December 1, 2006

 

Overview

 

NATO welcomes softening of restrictions on troop deployment

NATO leadership is welcoming the easing of restrictions on troop deployment in Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters following a meeting of NATO members in the Latvian capital of Riga, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said, “We have made real progress on caveats” on troop deployment across Afghanistan. He said the relaxation of curbs on deployment by some member nations would now enable the alliance to move an additional 2,500 troops around the country. The Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Luxembourg are among the countries that have agreed to ease restrictions on deployment in Afghanistan’s restive south and east. France, Germany, Spain and Italy have reportedly agreed to send help in the troubled zones outside their areas of deployment in the event of emergencies only.

 

Afghans warned to keep safe distance from ISAF vehicles

The 27-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), currently leading the charge of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, is urging the local Afghan population to keep a safe distance from security vehicles. According to a NATO press release, all ISAF vehicles in Afghanistan are being fitted with large red warning signs both in Dari and Pashto that say “Please Keep Back.” According to NATO, the signs have been designed to ensure that there is no misunderstanding between local Afghans and ISAF. Failure to adhere to the sign’s message could result in ISAF troops opening fire. According to NATO, time and conditions permitting, ISAF soldiers will use hand signals, signs and verbal warnings before warning shots are fired.

 

Afghan refugee registration in Pakistan reaches over 525,000

Following a slow start, Afghan refugee registration drive in Pakistan climbed over the half million mark this week. According to the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in the provincial capital of Peshawar in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that as of yesterday (Thursday, November 30), a total of over 525,000 Afghan refugees have registered themselves with Pakistani authorities. She said over 19,000 refugees are being registered daily in over 60 locations across the country. More than half of the people that have registered so far come from NWFP, another 22 percent from Baluchistan province, some 15 percent from Punjab province, 10 percent from Sindh and 1.3 percent registered from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The US$6 million UNHCR-funded campaign is being carried out by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). The campaign, which is aimed at registering an estimated 2.4 million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan, will run through the end of this year. During the campaign, all Afghans in Pakistan will be provided with identity cards, valid for three years, recognizing them as Afghan citizens living in the country temporarily. According to UNHCR, any future return assistance will only be given to Afghans who hold valid ID cards issued on, or after, registration.

 

 

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 has sent 127 tons of food assistance for some 3,515 flood-affected families in Badghis province. (OCHA, Nov. 23) 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 sent 50 tents, 1,000 blankets, 500 plastic sheets, 20 jerry cans and 500 lanterns for flood victims in Badghis. (OCHA, Nov. 23) 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)
Water & Sanitation	UNICEF
Comments	Flash floods triggered by torrential rains killed at least 66 people in Badghis, along the Murghab River, affecting some 3,515 families and causing significant loss to livestock. Some 100 still missing. (OCHA, Nov. 23)

 

 

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	More than 343,000 Afghan refugees have registered so far in the UNHCR-funded campaign aimed at registering an estimated 2.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan. (IRIN, Nov. 20)