A different story from Helmand – the BBC investigates progress in civilian institution-building

To listen to some commentators, you might easily gain the impression that no progress has been or can made in Helmand, and as soon as Britain and its Nato allies hand over full responsibility to Afghan institutions, it will collapse back into the violent fundamentalism of the 1990s.

In fact, we are increasingly confident that the gains that have been made will prove durable, that life for ordinary Afghans will be greatly improved, and that emerging Afghan institutions are securing the legitimacy to drain away support for the extremists.

Our monitoring shows that by the end of 2012, only 5% of people in Helmand reported that they would support a Taliban return to power.

It was particularly good, therefore, to see some in-depth critical reporting of the improving situation in Helmand from the BBC’s Afghanistan expert and veteran reporter, David Loyn.

David joined the civilian Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team for a 3-week embed at the end of 2012. Embedded journalists are both a risk and a great opportunity, and no report is ever unmitigated good news.

But as a balanced and thorough account of some of the progress we are making, his three pieces from Helmand are very well worth watching. You can see his reports in full on the BBC website and by following the links below:

Criminal justice: In Afghanistan the Taliban won popularity by resolving disputes within communities at a local level. But now a different form of justice is beginning to take hold in Helmand.

Derek Griffiths, a governance adviser with the PRT, describes how popular, fast and fair new justice committees, backed by local government, have displaced the Taliban’s justice. Major Pete Francis of the Military Stabilisation Support Team is hard at work advising on the design of a command post (and pigeon loft!)

Local democracy and institutions:  The security effort has been backed up by local government reform, one of the more significant successes of western intervention. “At last the normal institutions of a state are emerging: taxation, courts and here an elected local council”, says David Loyn.

The new Governor of Helmand Province, Mohammed Naeem, talks about the challenges ahead, but says: “you can be confident there will be no return to the Afghanistan of the 1990s”.

Prisons and rehabilitation: Reforms have turned one of the main jails, in Lashkar Gah, into a model prison, which aims to rehabilitate prisoners not just punish them. “This is a really surprising place”, says David Loyn.

Phil Robinson, a former UK prison officer now serving in Helmand, talks about tackling and deradicalising the prisoners to turn them away from the insurgency.