PRESS BRIEFING BY THE U.N. OFFICES FOR PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN (31 December 2001)

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing at the United Nations Information Centre in Islamabad by the United Nations offices for Pakistan and Afghanistan (excluding question and answer session).

** Eric Falt, Director, UN Information Centre

Good afternoon and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Over the last few days, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi has continued his intensive consultations with a wide range of people, including members of the Interim Administration, intellectuals, politicians and donor
representatives. He is focusing on several issues.

First, he is meeting with members of the Interim Administration and maintaining open channels of communication with them, hearing their concerns and discussing how the United Nations can help them in the complex task that confronts them. As you know, the UN is helping the Interim Administration by providing support for the setting up of necessary offices and
equipment.

Mr. Brahimi is also consulting individuals as part of the process of forming a Special Independent Commission for the establishment of an Emergency Loya Jirga by 22 January, as agreed on in Bonn.

Of all these meetings, I thought I should mention the one Mr. Brahimi had on Friday with Dr. Sima Samar, Vice Chair and Minister for Women’s Affairs. They discussed logistical issues—that is the setting up of the Ministry for Women’s Affairs. The administration had been looking for a building to house the ministry. Dr. Samar acknowledged the serious challenges of her
post and requested the continued support of the UN. She will maintain close contact over the coming weeks.

On the mine action front, the United Nations Mine Action Programme has received a list of 103 cities where cluster bombs were dropped countrywide. Details are still awaited on 25 of these sites. No cluster bombs seem to have been used within the confines of Kabul city proper.

However there are four confirmed cluster bomb sites on the old road north of Kabul. The numbers of unexploded bomblets is less than expected, and Halo Trust, part of the United Nations Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan, is almost finished clearing
these sites.

Last week, the United Nations Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan undertook a short reconnaissance of the village of Denar Kheil, situated 10 kilometres from Kalokhan, towards Bagram airbase. The village was cluster bomb attacked by coalition forces last month and is now heavily contaminated by with unexploded BLU 97 bomblets. With the onset of winter, it will take some time to get to the village to survey it. Given the high risk to the local population, especially children, a UN survey team is being sent to map the exact area of contamination, and following this, a team will undertake surface clearance before it snows.

Mine Action has almost finished clearing Kabul City of new unexploded ordnance, mainly of bombs in the range of 500-2000 pounds. The two at the airport remain, due to lack of equipment. The one on the runway is now believed to be so deeply embedded as to pose no threat. The site has been filled in.

Due to Coalition attacks on ammunition depots, there is still a lot of unexploded ordnance in and around Kabul City that spewed in various directions when the targets were hit. These include multi-launch rocket systems, anti-aircraft missiles, and millions of
rounds of ammunition.

** Jordan Dey, Spokesperson for WFP

WFP is extremely pleased to announce today -on this last day of December- that we have sent an unprecedented amount of food into Afghanistan during the month of December: 114,000 metric tonnes.

This record level - reached against the backdrop of looted warehouses and destroyed offices, ripped up phone lines and trashed computers, stolen trucks, treacherous roads, snowed-in communities, inter-factional fighting, and active militias - will cover the food needs of 6 million Afghans for two months.

Part of this success is due to WFP being able to keep the roads open in the mountainous northeast as well as in the Central Highlands, allowing us to pre-position enough food in the Central Highlands to cover food needs for the near future.

Furthermore, shipping ports in Iran and Pakistan are being fully utilized, commercial trucks are moving on all planned corridors in Afghanistan, trains and barges are moving, and our regional hubs are full of food. In short, the WFP logistical operation is in
full swing.

WFP's efforts in Afghanistan, along with our partner NGOS, currently constitute the largest, most complicated and one of the most dangerous food aid programs ever carried out by WFP in its nearly 40 years of existence.

In Kosovo in 1999, for example, WFP confronted landmines and unexploded ordinances, but a smaller population and a better road system. In Ethiopia in 2000, WFP fed almost as many people, but without the obstacles of snow, mountain passes and icy bridges. In the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, we are feeding a similar number of people who are extremely vulnerable, but the communications and security situation is better than Afghanistan. In Colombia, WFP confronts guerrilla roadblocks and a huge displaced population, but no winter cut-off period for deliveries.

Nevertheless, there are extraordinary challenges that lie ahead. The overall security environment must be improved in Afghanistan; the humanitarian community still needs access to Kandahar. Mines and UXO's still pose a threat to WFP staff and trucks. - Securing visas and permits from neighbouring countries for humanitarian staff, cargo, and equipment must be sped up. In summary, the three-month report card: So far, so good.

