After emerging from the crisis, indicators show a sustained growth in the economy, and a surplus in the fiscal external accounts, together with a recovery in national reserves.

If active intervention on law enforcement coupled with effective alternative livelihoods assistance is not provided on an urgent basis, they may return to cultivating poppy.

Such controversy, including the alleged abuses of human rights of detainees, does not bode well for the efforts of the international community to assist the Government of Afghanistan to secure and stabilize the country.

However, the increasing gap between the evolution of the workload volume, coupled with the complexity of the added responsibilities (survivors' and two track benefits) and the more modest evolution of staff resources, has resulted in a dramatic deterioration in the time taken to process new pension benefits.

Members will also recall that the General Assembly held a debate on this item, together with agenda item 52, at its 18th, 19th and 20th plenary meetings, on 4 and 5 October 2004.

This change was suggested in light of concerns that draft article 6, when read with the relevant definitions, envisaged the use of a technology whereby the electronic transport record would be transferred along the negotiation chain, thereby potentially excluding some non token technologies such as registry systems.