In the summer of 2022, the German Bundestag set up a commission of enquiry to draw lessons for future foreign, development and security policy from Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan.

The committee, comprising eleven members of parliament and eleven experts, initially examined the entire period of German involvement in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 and presented an interim report in February 2024.

On this basis, recommendations were developed to optimise the networked approach as the basic principle of Germany’s contribution to international crisis management. This approach describes the dovetailing of military, police, diplomatic, development policy and humanitarian instruments in international peacekeeping missions.

The Commission set up five working groups to formulate recommendations in various priority areas:

• Analysis, knowledge, concepts, monitoring, evaluation; 
• Strategy and mandate formation, deployment law, strategic communication;
• International governance, coordination, integration;
• Role of parliament, oversight, stakeholder environment, national governance, integration;
• Implementation, effectiveness, deployment law, capabilities, instruments, personnel, communication.

The Commission’s final report contains recommendations on various fields of action and their implementation. These include institutional and organisational proposals for better preparation, as well as for the staffing and equipment of missions, for more efficient coordination within the federal government and for stronger parliamentary oversight.