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The following fact sheet was issued April 5
in Washington, D.C. by USAID
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA) OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA) CENTRAL ASIA TASK FORCE CENTRAL ASIA REGION - Complex Emergency Situation Report #27, Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 April 5, 2002
International relief agencies, with support from the United States (U.S.), have long been active in providing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, even during the restrictive years of the Taliban. On October 7, 2001, a Coalition-led military campaign against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces began, and by December 2001, the Taliban had collapsed. The new Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) was sworn in on December 22, 2001, increasing humanitarian access to the country and beginning the process of reconstruction. Tens of thousands of refugee and internally displaced families have started to return to their homes to assist in the rebuilding. The U.S. Agency for International Development's Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART), which began its emergency coordination work in response to the regional drought in June 2001, continues to assess the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Afghans, and to monitor the relief programs of its implementing partners. Afghanistan: Numbers at a Glance Internally Displaced Returns Since January 1, 2002 (IOM)
CURRENT SITUATION Political/Military. On April 2, the Special Independent Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga announced that the Loya Jirga will meet June 10-16 to choose a transitional government. The former king Zahir Shah is expected to return from exile on Apri1 16 to call the assembly into session. According to the Commission, 1,051 of the 1,450 Loya Jirga members will be elected to the body. The remaining seats have been allocated to other groups, including: 53 seats for the current government; 100 seats for Afghan refugees; six seats for Afghan internally displaced persons (IDPs); and 25 seats for Afghan nomads. A minimum of 160 seats have been guaranteed to women members. Candidates for the Loya Jirga cannot have links with terrorism, drug-smuggling, war crimes, or the murdering of innocent people. The new transitional government chosen by the Loya Jirga will take over from the AIA on June 22 and will govern for 18 months, until elections are held. According to news reports, Turkey has agreed in principle to assume leadership of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), currently under the command of Britain. Major General Akin Zorlu led a Turkish military delegation to Kabul on April 4 to begin preparations for the transfer of control. Turkey, which currently has 267 troops in Afghanistan, is expected to boost its forces by 1,000 before taking over ISAF command in May. On April 3, the first 600 soldiers of a new Afghan National Guard, trained for six weeks by ISAF forces, graduated in a ceremony attended by AIA Chairman Hamid Karzai on the outskirts of Kabul. The first soldiers will serve initially as part of Karzai's presidential guard, but the troops will report to Defense Minister Mohammad Fahimy. The 30 officers chosen to command the First Battalion were selected from each of Afghanistan's 30 provinces. On April 3, at a meeting of potential donors in Geneva, Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah presented the AIA's plan for the country's security needs. The plan envisages an army of 60,000, an air force of 8,000, 12,000 border guards, and a police force of 70,000. Donors agreed to each lead in one sector, with the U.S. agreeing to lead on military training, Germany to lead on police training, the United Kingdom to lead on counter-narcotics, Italy to lead on judicial and legal reforms, and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to lead on the demobilization of 70,000 former combatants. Security. On April 4, Afghan security officials reported the
arrest of hundreds of people who were allegedly planning to plant
bombs in Kabul as part of a campaign to destabilize the AIA and
former king Zahir Shah. Afghan officials linked the bombing plot
to warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a Pashtun opponent to the AIA
whose current whereabouts are unknown. On April 5, the AIA reported
that approximately half of those arrested have been released.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Government on April 3, a coalition of U.S. humanitarian aid organizations expressed their concern that relief workers were being put at increased risk because many U.S. military personnel, dressed in civilian clothes as they also provide relief services, are blurring the lines between civilian and military aid workers. On April 2, the U.N. warned expatriate staff in the Chaman border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan of the security risk posed by a possible plan to kidnap international staff. In response, the U.N. introduced increased security measures. On April 1 in Chaman, a grenade attack during an attempted robbery of locals by two unidentified suspects on motorcycles killed two people and injured 35 others. According to wire reports, on April 1, ISAF launched an intense police operation against suspected Northern Alliance soldiers in Kabul who have not been paid and may therefore have been attacking local residents and robbing them. In a bid to stamp out a surge in these armed robberies over the past two weeks, ISAF has significantly increased its presence in those suburbs that have been struck repeatedly. Last week, gunmen killed two people in the area while attempting to abduct a young woman. On April 1, a British military spokesman reported two recent shooting incidents in Kabul targeting ISAF peacekeepers. A convoy of British soldiers was fired upon on March 