May 22, 2009

Overview

President Karzai to attend trilateral meeting in Tehran

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is due to arrive in Iran’s capital, Tehran, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is hosting a trilateral meeting.  Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari will also attend the meeting that will deliberate on socio-economic developments and reconstruction in Afghanistan in addition to forging closer cooperation in trade and communication among the three countries.  Fada Hossein Maleki, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Iran, told Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency on Friday (May 22) that the meeting will be the second of its kind in less than two months, adding that issues such as cultural cooperation, economic and regional cooperation, security and political situations will be the topics for discussion.  Maleki said on Monday (May 25), Iran and Afghanistan will also hold bilateral talks on the side.  Sources at the Pakistan embassy said President Zardari will also hold bilateral talks with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on bilateral relations, economic issues, border security and gas pipeline agreement.

New US ambassador to Afghanistan vows to limit civilian casualties

New US ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry says the US will not spare any effort to minimize civilian casualties in Afghanistan.  Speaking before a gathering of more than 1,000 people on Tuesday (May 19) at a mosque in western Farah province, where dozens of civilians were killed during an operation aimed at Taliban militants in Bala Baluk district on May 4, Eikenberry said, “I assure the people of Afghanistan that the United States will work tirelessly with your government, army, and police to find ways to reduce the price paid by civilians and avoid tragedies like what occurred in Bala Baluk.”  On Monday (May 18), US Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “We cannot succeed … in Afghanistan by killing civilians.”  There is a growing realization among international forces in Afghanistan that mounting civilian casualties in airstrikes are undermining the Afghan government and alienating the Afghan public.

UN calls for safe passage to bombed village in Farah

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is calling for safe passage to a village in Bala Baluk district in western Farah province, where earlier this month (May 4) more than 140 civilians were allegedly killed in US-led coalition airstrikes. Two trucks of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) carrying humanitarian supplies for some 1,500 people were stopped outside Bala Baluk amid security concerns. Nilab Mubarez, a spokeswoman for UNAMA, said, "UNAMA calls on all parties to ensure safe passage for the convoy," the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported. It remains unclear if the Taliban had impeded the convoy's entry into the area. Aleem Siddique, another spokesman for UNAMA, said, "Tensions are high in the area and we are trying to alleviate them."

UN mission to open more offices across Afghanistan

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is set to increase its presence across the country in the coming months.  With its most recent office opening in the northern province of Sar-i-Pul, UNAMA aims to develop better field coordination and monitoring and support between all UN agencies.  The office at Sar-i-Pul is the 20^th UNAMA office to open in Afghanistan.  UNAMA hopes to open offices in the central province of Ghazni, southern Helmand province and western Farah province by March 2010.  Kai Eide, the UN’s Special Representative for Afghanistan said, “We try to reach people who are suffering most, through UNAMA and relative agencies of the UN family.  We would also serve as a magnet for other agencies and programs.”  He said, “We should be everywhere to coordinate the humanitarian tasks.  We should be everywhere to help promoting human rights.  We should also help strengthening the local government.  Our issue is also to outreach all parts of Afghan society.  It is an important part of the peace process.”  UNAMA presently has 20 offices located in Balkh, Kunduz, Herat, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Bamiyan, Kabul, Baghlan, Paktia, Ghor, Kunar, Khost, Nimroz, Badghis, Faryab, Badakhshan, Daikundi, Sar-i-Pul and Zabul.  Two other offices are located in Tehran (Iran) and Islamabad ( Pakistan).
Movement

2008: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) held a press conference in Kabul on Monday (December-15). Nilab Mobarez from the UNAMA Spokesperson’s Office reported that the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and UNHCR just published the first national IDP profiling report. Findings of the report include that the various conflicts and natural disasters in Afghanistan in the last decade have uprooted about 1.2 million people. Currently, about 235,000 people are estimated to be displaced within Afghanistan. According to the report, aid agencies and the Afghan government must focus on local integration to help bring long-term displacement to an end. (UNAMA, December-15)

According to UNHCR, fewer Afghan refugees are returning home, while more people are leaving the country for better jobs and security, a trend that may increase regional tension. More than 5 million of 8 million Afghan refugees have returned home since 2002, but the number of those returning is falling, according to UNHCR. Amid pressure from Iran and Pakistan to send home millions of refugees, representatives from UNHCR, about 30 countries and international organizations met in Kabul in mid-November to mobilize support for the sustained return and reintegration of the refugees. (AFP, BBC, Nov-19)

UNHCR said in the first week of October that some 251,800 registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran had returned to their homes so far in 2008. Most of those repatriated (248,951) under the UN-assisted voluntary repatriation campaign came from Pakistan, while Iran accounted for 2,929 returns. (UNHCR, Oct-7)

Some 2,800 Pakistani families crossed the border into northeastern Afghanistan over the past two months to escape fighting between militants and Pakistani security forces in Bajur region.  Most of the people are reportedly in Kunar province.  (AFP, Sept-19)

UNHCR is asking Pakistan to revise its Afghan refugee repatriation plan, as the current plan to repatriate some 2.4 million refugees by the end of next year (2009) is “unworkable” due to persistent insecurity and lack of economic opportunities.  (BBC, Apr-18).

