EUPOL Afghanistan (2007–2016) was a European Union mission supporting the reform efforts of the Afghan government in building a civilian police service in Afghanistan.
Background
EUPOL Afghanistan was part of the European Union's External Action service. It was one of the EU's civilian Common Security and Defence Policy missions and was set up in 2007 to assist the Afghan government in reforming its police service. Reforming the security sector is a crucial element of the international community's efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. Decades of armed conflict in the country had left the Afghan National Police (ANP) with multiple challenges – the ANP is at the forefront of the fight against the insurgency and consequently often suffers heavy casualties. Endemic corruption is another major challenge facing the ANP.
EUPOL Afghanistan was closed in the end of 2016.
Objectives
The Member States of the European Union set the following objectives for the mission: "EUPOL Afghanistan shall significantly contribute to the establishment of sustainable and effective civilian policing arrangements under Afghan ownership, which will ensure appropriate interaction with the wider criminal justice system, in keeping with the policy advice and institution building work of the community, Member States and other international actors. Furthermore, the Mission will support the reform process towards a trusted and efficient police service, which works in accordance with international standards, within the framework of the rule of law and respects human rights."
Activities
EUPOL advisers worked on a strategic level with the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs in the professionalisation of the ANP and the institutional reform of the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI). EUPOL did not have an executive mandate, which means that it did not do actual policing. EUPOL's main partners for cooperation included senior leadership of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, from the Afghan National Police, relevant rule of law actors such as Afghan prosecutors to other international actors supporting the development of the police and the rule of law in Afghanistan.
EUPOL supported the production of the Afghan police detective TV series, "Commissar Amanullah", which helped reach out to the public in a country where literacy levels are still low. The series treated its viewers to fast and furious action as well as behind the scenes reports on the professional work of a criminal investigation unit in Afghanistan. Topics that were then part of EUPOL's mandate such as community policing, criminal investigation, female police recruitment, gender, human rights and police-prosecutor cooperation were incorporated into the series.
One of the most tangible achievements of EUPOL Afghanistan was the establishment of training institutions such as the Afghan Police Staff College in 2010. Funding for the project was provided by the European Union. , at least 4000 Afghan police had attended courses at the college. Responsibility for training has gradually been handed over to Afghan instructors. The College, which is entirely under Afghan management since 2014, trains police leaders and teachers providing a wide range of specialised courses in management and human rights awareness.
In further efforts geared towards the professionalisation of the Afghan National Police, EUPOL also supported the Crime Management College, which was inaugurated in Kabul on 17 March 2014, as a result of close cooperation between the European Union Delegation, EUPOL Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of Interior. The Crime Management College provides a modern environment for the development of expertise in investigative techniques and delivery of investigative training.
Furthermore, EUPOL helped establish the Afghanistan-wide toll-free emergency number 119, supported by several international actors including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan (CSTC-A). EUPOL's role focused on providing the call centers with training in 2009.
Between 2007 and 2014, the main modus operandi for the implementation of EUPOL's mandate was training and mentoring. From 2015 onward, all mentoring activities were discontinued and the Mission fully transformed to advising the Ministry of Interior and the Afghan National Police on a strategic level.
Finnish senior diplomat Ms. Pia Stjernvall was appointed as the Head of Mission in February 2015. The last Deputy Head of Mission was General Inspector Tarmo Miilits from the Estonian police.