Assistance for the police in Afghanistan
+ QRF-training at Mazar-e Sharif
Source: BMI
To this end, in mid-2010 the Federal Ministry of the Interior raised to 200 the number of police officers in the bilateral German project.
Despite the difficult security situation in Afghanistan, Germany is keeping its promise to provide support for strengthening Afghan security structures. Building a functioning police force committed to the rule of law is an important part of this support, and increased efforts in basic and advanced training for the Afghan National Police are crucial.
+ Training center
Source: BMI
Following the Petersberg resolutions, at the request of the Afghan transitional government and the United Nations the Federal Republic of Germany in early 2002 assumed the international lead role in rebuilding the Afghan police force. Germany has maintained close and cooperative relations with Afghanistan since the 1960s and 1970s.
Since April 2002, an average of 40 federal and state police officers have been working at the German Police Project Office in Kabul and its branch offices in Mazar-e Sharif, Kunduz, Feyzabad and (until late 2005) Herat. An additional 25 to 40 short-time experts were seconded each year to teach basic and advanced training courses. To begin with, the police academy in Kabul was built and about 10,000 police officers trained since 2002 on a relatively lean budget (2002: €6 million, €12 million by 2007). This was followed by training, construction and equipment projects as well as intensive mentoring for Afghan Ministry of Interior leadership and police stations.
During Germany’s EU Council Presidency, in mid-2006 it was decided to place the police training effort on a broader footing by incorporating it into a European police mission. The EUPOL AFG mission started on 15 June 2007 with the mandate of contributing to the establishment of sustainable and effective police structures in local ownership, thereby helping stabilize the security situation in Afghanistan.
In addition to Germany’s participation in EUPOL AFG, about 40 German federal and state police officers are currently in Afghanistan to carry on Germany’s extensive bilateral projects and another approximately 80 experts are teaching courses at the German Police Project Team in Kabul and its branch offices. Starting in 2008, funding was significantly increased to €35.7 million in 2008 and €50.2 million in 2009.
