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Afghanistan Crisis

OCHA (UN), January 7, 2002

OCHA Situation Report No. 35 from 7 January 2002.

1. The Secretary-General's Special Representative Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi met over the weekend with members of the diplomatic community in Kabul and with Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad, the Envoy of the United States President. In a meeting on 4 January with all members of the diplomatic community accredited to the Afghan capital, Mr. Brahimi said the UN's current priorities included the constitution, by 22 January, of the Special Independent Commission tasked with convening the Emergency Loya Jirga. He emphasized that according to the Bonn Agreement there must be "wide consultation" in the country to ensure representation of all areas and ethnic groups. Mr. Brahimi also underscored the urgent need for financial support to help the Afghan Interim Administration meet its many obligations.

2. A formal agreement was signed on 4 January on the deployment of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The Afghan Interior Minister Younis Qanooni and the British General who will lead the force for the first three months, John McColl, signed the agreement at a ceremony in Kabul that was also attended by Mr. Brahimi.

3. Levels of precipitation throughout the country have been extremely low so far which has extended the ability of agencies to access mountainous areas but has made a fourth year of severe drought increasingly likely. This would result in a continuing need for massive emergency food assistance throughout 2002 and potentially in lower numbers of returnees.

4. International staff was able to return to Jalalabad by air yesterday. Security assessment mission have also determined that several areas in northern Afghanistan have stabilized, including Kunduz and Pulikumri in Baghlan province. However, a security assessment to Kandahar concluded last week that the volatile situation in and around the city did not permit the return of international staff for the time being. Armed Taliban and banditry also prevent agencies from accessing many rural areas in the south.

Deliveries and Distribution of Assistance

5. On 31 December, the new Afghan Minister of Public Health inaugurated a country-wide measles immunization campaign that will be conducted in collaboration with UNICEF, WHO and NGO partners. The campaign will aim to vaccinate nine million Afghan children between the ages of six months and 12 years over the next three months. In the first two days of the campaign in Kabul, more than 142,000 children were vaccinated.

6. WFP today started distributing food coupons to about 53,000 families (340,000 people) in Herat. A citywide survey had identified these families as the most needy out of a total population of 430,000 people. More than 2,600 metric tons of wheat will be distributed over the next ten days. Near Herat, WFP distributes 90 metric tons of food per day in the Maslakh IDP camp, its single largest food distribution point in the country.

7. IOM has stepped up distributions of winterized tents and other non-food times to IDPs in Kunduz, Taloqan, Mazar-I-Sharif and Herat. The delivery of 6,500 tents from Iran will help overcome a temporary shortage of tents in Herat. The IOM team in Herat continues to register new families at three checkpoints around the city. UNHCR and IOM are preparing to re-register IDPs in all five camps in Herat, including Maslakh and Shaidayee. Registration in Maslakh will take place once a new camp, Mir Daud, is ready to accept new arrivals.

8. UNHCR has appointed the Danish organization DACAAR (Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees) as lead agency for the distribution of non-food-items to 89,000 IDPs in the provinces of Laghman and Nangahar. Female-headed households, orphans, lone elders and disabled are the primary target groups for the distribution of non-food-items, which is expected to include plastic sheeting, blankets, kitchen sets, water containers and soap. DACAAR will also distribute wheat provided by WFP.

Population Movements

9. The parallel movement of Afghans into and out of the country has continued for several days now. During the weekend, nearly 4,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan via the Chaman border crossing. In Iran, 1,490 Afghans returned home through the Dogharoun-Islam Qala border crossing in western Afghanistan. At the same time, the number of Afghans fleeing to Pakistan in the last few days has increased. Over 3,000 Afghans have camped inside Pakistan to be allowed into the Killi Faizo transit center near the Chaman border post. Families who arrived in Pakistan over the weekend say they fled in search of safety and assistance.

10. Nearly 800 internally displaced families have returned from the Panjshir Valley to the Shomali Plain since 1 January, assisted by UNHCR, IOM and other aid agencies. All families were provided with winter tents on arrival, and they immediately began setting up a mini-camp site in the villages.

This situation report is also available on the OCHA Website http://www.reliefweb.int.

Desk Officer:
New York: Mr. Andrew Cox, direct tel. +1 (212) 963-2735
Geneva: Mr. Ivo Freijsen, direct tel. +41 (22) 917-1695
Press contact:
New York: Mr. Oliver Ulich, direct tel. +1 (212) 963-8263
Geneva: Ms. Elisabeth Byrs, direct tel. +41 (22) 917-2656
Islamabad: Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct tel. +92 51 2211451 ext. 415

This situation report does not necessarily represent the official view of the United Nations.