Official Development Assistance (ODA)
Japan's ODA White Paper 2002
Part I. Trends in Japan's ODA in a Rapidly Changing World
Chapter 2, Section 3
(2) Case Studies
A. "Consolidation of Peace" in Afghanistan
The September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States marked a major turning point for Afghanistan, which had been isolated from the international community due to more than two decades of civil war and the repressive policies of the Taliban regime. The collapse of this regime opened the door for peace. Efforts to restore stability in Afghanistan will contribute to peace and stability - as well as the eradication and prevention of terrorism - not only in the Middle East and Central Asia but globally as well. In January 2002 Japan, the United States, the European Union (EU), and Saudi Arabia co-hosted the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in Tokyo. This resulted in pledges by the international community totaling more than $4.5 billion. Japan announced that it would provide up to $500 million over two-and-a-half years, of which a maximum of $250 million would be provided in the first year. As of the end of 2002 it had provided recovery and reconstruction assistance totaling approximately $282 million.
Hamid Karzai addresses the International Conference on Reconstruction
Assistance
to Afghanistan in Tokyo.
Conflicts such as those experienced by Afghanistan leave a country vulnerable to renewed ethnic and factional strife as well as conflicts between the central government and regional forces. It is extremely important to ensure that the reconstruction process is paralleled by efforts to advance the process of peace. The restoration of domestic security is an essential prerequisite for reconstruction, and there is a need to create an environment enabling former soldiers to disarm and socially reintegrate as civilians. In addition, humanitarian, recovery, and reconstruction assistance must be provided seamlessly, since a long break between the provision of humanitarian assistance addressing basic needs--such as food and blankets--and assistance for reconstruction, such as infrastructure improvement, can threaten regional stability and cause people to lose hope for the future. It was for these reasons that Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi announced the "Vision for the Consolidation of Peace" concept during her visit to Afghanistan in May 2002. The concept consists of three pillars: the peace process, domestic security, and humanitarian and reconstruction assistance.
Support for the Peace Process Japan recognizes that the media can play an important part in peace building and democratization. It therefore provided assistance for live satellite coverage of the emergency Loya Jirga (National Grand Council) held in June 2002 as the first step in the peace process. As a result, households throughout Afghanistan were able to observe the meeting, which was attended by 1,650 representatives. The Loya Jirga established a transitional government headed by President Hamid Karzai. However, the new government faced a serious shortage of funds to meet administrative expenses, especially the wages of government employees, so Japan donated $5 million to provide support for administrative expenses in establishing a new government. In October it also announced that it would provide ¥6 billion for the purchase of equipment required for implementing the National Development Framework established by the transitional government. Furthermore, as part of support for capacity building, Japan also dispatched 24 experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), including policy advisors, to Afghanistan's central government ministries and agencies. In fiscal year 2002, Japan will accept 60 trainees in such areas as government administration, health and medical care, education, and broadcasting.
Support for Domestic Security To ensure that reconstruction and development are successful and smooth, Japan is focusing its assistance on the reintegration of former soldiers and on land-mines issues. Playing a leading role within the Group of Eight (G8) in the field of the reintegration of former soldiers, Japan proposed the "Register for Peace" concept, announced by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi during her visit to Afghanistan, which aims to support the social reintegration of former soldiers by facilitating job training and promoting employment. Specific projects for this concept are currently being prepared. Japan is also the largest donor for efforts to overcome Afghanistan's serious land-mine problem. Land mines are reported to cause several hundred casualties every month.
Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance The need for humanitarian assistance has increased dramatically since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Japan has responded to this need by providing emergency aid totaling almost $100 million. In addition to formulating and implementing the Recovery and Employment Afghanistan Program (REAP) to create job opportunities for refugees and internally displaced persons in Kabul and Kandahar, Japan is also carrying out the Ogata Initiative, a comprehensive regional development program based on the observations of Sadako Ogata - the Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Japan - in Afghanistan. (See Column 9 for details about the Ogata Initiative.) Furthermore, in September 2002 Prime Minister Koizumi, US President George W. Bush, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal made statements at the UN General Assembly concerning the construction of a highway linking Kabul with Herat via Kandahar. In November repairs of existing roads were undertaken as a first step in this major project. Japan is also supporting an Asian Development Bank (ADB) plan to repair roads from Kandahar to Pakistan.
