Canada's Embassy in Afghanistan For many years, Canada’s principal focus in Afghanistan was providing humanitarian and development assistance both bilaterally and multilaterally—through the United Nations, the World Bank, NGOs and other partners—in response to civil war and a series of natural disasters. Diplomatic relations with Afghanistan were established in 1968 to facilitate these efforts but were severed following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Diplomatic relations were not re-established with any of the regimes that held power following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 until the appointment in January 2002 of the Interim Administration of President Karzai. Canada reopened its embassy in Kabul in September 2003. Today, Canada works within the multilateral context, including at the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Human Rights and the UN Commission on the Status of Women, to ensure the human rights situation in Afghanistan gets due consideration and remains integral to the work of the international community. Canada’s diplomats are working elsewhere in support of efforts in Afghanistan, including at NATO, through the G8, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Through our embassies and high commissions, we engage with regional partners to promote regional cooperation on issues of security and economic development. We also work closely with the Afghan Embassy in Canada. More than 70 Foreign Affairs officers work on Afghan issues, both at headquarters and abroad. In August 2006, there were 24 Canadian-based staff and 34 locally engaged staff working at the embassy in Kabul. As a result, from 2005 to 2006, Canada’s presence on the ground in Kabul increased by 350 percent, in terms of Canada-based program staff. In addition, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has a substantial and growing headquarters team dedicated to Afghan development programming, as well as officers based in Kabul and Kandahar. |