** Chulho Hyun, Spokesperson for UNICEF

I wish to reiterate the statement issued in the UN briefing yesterday in Kabul, regarding the inauguration of the countrywide measles immunization campaign.

The campaign, with UNICEF and WHO support, will start in Kabul on New Year’s Day. Over the course of the next three months, it will continue in other areas of the country, reaching children in areas most difficult to access and displaced children. The aim is to reach at least 9 million children.

Measles is the leading cause of childhood vaccine preventable deaths and killed over three-quarters of a million children worldwide in 2000. Since it is very easily spread, epidemics occur especially in places where people live in poverty and in overcrowded conditions. Severe measles cases are especially likely to occur among poorly nourished children.

Despite all efforts, just fewer than 40% of Afghan children get the vaccines they need to help them survive childhood diseases such as measles. Measles immunization campaigns in the past have been hampered by lack of funds, conflict, and shortage of
trained personnel.

Among all vaccine preventable diseases, measles is the largest killer of children in Afghanistan. It is responsible for an estimated 40% or more of all vaccine preventable childhood deaths in the country. Afghanistan is third on the list of the top twenty countries with the highest measles mortality.

The number of children who die from measles in Afghanistan is estimated at 35,000 per year. This number could be higher this year due to poverty, lack of health services and poor nutrition.

Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, high displacement levels, extreme poverty, cold, prolonged malnutrition, Afghan children are more at risk this year than ever before. The sooner they can be vaccinated against this disease, the better. This eight million dollar campaign will give millions of Afghan children a chance to survive their childhoods.

I would also like to introduce Tony Naleo, UNICEF Child Health Officer, who will be able to answer technical or other types of questions you may have about the campaign.

** Fatoumata Kaba, Spokesperson for UNHCR

Relocation in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has gained pace with today’s transfer of some 1,400 individuals from the makeshift Jalozai camp to Kotkai and Old Bagzai, respectively in Bajaur and Kurram Agencies. Today’s transfers represent the single largest number of refugees transported in a single day since the start of the relocation exercise on 19 November. The convoy to Kotkai transported 148 families of 1,000 individuals, while the convoy to Old Bagzai carried the other 72 families of some 400 individuals. Starting Wednesday, we will increase the relocation rate to 2,000 refugees each day in order to meet our target of 10,000 transfers by week.

At the Chaman border linking the southern regions of both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the numbers of returns have curbed down after December 27th when 3,800 persons had crossed back into Afghanistan. On the 28th, the number went down to 1,500, the following day it rose to 3,000 and was down again yesterday to 2,500. For the moment we do not have an explanation on why less persons are returning after an upsurge in the spontaneous repatriation movement that followed the installation of the new Interim Administration in Kabul.

Throughout Pakistan, there is growing demand for repatriation assistance from both old refugees and most recent arrivals. Urban refugees originating from cities such as Kabul, Jalalabad and Mazar and ethnic minorities in Jalozai daily approach the emergency
teams on the question of voluntary repatriation.

Afghans with professional qualifications (doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers and the business community) seem the most keen to return now. Several thousands of urban refugees in Quetta are also saying that they want assistance to go back to Afghanistan.

Our office in Kabul reported over the weekend that some refugee leaders from Jalozai camp in Pakistan, near Peshawar, reached Kabul where they sought UNHCR assistance. Although they were representing refugees from different parts of Afghanistan, mainly from the north, the leaders requested assistance to return to Kabul as they claimed that only 10% of their places of
origin were safe for returns. UNHCR will assist the needs of spontaneous returns upon arrival in Afghanistan, but cannot facilitate returns to areas outside their original homes.

UNHCR is scheduled to start this afternoon the return of displaced families from the Panjshir Valley to their homes in the Bagram district, in the Shomali Plain. Some 200 families (1,000 persons) are expected to be on today’s convoy. This is the start of what we hope would be a daily assisted return to the Shomali Plain and humanitarian aid agencies’ collective efforts to help rebuild Afghan communities. An estimated 200,000 villagers have fled the fighting in Shomali Plain between 1998 and 2000.

In a related development UNHCR staff reached Bamyan on Thursday to set up a new office to address the needs of displaced people in the central provinces of Afghanistan.

In our continued effort to care for the internally displaced, UNHCR currently has 20 international staff and 90 Afghan staff in Kabul, Herat, Mazar and Bamyan. In Pakistan, four international staffs are on standby in Peshawar to enter Jalalabad, while five others are waiting to go to Kandahar from Quetta. Both groups will leave Pakistan as soon as the UN security mission gives its clearance.