30. On March 29, an armored patrol of German peacekeepers was fired upon. No one was injured in either incident. Flood. On April 5, UNOCHA reported that flash floods caused by heavy rains in the northwestern Faryab Province killed at least 39 people, destroyed 323 homes, and affected 843 families (4,215 people). More than 2,000 animals were killed, and hundreds of acres of land, canals, and bridges were damaged in the Deh Miran area. Other areas affected included Qal'a-i-Turdi and Ghulbia, north and east of the city of Bilchiragh. Rain was continuing in the Faryab capital of Maimana, and the river there had burst its banks. UNOCHA reported that assessment teams working from the provincial capital were trying to reach the area, but that bad weather and road conditions hamper both land and air access. According to press reports, a flash flood on March 29 damaged homes and destroyed food stocks in Yulmarab village near the town of Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh Province. Local officials reported that 24 homes were badly flooded. No injuries were reported. Earthquake. On March 25, at 7:26 pm local time, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck Nahrin Distrcit, Baghlan Province in northeastern Afghanistan, approximately 100 miles north of Kabul. Organizations operating under existing USAID grants redirected assistance to help meet the emergency food, water, and shelter needs of the estimated 14,000 familes (70,000 people) affected by the earthquake. UNOCHA reported on April 1 that the focus of response was now shifting from emergency relief to reconstruction. According to UNAMA, on April 2, Afghan and aid officials jointly assessed three remote and difficult-to-access areas in Nahrin District where the needs of quake-affected villagers were identified. The three areas were Jelgah Valley, southeast of Nahrin City; Kogadai Bala, west of Nahrin; and Sugaan Valley, southwest of Nahrin. Some 1,400 additional families (7,000 people) were found to be in need of assistance and are being provided tents, blankets, and clothing, while 900 of these families (4,000 people) are receiving food aid. Food Aid and Logistics. Since October 2001, WFP, with support from USAID, has delivered 376,657 MT of food into Afghanistan, of which 309,797 MT has been distributed throughout the country, assisting some 6.6 million food-insecure Afghans. WFP has allocated 3,700 MT of wheat and 500 MT of vegetable oil as take-home rations for 32,000 school children, including 13,000 girls, in Badakshan Province who are participating in the food-for-education program. In Kabul, the Deputy Minister for Education launched the food-for-education program on March 30. WFP is planning an assessment in Chal, Ishkamish, and Arkhar districts in Takhar Province in response to reports of a large returnee population and a deteriorating food security situation. WFP reports a survey carried out in Sarkhurd, Chaprihar, Dehevala, Khogiani, and Rodat districts in Nangarhar Province from March 22-27 indicates that 46 percent of the population requires food assistance to meet its minimum needs for the next three months. WFP reported that two landslides temporarily blocked the road between Faizabad, Badakhshan Province and Rustaq, Takhar Province, and that more landslides are expected due to rain. IDPs and Refugees. UNHCR, the AIA, and the NGO community are preparing for the anticipated return home this summer of up to 1.2 million Afghan refugees and IDPs (approximately 400,000 refugees from Pakistan, 400,000 refugees from Iran, and 400,000 IDPs in Afghanistan). According to UNHCR, the Takhtabaig Voluntary Repatriation Center near Peshawar in Pakistan, which began operations March 1, has facilitated the return of more than 184,000 Afghan refugees to their communities of origin. The center is now processing an average of 14,000 returnees a day. On April 3, UNHCR began using mobile teams in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi to register voluntary repatriation applicants. On April 4, the first convoy of more than 250 Afghan refugees left Karachi by bus to return families to their homes around the Panjshir and Kunduz areas of northern Afghanistan. On April 5, another convoy of 550 refugees started home. The refugees were recent arrivals, and had been based at Kuchi camp, about 18 miles east of Karachi. More refugees from the camp, which currently accommodates several thousand Afghans, will follow over the next few days. In Balochistan Province, Pakistan, UNHCR mobile teams are registering Afghan returnee applicants in camps and in the city of Quetta. On April 4, an estimated 1,000 Afghans were registered and departed for home immediately through the Chaman border crossing. The first voluntary repatriation center in Balochistan is scheduled to open on April 8 in Balali, on the road from Quetta to the border. On April 9, UNHCR expects to begin the voluntary assisted repatriation process from Iran. Registration centers have already been set-up in Teheran and elsewhere throughout the country. On April 3, UNHCR, the AIA, and the Government of Iran signed a refugee repatriation agreement in Geneva which lays down the main legal and operational framework for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees in Iran. The Tripartite Agreement, among other issues, formalizes UNHCR's role in monitoring that all returns are voluntary, guarantees UNHCR's free access to refugees and returnees on both sides of the border, stresses the importance of refugees being fully informed of conditions in their home areas before they leave Iran, allows refugees to take home all their belongings and savings, allows spouses and children of Afghan refugees who are not themselves Afghan citizens to legally enter the country with their families, and lays down the AIA's responsibility to ensure that returnees are not discriminated against, harassed, or persecuted upon return home. The AIA also undertakes to facilitate the recovery of lost land or property, and to recognize the legal status of the refugees, including births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and educational and professional qualifications earned in Iran. