PRESS BRIEFING BY THE U.N. OFFICES FOR PAKISTAN AND
AFGHANISTAN ( 10 January 2002)

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing in Kabul by U.N. Spokesperson Ahmad Fawzi (including question and answer session).

** Ahmad Fawzi, Spokesman for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan

Today, Mr. Brahimi continued his meetings with members of the Interim Administration on various topics. I forgot to tell you yesterday that he met with the Foreign Minister Mr. Abdullah Abdullah, and this evening, just as I left to come and see you, he left to go see Chairman of the Interim Authority Hamid Karzai. This is just another in a series of meetings that he is holding with the Chairman of the Interim Administration and members of his Cabinet. There was another meeting today that involved the Minister of Interior, Mr. Qanouni and the Minister of Defense, Mr. Fahim, but I can tell you a bit about that in a minute, but just to go through the meetings from the morning, he met the Charge d’Affaires of Norway, Ambassador Raeder, and he also met the Minister of Communications of the Interim Administration, Engineer Mr. Abdul Rahim.

In the afternoon just after lunch he hosted the first meeting of the Joint Coordination Body (JCB) which combines the Interim Administration and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), so this meeting was hosted by Mr. Brahimi at the UNSMA office, included his Deputy, Mr. Vendrell, included General McColl, Commander of ISAF and his team and included Mr. Qanouni, Minister of the Interior, and the Defense Minister General Fahim.

The purpose of these meetings, and this is the first of what it is going to be a regular occurrence, maybe bi-monthly or as and when necessary, is to follow-up the work of ISAF. As you know security is paramount to the people of Afghanistan, and security does not just mean the end of war, but it means the ability to go about your business safely, in a safe environment, to go to work, to go home, to travel outside your home in the knowledge that your family is safe and will not be harmed.

The security of Kabul is a very important step to the security of the entire country, and that is why there is such an important focus on the security of Kabul and its immediate surroundings, and this, of course, was a major topic discussed at the Joint Coordination
Body this afternoon. There was a briefing by the ISAF Commander on the state of play regarding ISAF and its deployment.

Everyone was very satisfied by the degree of cooperation and liaison between ISAF and the local police and military. The Afghan side briefed the meeting on measures that they were taking to improve security in the capital and also measures they were taking in order to ensure that gradually and systematically illegal arms were being withdrawn from people who should not be carrying them. That was generally the gist of the meeting.

There was also reference to the police and the Afghan side appealed to Mr. Brahimi and the UN to assist in strengthening the Afghan police force which is crucial to the maintenance of security not just in the capital but throughout the country, and Mr. Brahimi promised to take this up with friendly countries around the world. I think that is it for the moment.

The force that ISAF has deployed to date, I thought this figure might interest you, is 784 troops deployed to date from 3 or 4 countries and by the end of February, they hope to have, by the 15 January they hope to have 1,400 troops and then by the end of February a fuller contingent, I do not have the final figure I am afraid, but that will bring the (number of countries participating) to around 14 countries. I think I should let you get more information about ISAF from General McColl but I will be happy to take any questions you have about Mr. Brahimi.

(Question about how effective the police are in performing their duties, and whether they have the numbers and the equipment)

Well I have seen them patrolling the streets, they are pretty determined. Do not go out after curfew I must warn you, they are very well trained and are serious about their duties. I do not have the answer to your question in terms of numbers and equipment, but what I can say is that the appeal that was made today was made because they are performing their duties with the minimum of resources, and they need all the help they can get, in every possible field, area. We are talking clothing, food, equipment, so they are doing the best they can with the minimum of resources.

(Question on whether they have watches “because apparently they cannot tell the difference between 8 o’clock and 10 o’clock”)

You have more information than I do on the question of timekeeping.

(Question about who will have the authority to withdraw weapons, the Afghans or ISAF?)

Interim Administration with the assistance of ISAF, they will be patrolling jointly. If they come across a person carrying an illegal weapon, the Interim Administration’s police force, the Afghans, will request the removal of that weapon and they will be assisted by ISAF if necessary.

(Question about what the definition of police force is)

Well it means an Afghan police force and we are starting with Kabul, and this police force will eventually, all things being well and going to plan, will deploy throughout the country. What we are talking about are two separate entities, the police force and the military.

(Question about definition of illegal weapon)

A weapon being held by a person who does not belong to the military or the police.

(Question about whether the Afghan officials felt they were making progress)

The impression I got from the meeting was that both the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Interior were very serious about their commitment to maintaining law and order in the capital, Kabul. Kabul, they said is the heart of Afghanistan and we must secure Kabul and then move out throughout the country and secure the rest of the country. They seemed confident that they could implement the terms of the Bonn Accord, in fact they were pleased to see that Bonn was unfolding step by step in the sense that there was the transfer of power on the 22 (December), ISAF has begun deployment, there are joint patrols and they were proceeding with the issue of withdrawal of weapons, drawing up plans to make sure they could achieve their goal systematically and regularly. They did not underestimate the problems and difficulties ahead, but they were determined, and I say this emphatically, that they were going to see security maintained in the capital and eventually throughout the country.

(Question about details of the JCB meeting)

They addressed security in Kabul and the country in general, and that is all I can say on that topic at the moment.

