The UN Security Council joined calls on Friday for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to fight corruption, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling the country’s political situation “delicate” following deeply flawed elections. In a tepid statement, the council “acknowledged” — rather than welcomed — the conclusion of the tumultuous electoral process in which Karzai was declared the winner after challenger Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from a runoff race saying it could not be free or fair.
Abdullah on Wednesday called Karzai’s victory illegal and his government a failure, saying the president’s tainted administration would not be able to check corruption or fend off the Taliban.
Ban acknowledged there were problems with the elections, following a closed-door meeting briefing the Security Council on his recent trip to Afghanistan.
“It is obvious that the political situation remains delicate,” Ban said. “Clearly, the recent elections were seriously flawed.”
The UN’s most powerful body said nonetheless that it looked forward to working with Karzai. It urged him to improve security, promote good governance and fight corruption and the narcotics trade.
The statement and Ban’s comments come on a day when British Prime Minister Gordon Brown toughened his tone toward the Afghan leadership.
“I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm’s way for a government that does not stand up against corruption,” he said on Friday in London.
US President Barack Obama had earlier warned Karzai that he must fight corruption, just as the US must decide whether to raise troop levels or redefine the goals of the NATO-led mission.
Ban said that during his meeting with Karzai: “I strongly stressed the need for good governance in the country and to take all determined measures against corruption.”
Ban noted that Karzai said in his acceptance speech that “he would do his best efforts to eradicate corruption.”
Ban said he also discussed improving security for UN staff following the Oct. 28 attack on a private guesthouse where dozens of UN staffers lived, killing five UN workers and three Afghans.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, saying they intentionally targeted UN employees working on the presidential election. The UN announced on Thursday it was sending about 600 foreign staff either out of the country or into secure compounds because of the attack.
Ban told reporters on Friday that about 200 will relocate to other UN offices in the region.
In a statement released on yesterday, the Afghan foreign affairs ministry rejected international criticism about rampant corruption in the Afghan government, saying that recent comments made by Kai Eide, the top UN official in Afghanistan, “exceeded international norms and his authority as a representative of an impartial international organization.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said following his re-election that combating corruption, improving the rule of law and implementing reform would be among his top priorities over the next five years, the ministry said.
“Over the last few days some political and diplomatic circles and propaganda agencies of certain foreign countries have intervened in Afghanistan’s internal affairs by issuing instructions concerning the composition of Afghan government organs and political policy of Afghanistan,” the ministry said. “Such instructions have violated respect for Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.”
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