Afghanistan Print

Engagement in Afghanistan: counter-corruption in defence and security

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For the Afghan population, corruption remains a major concern and ranks as a top priority alongside security and economic development. The inter-relationship between these priorities is crucial to the future of Afghanistan - corruption undoubtedly has a negative impact on both the security situation and economic development, and if left unaddressed could seriously hamper progress being made.

The Transparency International (TI) movement calls on the political and military leaders in Afghanistan and the international community, to work with champions of integrity both within and outside the Government of Afghanistan to create an Afghan-led diagnosis of corruption in the country. To this end, Transparency International has sent an open letter to the leaders at the London Conference on Afghanistan.

The TI Defence Against Corruption team (DAC) is engaged on the ground in Afghanistan and committed to providing practical tools that help the defence and security sector in the country to build integrity and tackle corruption. Work undertaken to date in Afghanistan to achieve progress in counter-corruption is as follows:

  • A discussion on counter-corruption (‘Leaders Day’) – The DAC team facilitated a full-day’s discussion for top defence and security officers. Attendees spent the day identifying key security corruption issues
  • A counter-corruption training course was delivered to senior officers in the Afghan Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Afghan Ministry of the Interior (MOI).

The Afghan MOD was enthusiastic to implement such workshops, and to do it jointly with the MOI so that it could more truly reflect a view across the security forces as a whole.

The three counter-corruption training courses that the TI defence and security team delivered in Afghanistan as part of the NATO ‘Building Integrity’ initiative in 2009 were attended by 30 to 40 senior officials each, and participation was split between the MOD and the MOI with rank levels covering Colonel to 2 star. This foundation course contained a mixture of presentations, workshops, exercises, case studies and discussions, both in syndicate and plenary. The content included: an introduction to integrity building, counter corruption tools, public financial management, media, military operations, procurement, codes of conduct, personal behaviour, the rule of law and case studies delivered by a range of senior international experts. In addition, the course promoted interaction at all levels and provided a platform for students to develop networks and exchange ideas on best practice. More information on the training course can be found here

Also in 2009, around thirty high level officials attended the Leaders Day workshop, facilitated by the TI Defence Against Corruption team with the support of a representative of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants included Deputy Ministers from both the MOD and MOI, and the heads of major departments (Organised Crime, CID, Training, HR, Military Appeal Court, Intelligence, Anti-Corruption, Counter Narcotics, Audit, Legal, Inspector General, Strategy, Strategic Planning, Audit, etc). The senior level of participants and 100 per cent turnout were the key factors contributing to the success of the day.

The typology below demonstrates the types of corruption that can be found in post-conflict defence and security environments such as Afghanistan, and was developed through discussions with some 30 senior Afghan officials in November 2009:

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In November 2009, the DAC team co-hosted a workshop in the United Kingdom entitled ‘The challenge of countering corruption in Afghanistan: Developing ways the British Military might respond’. This workshop was organised in cooperation with the UK’s Afghan COIN Centre/Land Warfare Centre. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together a cross-section of people from Whitehall, academia, and the British armed forces with an interest in improving counter-corruption work in Afghanistan., The aim was:

  1. to develop thinking on the role of the military in tackling corruption in Afghanistan generally,
  2. to better inform the UK Land Warfare Centre in finalising their guidance note.

The workshop was well received and DAC looks forward to continued work with these partners. The workshop report can be downloaded here.


Further reading on corruption in Afghanistan:

Surveys:

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