UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said that the transition in Afghanistan "must be Afghan-owned" and "it must be planned and implemented in a sustainable manner."
"Our approach to the Kabul process and transition is based on three key principles; transition must be Afghan-owned; it must be planned and implemented in a sustainable manner; and it must ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of all Afghans," Ban said in a report to the UN Security Council, which was issued here Wednesday.
"The United Nations system in Afghanistan can complement and bring added value to Afghan and NATO/ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) efforts in specific sectors, such as local mediation and conflict resolution support; advocacy and monitoring of human rights; technical assistance to Afghan capacity-building for delivery of basic services and management of natural disasters, within the limits of available funding and resources provided to members of the United Nations country team," Ban said.
Also in the report, the secretary-general recommended that the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) be extended for another one year, saying the mission will continue to support the transition process agreed between the government and its international partners.
In his report, Ban also outlined obstacles facing the Afghan transition. One of the challenges is the tension between the executive, legislative and judiciary branches over the status of parliament.
"If this continues much longer, or if it leads to an entrenched political crisis, it will be detrimental to the credibility, effectiveness and inclusiveness that is necessary for the Government of Afghanistan to lead the transition process," he said.
The UN will also continue to pursue a "One United Nations" approach and strengthen the coherence of its efforts in Afghanistan, he said.
There were "significant flaws in the election process," the secretary-general said, adding that they were neither "unexpected nor unprecedented."
"The United Nations is of the view that the electoral institutions performed commendably under difficult circumstances," he said. "There is also no question that the result, which was a reflection of the patterns of instability in the country, created a parliament where the Pashtun population in some areas is apparently underrepresented compared to the previous parliament."
Flaw should be addressed in a manner that will not have adverse consequences for the transition process in particular, and the future stability of Afghanistan in general, he said.
The second immediate challenge to the implementation of the Kabul process is the current impasse over the Kabul Bank, he said.
The controversy has implications for the prospect of international partners aligning assistance with Afghanistan's national priority programs, he said.
"The protracted delay in resolving this issue threatens to undermine the Government's vision for economic growth and the progress it has made in developing national priority programs," Ban said. The delay could also weaken confidence in the country's financial system.