The Ogata Initiative is a regional comprehensive development assistance program that is to materialize proposals offered by Sadako Ogata, Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Japan for Afghanistan Assistance, based on her inspection of the actual conditions of refugees and displaced persons on the occasion of her two visits to Afghanistan. Three regions have been selected to receive priority assistance under this program?those regions centering on the regional cities of Kandahar in the south, Jalalabad in the east, and Mazar-i-Sharif in the north. The aim of the program is to achieve a seamless transition from humanitarian assistance to rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance as quickly as possible. Furthermore, not only for regional rehabilitation and reconstruction, the program aims to strengthen the capacity of the transitional administration, bolster links between the central government and regional authorities, and promote the independence of communities.
Currently, as the first phase, the program is putting the spotlight on resettlement assistance for refugees and displaced persons. Through the UN and other organizations, the program is supplying equipment and materials for temporary housing, improving water-supply systems, rebuilding agriculture, distributing educational materials for children and teachers, supplying temporary educational facilities, etc. Through NGOs, it is, among other things, extending assistance for the reconstruction of communities. It is estimated that about 1.5 million people will benefit from the program, which has been steadily implemented since its announcement in July 2002.
In October 2002 Japan announced the Ogata Initiative Phase 2, a program to provide regional comprehensive development assistance on an even larger scale. It is estimated that 3 million people will benefit from Phase 2, which includes emergency income-generating projects, the distribution of food as payment for labor, construction of basic infrastructure, protection of mother-child health, the strengthening of educational implementation capacity, and anti-mine projects in the three priority regions. Through linkage between this program and such projects as the Kabul-Kandahar primary road construction project, Japan hopes that its program will become a model case of comprehensive regional development.
In all sectors of assistance, Japan is attaching particular importance to enhancing the status of women and to working with NGOs. Support for women includes the provision of equipment to healthcare clinics for mothers and children and the construction of women's centers. In addition, Japan is supporting an initiative by five women's universities in Japan, led by Ochanomizu Women's University, to train female teachers in Afghanistan. Also, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is implementing projects financed by the Trust Fund for Human Security to improve the status of women. Japan is working in collaboration with NGOs and has decided to provide assistance of more than ¥1 billion to over 50 NGOs.
Although Japan and other members of the international community are providing continued support for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, there is no room for complacency about the future outlook. The power base of the transitional government headed by President Karzai is not stable, and it will be necessary to proceed one step at a time toward the establishment of a formal administration in 2004. Skirmishes are still occurring among armed factions in outlying regions, and it is important to recognize that assurances of security are hardly adequate.
Continued political and economic support from the international community is essential in order to support the transitional government and advance the sustained progress of the peace process. Japan intends to continue contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
B. Assistance for Sri Lanka
A cease-fire agreement in Sri Lanka in February 2002 was followed in September by the commencement of peace negotiations. Sri Lanka is now moving toward genuine conflict resolution through these negotiations. Now that the peace process has been launched, it may be possible to make significant progress in the peace process if the recovery and reconstruction assistance from the international community and the efforts of the people of Sri Lanka enable all Sri Lankans to enjoy tangible peace dividends. Japan will promote the consolidation of peace in Sri Lanka by actively supporting the peace and reconstruction process.
In October 2002 former UN Under Secretary General Akashi was appointed the Representative of the Government of Japan for Peace-building, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka. During a visit to Sri Lanka in November, he held discussions with Sri Lankan government officials and leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and inspected areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka affected by conflict. In late November he attended the Sri Lanka Peace Process Support Meeting in Oslo, Norway, where he emphasized Japan's intention to play an active role in Sri Lanka's peace and reconstruction process. During Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to Japan in December 2002, he reached agreement with Prime Minister Koizumi on holding a meeting for the reconstruction of Sri Lanka in Tokyo in June 2003. In January 2003 Foreign Minister Kawaguchi visited Sri Lanka to explain Japan's position on its contribution to the peace process and announced support for Japanese and foreign NGOs working in the country.