2007: UNHCR temporarily suspends the Afghan voluntary repatriation campaign in Pakistan until March 2008 due to seasonal slowdown.  (IRIN, Nov-2).  Pakistan has reportedly extended the deadline to close Jalozai camp until March 2008.  (IRIN, Sep-4).  The UNHCR has asked Pakistan to temporarily suspend closure of Jalozai refugee camp in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that was originally scheduled to be closed on August 31.  UNHCR said due to the fast approaching Muslim holy month of Ramadan and winter season, conditions were not conducive for the return of some 100,000 camp residents.  UNHCR said any forceful return of these refugees could lead to secondary displacement. 

Pakistan is to close all Afghan refugee camps by December 2009 and to repatriate all refugees living in the country.  UNHCR says it has repatriated over 306,000 Afghan refugees from Pakistan so far this year under its voluntary repatriation campaign.  (UNHCR, Aug-10)

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.

Iran deported some 85,000 unregistered refugees to Afghanistan during April 21 - May 14, 2007.  Iranian officials say they plan to initially send back 500,000 of over a million illegal refugees in the country.  Earlier this week, Iran said it has reached an agreement with the Afghan government to slow down the pace of expulsions for illegal Afghans living in the country. 

Some 200,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan have returned to their homes under the UN-assisted voluntary Afghan refugee repatriation program since it resumed on March 1, 2007, following a seasonal winter suspension.  Pakistani authorities said voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan that are without proof of registration (PoR) ended in April, and refugees remaining in the country without PoR are now considered illegal and subject to government action.  Repatriation campaign for Afghan refugees with PoR.

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 closed 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 percent of returnees from Pakistan were from cities and 30 percent from camps. Over a third returned to Kabul, another 10 percent went to other central provinces, and just over 20 percent returned to each of the north and east.  The Southern region received 6 percent and the Western region 4 percent. 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 percent were from urban areas; only 3 percent were from new camps.  265,000 refugees were assisted in returning from Iran; and 10,000 refugees from the central Asian republics. 

Afghanistan Relief Efforts:  United Nations Coordination Regions

Central Region

Location	Central Region
Coordination
Population
IDP Movement	No New Information
Food	There have been at least six attacks on World Food Program (WFP) food convoys in 2008, and WFP has temporarily suspended food delivery to Daikundi province.(IRIN, May-28)
Health	No New Information
NFIs -Shelter	No New Information IOM, UNICEF, UNOCHA, & OXFAM
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Security	US-led coalition forces killed seven Taliban insurgents in an airstrike that followed a gun battle in the central province of Ghazni on Wednesday (May 20).  (AFP, May-21) US and Afghan forces detained one insurgent in Baraki Barak district in Logar province on Friday (May 15). (Reuters, May-15) Four Taliban insurgents were killed on Monday (May 11) in Ghazni province when they ambushed an office of a construction firm. (Reuters, May-12) A child was killed and two others wounded in central Maidan Wardak province on Monday when a mortar hit a house. (Reuters, May-12) Three employees of a construction firm were killed in Zabul on Sunday (May 10) in a roadside bomb attack. (Reuters, May 10) A roadside bomb on Saturday (May 9) killed three Afghan soldiers in Zabul. (Reuters, May-10)
Comments	Avalanches in Daykundi province killed one woman and three children during the first week of April.  (IRIN, Apr-2)

