November 17, 2006

 

Overview

 

Donors’ Conference on Afghanistan’s reconstruction opens in Indian capital tomorrow

A two-day international conference on Afghanistan’s reconstruction is scheduled to open in the Indian capital of New Delhi tomorrow (Saturday, November 18). Representatives from the G-8 and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations, European Commission and host of regional and international organizations, such as Asian Development Bank, World Bank, IMF, and UN Aid Agencies, are expected to attend the meeting to be jointly inaugurated by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The conference will discuss potential areas of cooperation for the economic reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan.

 

 

Flash floods inundate eastern and western Afghanistan killing more than 50 people

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have inundated several districts in eastern and western Afghanistan since last Friday (November 10). According to the latest reports, flash floods hit western Badghis province yesterday (Thursday, November 16), killing at least 47 people, while some 60 people remain missing. Last Friday (November 10), flash floods struck the villages of Qasim Abad and Ziarak in Behsud and Surkh rod districts, respectively, in eastern Nangarhar province near the Jalalabad region. According to preliminary reports, at least five people were killed and nine others wounded, in flooding in Qasim Abad village, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Jalalabad city. Floods also damaged 50 houses, affecting some 156 families in the village. In Ziarak village (Surkh rod district), located 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of Jalalabad city, floods injured one person, killed more than 100 livestock, and destroyed about 247 acres (100 ha) of farmland, affecting 18 families. On Saturday (November 11), flash floods also struck Charikar district in Parwan province, located 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the capital Kabul, damaging some 43 houses. No injuries or deaths have been reported in Parwan so far. Provincial officials in Nangarhar have appealed for aid and assistance to the central government and the international community. The Nangarhar branch of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), with support from the IFRC, continues to distribute non-food relief items to the affected families in Behsud and Surkh rod districts, while the ARCS's Parwan branch is in the process of assessing damages and needs in Charikar district. The ARCS and IFRC have reportedly been coordinating the disaster response with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), as well as the Department of Disaster Preparedness (DDP). Afghanistan, including the western region, has been experiencing severe drought but in the past week, heavy rains have started falling in several parts of the country.

UN mission says Afghanistan must address lawlessness threatening progress

A 10-nation high-level United Nations Security Council (UNSC) mission says Afghanistan must “aggressively” address lawlessness and corruption while focusing on the regional aspect of the insurgency, which is threatening to unravel progress. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday (November 15) at the end of a four-day visit that began on November 11, the UN delegation, led by Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations Kenzo Oshima, expressed concern over the deadly Taliban-led insurgency saying that it posed a “serious threat” to reconstruction and nation-building. Oshima said despite the current situation, “the mission believes that the storm is being weathered…[T]he work on rebuilding Afghanistan is continuing.” He said Afghanistan was far from returning to normalcy and needs sustained and long-term commitment. Oshima said, “In 2006 the insurgency, illegal narcotics production, corruption and problems of governance have all left their marks and to some extent damaged public confidence.” He noted that many of the challenges facing Afghanistan were internal in nature and must be addressed in order to restore public confidence. The mission is scheduled to return to UN Headquarters today (Friday, November 17). A final report on the delegation’s visit, with recommendations, will be made public early next month (December). The special UNSC delegation included ambassadors of Argentina, Britain, Denmark, France, Greece, Japan, Qatar, Russia, Slovakia and the United States to the United Nations.

 

 

Movement

 

4.2 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, and 500,000 IDPs returned home since early 2002. Close to 3 million of the refugees returned from Pakistan. 2.6 million Afghans remain in Pakistan, including one million in 74 long-term camps. About 1.5 million Afghans returned from Iran; Taking into account unassisted returns, perhaps 600,000 to 700,000 Afghans remain in Iran—up to 30,000 are in seven camps.

 

2006 UNHCR expects to assist 550,000 returnees—400,000 from Pakistan and 150,000 from Iran. However, so far this year only some 60,000 Afghan refugees have repatriated from Pakistan. Unassisted returns are a factor from Pakistan and have been a major contributor to returns from Iran. The tripartite arrangement among UNHCR-Afghanistan-Pakistan is good through 2006; The UNHCR-Afghanistan-Iran Joint Program has been extended into 2007. Repatriation from Pakistan, halted for the winter, recommenced on March 1. UNHCR assisted nearly 9,000 refugees in returning from Pakistan and over 500 from Iran during March. In April 2006, Pakistan will close two long-term camps in NWFP, and two in Baluchistan Province with 250,000 long-term residents. Refugees in Baluchistan can either return to Afghanistan or relocate to Mohammad Kheil camp near Quetta. Refugees in NWFP are moving to Afghanistan or one of ten camps in NWFP—refugees are pushing for a one-year delay.