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) continues to assist with voluntary IDP returns across Afghanistan. On April 2, IOM transported 300 families from the camps in Mazar-e-Sharif to their villages in Dar-e-Suf, Samangan Province. On April 1, IOM assisted 318 families from the Maslakh Camp near Herat to return to their villages in both Herat and Badghis provinces, bringing the total number of IOM-assisted returns from that camp to 7,145 IDPs. From March 6-31, IOM and UNHCR helped 11,229 IDPs in Kabul return to the Shomali Plain. In all cases, returning families were provided with reintegration assistance, including food, seeds, blankets, tents, and tools. According to UNHCR, the number of Afghans waiting at the Chaman border crossing outside the Killi Faizo transit camp grew from 30,000 to 40,000 over the past week. UNHCR is meeting with elders of the group to discuss options for those interested in returning to their home areas. A third of the waiting Afghans had indicated they would be willing to stay in Afghanistan with additional assistance, while the rest of the group, which includes Kuchi nomads and ethnic Pashtuns, cited drought and ethnic persecution as reasons for wanting to leave Afghanistan. WFP has begun a one-time food distribution of a 15-day food ration to 7,000 families, and the Government of Pakistan will assist the remaining families with donations of rice. Health. Data collection for the joint UNICEF and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Nutrition and Mortality Survey, supported by USAID/OFDA, continues in Badghis Province in the west. The survey will eventually be conducted countrywide. Maslakh IDP camp in Herat province will be surveyed beginning on April 5, while Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad will follow at the end of April. UNICEF reports that to date it has sent one million Vitamin C tablets to Ghor Province in western Afghanistan in response to an outbreak of scurvy. Another seven million tablets are in the pipeline. Approximately eight million tablets are needed to provide a four-week treatment course for 260,000 people, 20 percent of whom are children. The NGO Action Contre La Faim is implementing the activity. UNICEF has also provided high protein biscuits to the affected population in Ghor Province. USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE Background. On October 4, 2001, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina B. Rocca redeclared a complex humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan for FY 2002. To date, FY 2001 and FY 2002 USG humanitarian assistance for Afghans is provided by USAID/OFDA, Food for Peace (USAID/FFP), Democracy & Governance (USAID/DG), Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM), Department of State's Humanitarian Demining Program (State/HDP), the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The assistance is for displaced persons inside Afghanistan and Afghan refugees in neighboring countries. On March 26, 2002, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Robert P. Finn issued a disaster declaration due to the earthquake in Baghlan Province. USAID/OFDA responded by providing an additional $25,000 in Disaster Assistance Authority to ACTED, one of many USAID-funded grantees who are providing humanitarian assistance to the affected population. In Tajikistan, on October 10, 2001, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires James A. Boughner declared a disaster due to drought, and requested funds for a seed and fertilizer distribution program. USAID/OFDA responded by providing $998,180 through the U.S. Embassy to Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE) for the purchase and distribution of winter wheat seeds and fertilizer. USAID/OFDA ASSISTANCE Personnel. USAID/OFDA currently has one Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) based in Kabul to assess humanitarian activities and logistical capacity in the region. USAID/DART members coordinate with the humanitarian relief community and assess the humanitarian situation. OTHER USG ASSISTANCE New Actions. State/PRM contributions announced on April 2: $20 million to UNHCR in support of its programs for repatriation, reintegration, and initial reconstruction on behalf of returning Afghan refugees; $1.5 million to WFP in support of its provision of food assistance to returning refugees and other vulnerable persons, as well as for full-cost recovery of its operations; $1 million to IOM in support of winterized shelter and assistance for IDPs and vulnerable persons, as well as for logistics and transportation support for IDPs and refugees; $1 million to WHO in support of its programs to provide basic health care for returning refugees and IDPs, including immunizations, rebuilding of health clinics, and providing medical supplies; $1 million to UNOCHA in support of its coordination activities, including maintaining a secure communications network for assistance agencies and providing security and IT management; $500,000 to the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) in support of their effort to develop and maintain an information management system for humanitarian organizations and donors; $515,304 to the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) in support of a project to identify and coordinate social service delivery to vulnerable Afghans in Peshawar and Quetta, Pakistan; $376,781 to Mercy Corps in support of its health and capacity building project for vulnerable Afgans in Quetta, Pakistan.
USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL ASIA USG AGENCY IMPLEMENTING PARTNER ACTIVITY REGION AMOUNT
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