(Question about what the biggest security problem facing the Interim Administration was and what was the size of the police force)

Well I do not want to speak on behalf of the Interim Administration, I am glad to say they all have Spokesmen now. There is a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, there is a spokesman for the Chairman of the Interim Administration, but I can tell you from my observation at the meetings that security is a major problem, that they feel confident they can maintain it, that one of the biggest problems of maintaining security is the proliferation of illegal weapons, that there are a lot of people with weapons running around throughout the country and this needs to come under control. I do not know the size of the police force I am sorry, but again that is something I can check for you or you can ask someone in the Ministry of Interior. Did you have a follow-up sir?

(Question on whether back payment of salaries includes the police?

That is a very good question. I am afraid I do not have a very good answer. We are helping, as much as we can, the Interim Administration solve the problem of paying back salaries and that means to the Civil Service. Whether that covers the police I would have to check for you. I will do so and let you know tomorrow.

(Question about whether the ISAF will have authority over the Afghan troops?)

First let me say I am pleased to see you are here (Peter Arnett). I hope it is not an ominous sign (laughter), but we are glad you have joined the Kabul crew. Well no they do not have, let me say this, at the risk of repeating myself, this is an assistance
force, its main objective is to assist the Interim Administration, maintain security in Kabul and the immediate surroundings, to assist the Interim Administration in rebuilding its armed forces, to assist the Interim Administration with its policing duties. In their joint patrols they will be assisting, they will not be taking command. They will be assisting their Afghan friends, and this is a friendly force. They are here to assist our friends get their country going again, and they will do so with as much tact and sensitivity and regard to local customs and traditions as possible. Do you have a follow-up Peter?

(Question about a joint command)

There is a Joint Coordination Body that I have just mentioned. The Commander of ISAF and his counterparts on the Afghan side talk daily to coordinate their activities and their operations.

(Question about whether the collection of weapons has just started)

No it has been going on for some time.

(Question about how long the withdrawal of weapons has been going on and how many they have collected so far?)

No I am afraid not. No so far, as far as I know, the question of withdrawal has been handled by the Afghan authorities. Withdrawal of weapons I am talking about.

(Question about how we know how many weapons there are)

The question about the amount of weapons is based on figures, which have never been confirmed, of the number of troops that have been fighting in Afghanistan in the various factions over the past 20 years. As I said these numbers have never been confirmed, but they are very large and I would rather not get into them because I do not want to be quoted on any numbers.

(Question about statistics on crime in Kabul and has it increased)

No, I do not have any statistics on crime, but again the Interior Ministry should be asked about that. However, if I come across any figures I would be happy to share them with you.

(Question on whether “ISAF stands in the shadows, while the Afghan patrols do the job or does their mandate allow they to disarm people”)

I do not know, I am sorry. It is an important question. They do not stand in the shadows, they walk side by side with their Afghan colleagues. The mandate of ISAF is a Chapter VII mandate, which means they have the authority to use force when necessary, if confronted and threatened, or if they perceive there is a threat. That is as far as I can go in UN terms about the mandate of the force. As I said earlier, the question of who approaches first, my understanding is that it would be the Afghan who does so.

** Jorday Dey, Spokesperson for UN humanitarian activities

A quick word on the security situation in Kandahar. The security conditions in Kandahar are "improving slightly" according to our field assessments. It has been raining slightly which has kept people off the street, so common crime has seen a dip. There have, however, continued to be some shootings in the night. There is also a "disarming" campaign being carried out by local officials, where a large number of small arms have been returned.

Outside the city, the conditions are still fluid. It will take a few days more to get a fuller picture of the situation in the surrounding provinces.

We have the latest details from the UNICEF/WHO measles vaccination drive in the more remote areas of Badakhshan Province, in the Northeast of Afghanistan. Monitors report that immunization teams are going from mosque to mosque, village to village, to vaccinate the children.

The remote nature of these villages, and lack of road access, makes for greater efforts by vaccination teams, who are trekking it for the most part, while storage equipment containing vaccine vials are being carried atop donkeys.

For this reason also, UNICEF expects coverage data to take longer to be reported. This, of course, is part of the overall program in Afghanistan to immunize up to nine million children nationwide, between the ages of six months and 12 years.

This is an endeavor led by Afghan public health authorities in collaboration with the WHO, UNICEF and various health organizations.

The number of Afghans fleeing to Pakistan has considerably increased in recent days. An estimated 7,000 Afghan refugees are now on the edge of UNHCR?s Killi Faizo transit camp just inside Pakistan.

Pakistani border officials say they have instructions not to allow in even the vulnerable refugees. UNHCR is providing high protein biscuits and water.

In the north yesterday afternoon, fighting erupted between two groups in villages adjacent to the Old Bagzai camp in Kurram agency in North West Frontier Province, in which a staff member of an NGO was killed and two others injured in the crossfire.

UNHCR has consistently expressed concern about the security of its staff, the staff of its implementing partners and the refugees in the tribal areas near the Pakistan-Afghan border, where all the new refugee camps are situated, and very much regrets the death of the worker.

The incident has forced UNHCR to temporarily halt the re-location of Afghan refugees in the north of Pakistan. Earlier, a delegation from one of the warring groups had entered the camp and the staff had to call in the local authorities to have them removed.

The fighting occurred about a kilometer away from the camp. Neither the refugees nor the humanitarian workers were the target. All UNHCR staff were safely evacuated to a nearby town. The authorities have intervened and military units have been deployed to separate the two groups. This morning, we understand that a loya jirga (community meeting) was convened to discuss how to resolve the dispute. UNHCR hopes to resume its work as soon as the security situation permits.