 

2005 plans called for 400,000 Afghan refugees to return home from Pakistan and 200,000 from Iran, down from an earlier 350,000 estimated from Iran. 453,000 returned from Pakistan. 67,000 from Iran were assisted and over 210,000 returned on their own to Iran for a total of nearly 280,000, and a combined Pakistan and Iran total of 733,000—close to the original projection.

 

2004 plans were for one million to return. Actual returnees were around 850,000, with 385,000 from Pakistan and 460,000 from Iran, including 80,000 spontaneous returns. Pakistan closed camps in South Waziristan and all new camps, with remaining new refugees going to Mohamed Kheil camp in Baluchistan Province.

Emphasis in 2003 was on repatriation from old camps and cities in Pakistan to rural areas in Afghanistan. 70% of returnees from Pakistan were from cities and 30% from camps. Over a third returned to Kabul, another 10% went to other central provinces, and just over 20% returned to each of the north and east. The Southern region received 6% and the Western region 4%. The 2003 peak months were June and July.

 

In 2002 over 2.3 million Afghan refugees returned with 2 million assisted by UNHCR. UNHCR repatriated 1.53 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan, including 125,000 from Baluchistan and 1.4 million from the North West Frontier Province. 82% were from urban areas; only 3% were from new camps. 265,000 refugees were assisted in returning from Iran; and 10,000 refugees from the central Asian republics.

 

In 2006, UNHCR/IOM will assist with IDP returns and initial integration and then terminate the program. The recognized IDP population is about 150,000 with 120,000 in the south, including 45,000 in the Zhare Dasht camp near Kandahar, 15,000 in the west, mostly in Herat’s Maslakh camp, and 12,000 elsewhere.

 

Afghanistan Relief Efforts: United Nations Coordination Regions

 

 

 

 

 

Central Region

 

 

 

East Central Region

 

 

Eastern Region

 

 

Northeastern Region

 

 

Northern Region

 

 

Southern Region

 

 

 

Southern Region IDP camps

 

Location	Zhare Dasht - South of Kandahar – 6 camps
Type	IDP Camp
Coordination	UNHCR
Camp Capacity	30,000; expandable to 60,000
Population	125,000 IDPs in south; 48,500 at Zhare Dasht
Movement IDP	An estimated
Food	WFP
Health	UNICEF, MSF;
NFIs - Shelter
Security
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Support for Spin Boldak camps terminated in 2004.

 

Western Region

Location	Western Region
Coordination	UNHCR; ICMC
Population	12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp
Movement IDPs	IOM
Food	WFP sent 16.5 tons of food assistance for some 1,500 flood-affected people in Obeh district in Herat province. (IRIN, May 9) FEWS projects possible winter wheat crop failure in south and southwest due to insufficient water; IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP;
Health	One case of polio reported in Farah. (UNAMA, Nov. 6) Bulgaria to send two medical experts to join eight Bulgarian medics at a Spanish field hospital in Herat as part of ISAF support. (GORB, Sep. 21) MSF, MDM, Order of Malta, CHA, IbniSina, HRS; ICRC; UNICEF;
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	UNHCR, Iranian Red Crescent, UNICEF, IOM, Ockenden Int’l, MSF, IMC;
Security	Lithuanian led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) sets up four police check points on the main routes into provincial capital Chagcharan in Ghowr province to help Afghan National Police. (NATO, Nov. 7) Six Afghan policemen including district police chief among dead in an ambush by suspected Taliban insurgents near Shindad in western province of Heart. (AP, BBC, Nov. 3)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Flash floods triggered by torrential rains kill at least 47 people in Badghis province along the Murghab River. (AFP, Nov. 17)

 

 

Refugee Camps in Pakistan

 

Location	Long-term camps in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Baluchistan Province, and by capital, Islamabad; Mohamed Kheil 1 & 2 camps (85 km southwest of Quetta)
Type	Refugee Camps
Coordination	UNHCR.
Camp Capacity	About one million mostly long term Afghans in 74 camps—down from about 200 camps.
Population	Estimated 2.6 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan; 63 camps in NWFP, 10 in Baluchistan; and one million elsewhere; Many occupants are long-term residents or were born in Pakistan;
Refugee Movement	UNHCR-assisted returns resumed on March 1. All FATA camps have been closed. 445,000 Afghans returned home from Pakistan in 2005—two thirds were long-term refugees; Pakistan to close Giordi Jungle and Pir Alizai camps in Baloshistan, and Kacha Gari camp in NWFP by the end of July, 2006. (UNNC, June 2). The 250,000 residents will either return to Afghanistan or be relocated to Mohammad Kheil camp, near Quetta in Baluchistan, or ten camps in NWFP.
Food	WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	CRS
Security	Pakistani security force of 70,000 to 80,000 reports having border areas secured; Significant clashes between Pakistani government forces and others in border province areas; “Finger-pointing” between Afghan and Pakistan leaders over curbing Taliban and Al-Qaeda along shared border areas
Water & Sanitation	IFRC, MDM
Comments