Afghanistan (GOA) and the international community to achieve sustainable reductions in poppy cultivation and narcotics trafficking, increase law enforcement capabilities, and reform the Afghan criminal justice system to strengthen public security and the rule of law.

Program Overview

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Eradication and Alternative Livelihoods

Poppy Eradication Force (PEF)

Eradication is a key pillar of the USG's and GOA's counternarcotics strategy and serves as a disincentive to poppy cultivation, especially when combined with the incentives of alternative development. The Poppy Eradication Force (PEF) is the Government of Afghanistan's (GOA) national eradication force, and is staffed and directed by the Ministry of Interior.

The Poppy Eradication Force is designed to conduct eradication activities where provincial efforts are insufficient and/or non-existent. Therefore, PEF requires credible force protection to execute its mission in high-threat areas where most of the nation's poppy is grown. PEF's mission is to reduce the poppy harvest and deter planting for the following year by extending the rule of law to areas where most governors are unable and/or unwilling to operate.

For example, PEF has assisted various governors in Helmand, the leading poppy-producing province, by providing equipment, technical guidance, and manpower to make a dent in poppy cultivation. PEF's primary role, however, has been to serve as a deterrent to poppy growing in future years by showing that poppy cultivation is an illegal activity that will be punished by the government. PEF has also extended the GoA rule of law into insurgent-dominated areas for both eradication and public information purposes (sticks and carrots). PEF delivers seeds, fertilizer, mosque kits, and other goodwill items to alleviate the hardships caused by eradication, as well as to deter poppy planting.

Good Performers Initiative (GPI)

Launched in 2007, the Good Performers Initiative (GPI) delivers timely, high-impact development assistance to provinces leading the fight against poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. GPI projects help build infrastructure, employ local citizens, and give tangible recognition to governors who demonstrate strong leadership in reducing and eliminating poppy cultivation in their provinces. The Government of Afghanistan plans to award over $39 million for GPI projects in 2008, with award money reaching 29 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The U.S. is currently the sole donor for 2008 awards.

Examples:

GPI projects that are currently in progress include:

• Construction of a teacher's college building in Paktia
• Construction of two girls' schools in Laghman for 1,100 female students
• Planting an orchard in Panjsher
• Establishment of 115 greenhouses in Maidan Wardak, accessible to 1,225 families
• Construction of flood protection walls in Parwan, benefiting 1,440 families

Public Information

• Inform citizens of the harm and shame that illegal drugs bring to Afghanistan
• Persuade farmers not to cultivate opium poppy
• Highlight the increasing effectiveness and commitment of law enforcement to punish narcotics producers and traffickers
• Identify "message multipliers"-such as tribal leaders, religious leaders, elders, police chiefs, and teachers-to carry anti-drug messages to the wider population

Counternarcotics Advisory Team (CNAT)

Launched in 2006, the Counternarcotics Advisory Team (CNAT) program is a year-round campaign that aims to reduce poppy cultivation, production and abuse at the provincial level. Primarily Afghan-run, teams work closely with the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) to support Governor-led counternarcotics efforts in seven key provinces, including the four provinces (Helmand, Farah, Kandahar and Uruzgan) that together cultivate over 90 percent of all Afghan poppy.

CNAT relies on Afghan officers to expand outreach, provide cultural and language knowledge, identify local leaders, convene farmers and other stakeholders, and help work within traditional leadership structures. Building Afghan ownership and investment in the fight against drugs, from the bottom up, is at the heart of the CNAT model and represents the way forward for our greater counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan.

Women's Programs

As of December 2008, INL programs have produced the following outcomes:

• Over 300 Afghan police women have been trained at the Central Training Center, seven Regional Training Centers, and the Kabul Police Academy through INL/DOD joint efforts;
  
  
• Over 110 women working in the justice sector have participated in justice-related training programs and conferences;
  
  
• More than 60 women working for the Central Prisons Directorate have received corrections training;
  
  
• The number of Afghan National Police Family Response Units (FRUs) has grown from one in 2005 to 24 in 2008;
  
  
• 759 cases have been investigated by the Family Response Units nationwide from January to November 2008; 348 cases were collectively addressed by the FRUs in 2007, up from 199 cases in 2006;
  
  
• FRU policewomen have received small-group training in literacy, report writing, computer skills, and emergency midwife training; and,
  
  
• An INL-sponsored women's shelter served 73 clients during its first year of operation from 2007-2008.

In the coming years, INL programs will address three priority areas within its counternarcotics, justice sector reform, and law enforcement mandate:

• Enhanced opportunities for women in Afghanistan's justice sector;
• Increased assistance to female Afghan National Police; and,
• Countering domestic violence and expanding knowledge of women's rights.

Demand Reduction

War-torn for almost 30 years, while simultaneously producing 93 percent of the world's illicit opium, Afghanistan has been deeply affected by drug use. The United Nations recently estimated that almost 4 percent of the Afghan population is addicted to drugs. As a result, the urgent need for evidence-based treatment services continues to grow, especially among special populations. Women and children are now using drugs at higher rates than previous years. INL recognizes this urgency and has been assisting Afghanistan since 2003 with the development of evidenced-based drug treatment centers.

Residential/Outpatient Treatment Centers

INL has established and supported five combination residential/outpatient treatment programs in the provinces of Wardak, Takhar, Khost, Bamyan, and Day Kundi (serving over 1800 clients per year); two residential treatment programs for women (in Kabul and Balkh), each serving 240 clients per year); as well as six mobile drug treatment clinics (serving over 1400 clients per year). INL also funds three drop-in centers in community-based settings.

