Plenair debat over Afghanistan - Hoofdinhoud
Tijdens het plenaire debat over Afghanistan, dat plaatsvond op 12 juni, heeft Thijs gesproken over de noodzaak om door te gaan met de EUPOL missie na 2014. Hij vroeg daarbij aandacht voor de situatie van vrouwen in Afghanistan die in het bijzonder gebaat zijn bij een goed functionerende politiemacht.
De speech van Thijs:
Chair,
After thousands of killed soldiers, after billions of Euros spent in Afghanistan - more than in any developing country - the international community wants to leave as fast as possible.
This is understandable and wrong.
In 2014, the few clear results reached in the country will still be very very fragile. Girls going to school, an administration plagued by corruption but gradually improving its functioning - these improvements can erode very fast if we abandon Afghanistan, stop investing in development, and stop training the army and the police force.
The first victims will be women - and already, violence against women is on the rise since one year. But we have to continue our presence with the EUPOL training mission, as the police still lacks the skills to act properly when women are confronted with domestic violence. The insurgents are spreading fear, and children now ask their mothers to stop working in order to stay alive.
The Afghan constitution needs to be respected, in the peace negotiations. Such is the wish of the Afghans. And we, the EU, need to continue our efforts for their future.
Afbeelding: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/842888