East Central Region

Location	East Central Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population
IDP Movement	The Afghan Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) agreed to work together towards creating sustainable livelihoods for 2,000 recent Afghan returnees from neighboring countries. About 640,000 Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan this year. (IOM, Dec-16)
Food	The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on December 9 that increasing attacks on food convoys by insurgents are leading to a food crisis. The attacks force convoys to take longer routes, thus increasing the cost of transportation and the food itself. Most food prices are already far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Aid agencies fear that the food crisis could exacerbate child malnutrition throughout the country. (UNICEF, Dec-9)
Health	No New Information UNICEF, CARITAS, MSF, IFRC, IRC, ICRC
Non-Food Items - Shelter	No New Information UNHCR, ACTED, MSF, IRC, ICRC, IOM
Security	Two Americans, including a soldier, were killed in a roadside bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul on Wednesday (May 20).  (Reuters, May-20)
Water & Sanitation	An agreement has been signed between the UNHCR and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to provide safe drinking water for Afghan returnees from Pakistan and Iran, as well as IDPs.  (UNHCR, Sep. 24) ICRC
Comments	NATO entered talks with Afghanistan’s northern neighbors to allow the shipment of more supplies through those countries. The move comes as Taliban attacks on NATO supply lines through Pakistan increase and the local transport association suspended any convoys to Afghanistan beginning December-15. At least 75 percent of supplies to foreign troops travels through Pakistan. (BBC, Dec-15)

Eastern Region

Location	Eastern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, International Islamic Relief Organization;
Population
IDP Movement	UNHCR
Food	NATO-led ISAF PRT transported water pipes for a nearly seven-mile-long planned water supply project in Baghlan province.  (NATO, Aug-23) IRC
Health	No New Information
Non-Food Items - Shelter	No New Information CWS, UNICEF
Security	Two US soldiers from NATO-led forces were killed in a clash in eastern Afghanistan on Friday (May 15). (Reuters, May-15) A suicide car bomb attack outside Camp Salerno - a US base - in Khost province on Wednesday (May 13) killed at least seven Afghan civilians and wounded 21 others. (AFP May-13) Eleven Taliban insurgents were killed in Wednesday night fighting with Afghan and NATO-led forces in Paktika province. Ground forces called in air strikes after insurgents attacked a police post. (ABC, AP, May-14) On Sunday (May 10), eight Afghan construction workers were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in eastern Nangarhar province. (Reuters, May-10) Taliban insurgents killed two Afghan policemen in an ambush in Paktia on Sunday. (Reuters, May-10) Afghan forces backed by close air support killed 20 Taliban militants in a clash in Paktia province on Saturday (May 9). Four policemen were also wounded in the clash. (TOI, May-10) US-led forces killed one militant in an overnight operation in Paktika on Saturday. (Reuters, May-10) Afghan policemen killed seven Taliban militants and wounded one during an operation on the night of May 8 in Ahmad Khail district in Paktia.  (Reuters, May-9)
Water & Sanitation	CARITAS; ICRC, UNICEF
Comments	As many as 40 people were killed in two earthquakes that struck Nangarhar province early Friday (April 17) morning.  More than 60 people were wounded and over 200 houses damaged, according to preliminary reports.  (VOA, Reuters, AFP, Apr-17)

Northeastern Region

Location	Northeastern Region
Coordination
Population
Movement IDPs	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast
Food	No New Information
Health	Afghan officials and the medical team assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Panjshir province coordinated with local leaders in two districts to augment health care to 563 people. (GoUSA, Oct. 23) WHO, Merlin, UNICEF, MSF; ICRC
Non-Food Items (NFIs) -Shelter	UNICEF, ACTED, Refugees Int’l, Mercy Corps
Security
Water & Sanitation	No New Information
Comments	The Mine Detection Center (MDC), an Afghan NGO, has cleared 1 million square meters of landmines in Afghanistan’s northeastern region since January. According to UNAMA, 165 people have been killed and more than 1100 people have been injured in mine accidents in the four northeastern provinces of Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan. (UNAMA, Oct-21)

Northern Region

Location	Northern Region
Coordination	UNHCR, IOM
Population	9,000 active IDPs in North and Northeast; 60,000 IDPs from North elsewhere in country.
Movement IDPs	No New Information IOM
Food	No New Information
Health	No New Information MSF, ICRC, UNICEF
NFIs –Shelter	No New Information IOM, ACTED, Mercy Corps
Security	Police killed four militants in a clash in Faryab province on Monday (May 11). (Reuters, May-12)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF, ICRC, DACAAR
Comments	The European Commission’s Humanitarian aid Office and the NGO ActionAid launched a cash for work program in northern Afghanistan on October 22 aimed at providing about 5,000 families with enough food to cover half of their daily requirements through the winter. The program is active in 40 villages in Jawzjan Province’s Darzab and Qushtepa districts, and in Balkh province’s Dawlatabad and Kaldar districts. (ActionAid, Oct-22)