Treatment for Women

INL actively supports the expansion of treatment programs for Afghanistan's women, who comprise almost 15 percent of the country's drug addicts. In 2007, the INL-sponsored Sanga Amaj Center, the first women's residential treatment center in Afghanistan, opened its doors. On November 1, 2008, a second residential facility for women was opened in Balkh Province. In 2008, 240 women are receiving treatment and 100 women are receiving vocational and skill straining at the Kabul facility. The Balkh facility will also accommodate 240 women per year. Educational, social and recreational services will also be provided to approximately 240 dependent children of women in these treatment centers. Outpatient treatment is also provided for 875 women per year at the other five residential/outpatient centers, while the mobile clinics reach 720 women per annum. Lastly, plans are underway for INL to provide training of Afghan women physicians and treatment providers at programs in the U.S., which specifically serve drug dependent women with children.

Mosque-Based Centers

Several INL-supported programs in Afghanistan are based on the concept that spiritual leaders (Mullahs) can be identified and trained to deliver anti-drug messages, in addition to actually operating mosque-based outreach and aftercare centers. In 2005, 547 Mullahs were trained in this capacity. Currently, 27 mosque-based outreach/aftercare centers have been established. These centers embrace community-based prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation philosophies and serve populations in areas with limited resources. These centers have already assisted many drug dependent persons by referring them to other, more intensive, treatment centers and by providing meeting places (aftercare centers) for ex-addicts to maintain their sobriety once leaving treatment.

Justice/Rule of Law

Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP)

JSSP is a multi-pronged effort to develop and strengthen the capacity of the Afghan criminal justice sector institutions and justice professionals. JSSP, through capacity-building, training and mentoring, and technical assistance, helps justice professionals in the Attorney General's Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court perform their respective roles in delivering fair and effective justice services to all Afghan citizens. In Kabul, JSSP works primarily with the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Justice.

Program Components

• 30 U.S., 30 Afghan legal consultants in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Konduz, Nangarhar, and Paktia provinces
• Advise leadership of Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Attorney General's Office (AGO)
• Training: over 1,000 justice personnel have received specialized and 9-month training
• Capacity-building: administrative reform of MoJ and AGO
• Anti-Corruption: supporting the Anti-Corruption Unit of AGO
• Provincial Justice Conferences: bring together central and local officials for workshops
• Gender Justice: work with Police Family Response Units, other discrete gender projects

Corrections System Support Program (CSSP)

CSSP is a collaborative effort with the Government of Afghanistan to develop Afghan Prisons into a safe, organized and modern system that is capable of housing and effectively rehabilitating prisoners in the Afghan Justice System. CSSP works with the Afghan Central Prisons Directorate to develop uniform standards for building operations, training and equipping of officers, infrastructure review and renovation, administration and management, financial oversight, and prison security. CSSP has dedicated gender advisors in each province and Kabul, who work with female prison guards and with women who are incarcerated. CSSP has a permanent presence in five provinces and Kabul, conducting basic training for new recruits and a "train the trainers" program to prepare Afghan prison officials to conduct their own trainings across the country.

Program Components

• 33 U.S. corrections advisors in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Nangarhar, Konduz, and Paktia provinces
• Train and Equip: over 2,000 graduates of basic course; specialized training programs under development
• Capacity-building: administrative reform of Central Prison Directorate
• Infrastructure: upcoming construction of hybrid-prison models in Wardak and Baghlan provinces
• Counter-Narcotics Justice Center: provide guard training and operations and maintenance support

Interdiction

Counter Narcotics Police - Afghanistan (CNPA)

The Counter Narcotics Police - Afghanistan (CNPA) has the national mandate to combat narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan. INL stands by its DEA partners in providing the CNPA with the support they need to further their reach to seize drugs, arrest traffickers, and bring them to justice. The program's goal is to establish a self-sustaining law enforcement agency that strengthens Afghan capacity by providing actionable intelligence, interdiction, eradication, and investigative capabilities. This force will disrupt production and trafficking of illicit drugs across international borders, arrest high-value targets leading to successful prosecutions, and support long-term stability in Afghanistan

Civilian Law Enforcement

Afghan National Police (ANP) Program

• INL is in its sixth year of support to the Afghan National Police (ANP) training and mentoring program, and three years into its role in support of the Defense Department's mandate for comprehensive development of the ANP.
  
  
• Under a Memorandum of Agreement with DoD, INL provides nearly 600 civilian police advisors to develop the capacity and skills of the Afghan National Police (ANP) through curriculum development, train-the-trainer instruction and on-the-job mentoring.
  
  
• Based at eight regional locations, advisors are deployed throughout the country - at Regional Training Centers, Provincial Reconstruction Teams and Forward Operating Bases - on a range of training and mentoring initiatives. A core of senior-level mentors is also embedded in the Afghan Government's Ministry of Interior (MOI) to provide support and guidance to senior MOI officials.
  
  
• More than 97,000 ANP - including nearly 2,700 Focused District Development students - have been trained at INL facilities since 2003, and the 78,000-strong police force is nearing its mandated level of 82,000.
  
  
• Six cycles of Focused District Development (FDD) are currently being implemented in approximately 50 districts nationwide. Following assessment, FDD students are trained in basic, advanced and leadership skills as appropriate. While in training, FDD students are verified for rank, receive temporary ID cards and electronic bank accounts (where possible), and are equipped prior to district reinsertion.
  
  
• Basic, intermediate, advanced and specialized training continues for non-FDD district Afghan Uniformed Police, Afghan Border Police and Afghan National Auxiliary Police.
  
  
• There are 24 Family Response Units with civilian police advisors attached to police stations in seven provinces.
  
  
• Women's Police Corp classes are being implemented in Kabul and address specific training needs of female recruits.