On the development side I'm going to allow my colleague from the International Development Agency to speak to the specifics of your question about the tangible proof we've seen—specific references to the Afghanistan Compact, which sets out benchmarks that are to be achieved in areas of development itself, in reconstruction and programming.
On the diplomacy side, we know that we have a very high level of engagement in Kabul between our ambassador, Arif Lalani, and his counterparts and officials inside the Afghanistan government. All of this, of course, happens very much under the umbrella of security, and all of this happens in the capacity building that we are seeing with the police and the Afghan National Army, including the prison officials, of course. We now have a much better grasp of the expectations that must be met and of how we intend to do the necessary follow-up. We are constantly monitoring this situation. We are following up.
I'll come back to an earlier question with respect to the whereabouts of Afghan detainees.This takes time. Let's be very frank. This is a mission now that goes back a period of time. The Afghan authorities have given us assurances that they will give us the location of Canadian detainees to the best of their abilities. But look, many people in Afghanistan do not have street addresses; they don't have birth certificates. There are many who bear the same name. These are conditions that actually exist, Mr. Chair. This is the reality we're dealing with in Afghanistan. It's not an easy task to track individuals, particularly those whose stated purpose is to avoid detection.
These detainees have spent a great deal of their lives living incognito. They have made it their life's work to avoid detention and capture, so they're not exactly expected, in many cases, to be cooperative when providing information—and let's not forget what's in the al-Qaeda handbook: you are to immediately make allegations of abuse and torture upon being captured by coalition forces.