Southern Region

Location	Southern Region
Coordination	UNHCR
Population
Movement of IDPs	Intense military operations against Afghan insurgents in southern Helmand province, especially in Musa Qala district, have caused hundreds of families to flee their homes to neighboring districts and the provincial capital, Lashkargah. (IRIN, Dec-6)
Food	No New Information UNICEF; Mercy Corps; CARITAS; WFP
Health	NATO reported on December-14 that hundreds of people received medical care and humanitarian assistance in Zabul province. Members of the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the Afghan Army and coalition forces participated in the operation. (NATO, Dec-14) Members of the Zabul PRT and of the Kentucky Army National Guard delivered four pre-fabricated medical containers to the Atgar district center. The delivery will help to improve the health care capacity in the province that has only one health care provider so far. (NATO, Dec-6)
NFIs - Shelter	No New Information UNHCR, Mercy Corps
Security	Afghan and coalition forces killed two Taliban militants and detained six others in Nad Ali district in Helmand province on Thursday (May 21).  (AFP, May-21) Five Afghan policemen were wounded in a roadside bomb blast on Wednesday (May 20) in Zabul province.  (Reuters, May-20) Four Afghan policemen, including a district police chief, were killed overnight in a roadside bomb attack in southern Zabul province on Wednesday.  (Reuters, May-20) Eight civilians were killed in a NATO-led airstrike in Nawa district in southern Helmand province on Tuesday (May 19).  (Reuters, May-20)
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on December-13, that Britain will help Afghanistan with upcoming elections and has also offered to set up a task force to fight corruption. Britain plans to give Afghanistan US$10 million to register voters for next year’s elections. (CNN, Dec-15) On December-19 Tooryalai Wesa, an Afghan-Canadian academic, accepted the post of governor in the volatile southern province of Kandahar. He will be officially sworn in on December-20. (AP, Dec-19)

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	No New Information
Food	No New Information WFP
Health	No New Information UNICEF, MSF
NFIs – Shelter	No New Information
Security	No New Information
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	Support for Spin Boldak camps terminated in 2004.

Western Region

Location	Western Region
Coordination	UNHCR; ICMC
Population	No New Information
Movement IDPs	12,000 IDPs, mostly in Maslakh camp IOM
Food	No New Information IRC, CARITAS, UNICEF, World Vision, IOM, Action Contre la Faim; WFP
Health	At least three people were killed in an outbreak of highly contagious Viral Hemorrhagic Fever in Herat city that was first reported on August 25, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Officials confirmed 10 suspected cases as of August 27 and said most of the infected were butchers, shepherds or others involved with animals. The patients were put in quarantine. (IRIN, Aug-27)
Non-Food Items (NFIs) – Shelter	No New Information
Security
Water & Sanitation	No New Information UNICEF
Comments	The International Organization for Migration (IOM) inaugurated an upgraded Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) radio station and a media center in Qal-i-Naw district in the province of Badghis. IOM installed an AM transmitter and studio, with funding from the Spanish government. The new equipment has allowed the station to broadcast to every district in the province. (IOM, Oct. 24)

Refugee Camps in Pakistan

Location	Long-term camps in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), NWFP, Baluchistan Province, and by capital, Islamabad; Mohamed Kheil 1 & 2 camps (85 km southwest of Quetta)
Type	Refugee Camps
Coordination	Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR on August 2 extended the tripartite agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans from Pakistan through December 2009. The agreement provides a legal and operational framework for the process. To date, more than 3 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation program since 2002. This year, more than 300,000 Afghans have returned. (UNHCR, GOP, Aug-2)
Camp Capacity	About one million mostly long term Afghans in 74 camps—down from about 200 camps.
Population	2.05 million registered Afghans remaining in Pakistan; 63 camps in NWFP, 12 in Baluchistan; and one million elsewhere; Many occupants are long-term residents or were born in Pakistan; (UNHCR, Aug-2) Jungle Pir Alizai (Balochistan): 36,000, originally scheduled to close June 15. Kacha Gari (NWFP): original population of 64,811, officially closed July 26 – 37,000 repatriated. (UNHCR, July-27) Jalozai (NWFP): 109,934, originally scheduled to close August 31.  UNHCR on August 22 requested Pakistan to temporarily suspend the camp’s closure due to insufficient time for some 100,000 people to move and settle into new places in the face of the fast approaching Ramadan and winter season. (UNHCR, Aug-22)  The deadline was extended to April 15 due to the impending winter. According to IRIN, at least 352 have left Jalozai so far in March.  (IRIN, Mar-20) Girdi Jungle (Balochistan): 17,844, scheduled to close August 31. (IRIN, June-14)
Refugee Movement	No New Information
Food	No New Information WFP, CRS, ARC
Health	No New Information UNICEF, MSF
Non-Food Items (NFIs) - Shelter	No New Information CRS
Security	No New Information
Water & Sanitation	No New Information IFRC, MDM
Comments	No New Information