The meeting in Tokyo will be an opportunity to discuss nation building for not only the conflict-affected areas in the north and east but also for Sri Lanka as a whole from a medium- to long-term perspective. Japan is now preparing for the meeting in close cooperation with other governments, especially the government of Sri Lanka, multilateral development banks, and other concerned countries.
C. Promoting the Aceh Peace Process
Japan is also using ODA for peace-consolidation efforts in Aceh, Indonesia. Prolonged conflicts in Aceh and other regions like Papua and Maluku were a source of instability in Indonesia, but on December 9, 2002, the Indonesian Government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) reached the Agreement for the Cessation of Hostilities in Aceh. This was preceded by the Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh, held in Tokyo on December 3, 2002, to indicate the international community's encouragement for the signing of a peace agreement and to clarify Japan's stance regarding reconstruction and development assistance in Aceh following the establishment of peace. Japan expressed its strong hope for a peaceful resolution in Aceh and its willingness to actively support reconstruction and development in the region after peace is achieved. The government believes that such diplomatic efforts provided an impetus for the agreement.
At the 12th Consultative Group Meeting on Indonesia in January 2003, Japan announced that it would provide over $6.2 million to facilitate and support the peace process in Aceh. The Aceh peace process is about to begin in earnest. Japan will continue to cooperate actively in efforts to achieve the consolidation of peace in the region in collaboration with the Indonesian government, other donor countries, and multilateral organizations.
D. Assistance toward Peace and Stability in Mindanao
Japan is also using ODA to support the consolidation of peace in Mindanao, Philippines. Mindanao has for many years been affected by conflicts involving various antigovernment groups. This has exacerbated poverty in the region, turning it into a hotbed of terrorism. The situation has become a barrier to the overall economic development of the Philippines, in part causing the deterioration of the country's image as a target for investment. It has also become a serious issue affecting stability and development in the Asia region.
The Philippine government is currently implementing a mop-up campaign against the remaining members of the Abu Sayyaf Group, an extremist organization based in Mindanao. At the same time, it is negotiating a final peace settlement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Incidents like terrorist acts, localized conflicts, and kidnappings have continued, though, even during this process.
Japan will provide ongoing support based on medium- and long-term perspectives under the Support Package for Peace and Stability in Mindanao, designed to contribute to poverty eradication, peace negotiations, and peace consolidation in Mindanao. It was announced by Prime Minister Koizumi during a visit to Japan by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in December 2002.
The Advisory Group on International Cooperation for Peace was convened by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda in June 2002 in response to the speech given by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Sydney. Chaired by former UN Under Secretary General Yasushi Akashi, the Advisory Group had met a total of six times by December, serving as a forum for animated debate on the use of ODA in the peace-building area.
Kosovo, East Timor, and Afghanistan were among the case studies examined as part of a wide-ranging discussion covering Japan's past role in international cooperation for peace and challenges for the future. The Advisory Group heard how schemes to provide assistance in such areas as emergency humanitarian activities by NGOs in locations ranging from Kosovo to Afghanistan; land mine removal; disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR); and initial infrastructure rehabilitation have been improved to make them more suitable for application in peace-building contexts. As a result of this work, the Advisory Group affirmed that the role of ODA in international peace cooperation was as important as increased cooperation in peacekeeping operations and the active dispatch of civilian specialists through the International Peace Cooperation Law.
Based on the results of those discussions, the Advisory Group submitted a report which includes 40 recommendations to Prime Minister Koizumi in December 2002. Many of the 40 recommendations relate to ODA, including specific government actions to increase the use of ODA in international peace cooperation, to bridge the gap between emergency humanitarian assistance and full-fledged reconstruction assistance, to establish a mechanism for the development, training, and dispatch of human resources, to promote support for NGOs, and to flexibly apply the Japan Disaster Relief Law. The government is proceeding with deliberations on specific measures to apply ODA more actively in peace-building activities based on the Recommendations of the Advisory Group. The summary of the report is available in English on the Prime Minister's official website
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