January 8, 2007
No. 1
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency, today announced, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, that
Canada will contribute $10 million toward the salaries of Afghan police officers. The
Minister also presented the provincial chief of police with Canada’s latest contribution
toward properly outfitting and clothing police in the province. This consisted of
approximately 1500 police jackets and 2500 pairs of winter gloves, which were locally
procured.
“Canada’s new government believes that providing a national civilian police force with
an adequate and regular salary is critical to helping restore security and the rule of law
in Afghanistan. Our contribution will help further this objective, resulting in a more
professional police force to better serve the people of Afghanistan,” said Minister
MacKay. “The equipment that we are providing today will similarly enable the Afghan
National Police to more effectively perform their duties.”
Canada will make its contribution through the Law and Order Trust Fund for
Afghanistan (LOTFA). LOTFA has been instrumental in putting in place a payroll
system that, for the first time, allows police officers to regularly draw their full salaries
directly from banks, rather than depending on unreliable and irregular payments.
Canada’s contribution to LOTFA is funded through the Global Peace and Security
Fund (GPSF), which supports both urgent contributions to crisis response operations
and measures to ensure lasting human security.
Canada is one of the leading nations contributing to Afghan and international efforts to
reform the Afghan National Police; to help improve security; to promote good
governance; to enable reconstruction; and to support development projects.
Canada, along with many other nations, is in Afghanistan at the request of the
democratically elected government as part of a UN-sanctioned mission to help build a
secure, stable, democratic and self-sufficient society.
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A backgrounder is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca
Backgrounder
SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN POLICE
Canada has the third largest civilian police contingent in Afghanistan and is a major
donor to police programs in the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s Global Peace and
Security Fund (GPSF) supports the Government of Afghanistan’s efforts to reform and
professionalize the Afghan National Police (ANP). The GPSF, which was established
in Budget 2005, totals $100 million annually over five years. The fund supports
initiatives in Afghanistan, Sudan, Haiti and other fragile states. Beyond police reform,
initiatives funded through the GPSF include: supporting peace processes and
mediation efforts; countering the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons;
providing for transitional justice and reconciliation; and improving the peace
enforcement and peace support capacities of government.
Today’s announcement of a $10 million contribution from the GPSF to the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan
(LOTFA), will help ensure the adequate and timely compensation of Afghan National
Police. This builds on a previous contribution of $7 million by the Canadian
International Development Agency.
Canada’s Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Kandahar also includes a
significant Canadian civilian police component that is assisting in building the capacity
of the local police in Kandahar Province, through training and mentoring activities. The
training this contingent is providing is helping to forge a more professional police force
to better serve the people of Kandahar.
Canada currently has a contingent of five civilian police at the PRT—four from the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and one from the Charlottetown Municipal Police.
With the support of military police belonging to Task Force Afghanistan, they have
been providing training and mentoring to the ANP since the autumn of 2005. The size
of the civilian police contingent in the PRT will be increased to 10, in March 2007.
Canada has also contributed to the effort to build a security infrastructure that includes
an effective police force, through the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A). The CSTC-A is currently supporting the development of both
the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the ANP. The Canadian Forces have deployed a
Brigadier General and 12 other Canadian officers to CSCT-A in Kabul to assist with
this endeavour.
