A recent study by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) says that Afghanistan had only about 180 policewomen prior to the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL), while today it employs 3,200 policewomen and has a special directorate to support strengthening female police in the Afghan National Police force. 

“The EUPOL commitment for the promotion of policewomen and inclusion of human rights in Afghan police training and procedures are important achievements for the project,” the report states. 

The research paper assessed EUPOL’s impact on Afghanistan’s police reform and focused on EUNPACK mission in Afghanistan. EUNPACK is a research consortium project that evaluates the European Union conflict response at the same time in seven counties. 

The paper further stressed the role of EUPOL as an important player in the field of civilian policing, police-justice cooperation and inclusion of human rights in police manuals at the time of ongoing conflict.

According to the paper, the EUPOL mandates were however ambiguous and none of its mandates stated clear and measurable objectives to achieve. 

“In light of this, it is difficult to clearly measure the EUPOL impacts on Afghan police reform,” the paper explains.

“Moreover, the EUPOL was a minor player, considering its staff and budget compared to NATO and the United States, in Afghan police reform and therefore, had a minor impact on the overall status of Afghan police reform,” the report read. 

EUPOL mission was established following a EU Council decision on 23 April 2007 and ended in 2016. According to the report, reforming the Afghan police has been one of the most important challenges for stabilizing and securing post-Taliban Afghanistan.