PRESS BRIEFING BY THE U.N. OFFICES FOR PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN (04 January 2002)

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. As we have stated previously from this podium, the United Nations has repeatedly called upon Coalition forces to make all efforts to protect civilians in the military campaign. The Secretary-General himself expressed concern in the past, and his Special Representative Mr. Brahimi has now renewed the UN’s concern following an unconfirmed but credible report that the village of Niazi Kala --which is six to seven kilometers north of Gardez City in Paktia Province-- was hit on 29 December by a series of Coalition forces air raids.

The village, with an estimated population of 250 people, was struck a number of times beginning at around 3 a.m. local time. During the bombing, five large “qalas” (fort-like traditional compounds with living quarters inside) were razed. It appears that
all the inhabitants were buried under the rubble.

After the first raid, some of the villagers, estimated at between 10 to 20, and including women and children, ran north of the village to seek protection around a water source. These people were also attacked and there were no survivors.

The second and third attacks targeted the village. They destroyed more houses and killed more people. Among those killed were six villagers from a neighboring village who had come to try to help the injured and the survivors.

Relatives have identified 52 bodies, and/or collected parts of 52 bodies. The dead include 17 men, 10 women, and 25 children. There were three injured people. All of the injured and killed were civilians.

Mr. Brahimi is very concerned and intends to take the first opportunity to discuss this with the Interim Administration, especially with Mr. Karzai, and also with American diplomats at the first available opportunity.

On the refugee side, I think that what Fatou has to tell you today from the refugee perspective confirms that hostilities are far from over and that civilians are the first ones to suffer the consequences.

** Fatoumata Kaba, Spokesperson for UNHCR

The situation at the border in Chaman remains the same with some 3,000 newly arrived Afghans waiting in the no man’s land area between southern Afghanistan and southern Pakistan. Today being Friday, there is no work in Chaman. We hope to resume admission of the families tomorrow, with priority given to the most needy first. These families have been fleeing war, drought or poverty. Sometimes, it is all three.

Deteriorating conditions in eastern Afghanistan is also pushing more Afghans towards Pakistan. In the North West Frontier Province (NFP) area of Pakistan, we have received information from authorities regarding the presence of several thousands of Afghans crowded at the Kurram border area in an attempt to be admitted into Pakistan. The authorities have requested UNHCR to assist them in their current location on the Afghan side of the common border. We have sent staff in the area to assess their numbers and their state of condition. UNHCR would appreciate the generosity of the Pakistan authorities in granting these Afghans temporary asylum if they prove to be genuine asylum seekers.

On the other hand, we are concerned about unconfirmed reports of vulnerable Afghan asylum seekers being turned away from entering Pakistan by the authorities at different crossing points of NWFP. Border security has been considerably reinforced to prevent elements associated with the former Taliban regime from entering Pakistan form eastern Afghanistan. However, we feel that legitimate security concerns should not deter countries from their duties to care for persons fleeing to save their lives.

Unless the situation stabilizes in wider parts of Afghanistan, we are likely to see a continued outflow of Afghans to neighboring countries, a scenario we had began to rule out when the trend of returns began following the change in regime in Afghanistan.

Our office in Iran estimates that in 2001 over 140,000 Afghans repatriated via the Dogharoun border leading to western Afghanistan, with an acceleration in the rate of returns since November when a change of regime began to take shape. The Dogharoun-Islam Qala border linking Iran and Afghanistan is reportedly "crowded with spontaneous returnees." From southern Pakistan, more than 20,000 persons have crossed the border back to Afghanistan since the interim Administration came
to being. Taking into account these movements, UNHCR is fine tuning its repatriation assistance plan for Afghan refugees wishing to go back to their country from Iran and Pakistan starting next spring. UNHCR is expecting one million Afghan refugees to head back home from these two countries in 2002.

** Jordan Dey, Spokesperson for WFP

The citywide food distribution for the poor in Herat begins on Monday. WFP will be helping more than a quarter-million people over a ten-day distribution program.

According to our staff, people in Heart are highly vulnerable now with a great number of widows, beggars and homeless in the streets.

The survey team hired to do the vulnerability assessment in Herat was entirely female. Our partner NGO, World Vision, hired 250 women to do the week-long assessment. Many of these women previously worked as teachers, doctors or staff for humanitarian agencies, while others had not worked in years.

This is the second, large-scale, city-wide food distribution for WFP. The first was in Kabul for 1.3 million people.

In Jalalabad, WFP is pleased to announce that our international staff will be returning to the city this Sunday, pending final security clearances. That means that 5 of WFPs 6 offices in Afghanistan will be up-and-running, including Kabul, Mazar, Herat, Faizabad and Jalalabad.

Our focus in Jalalabad will be on vulnerable women and children – as well as people who have been displaced – many of whom are staying with host families outside of Jalalabad.

Our warehouse, office and equipment are all in good shape in Jalalabad.

** Chulho Hyun, Spokesperson for UNICEF

Good afternoon. The United Nations Children's Fund, in its firm belief that basic education for all children of Afghanistan is as vital a goal as emergency aid in the weeks and months ahead, is working to ensure support for this longer-term recovery effort.

21 March, the official start of the school year, will be a milestone date, in the run-up to which UNICEF and its partners will provide basic educational supplies and learning materials for 1.5 million children. That's the number of young Afghans, about a third in the primary education age group, who we expect will wish to go to school that day.

In the Kabul area this winter, UNICEF is supporting the operation of home-based schools attended by some 40,000 children—mainly girls. Currently, we are also working with six primary schools in and around the capital to conduct minor building repairs, as well as provide heating stoves and classroom materials.

Estimates for Afghanistan's literacy rate put the figure for men at around 40 per cent, and for women at less than 10 per cent, possibly as low as 4 per cent. 20 years of conflict have damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 school buildings. The situation is critical.

Staying in Kabul, for another development, UNICEF is planning to organize a training session in obstetric care for female health staff. This training is slated to begin in early February, for a two-month run, at the Malalai Hospital, one of the city's main maternity hospitals. Senior health experts from different regions of Afghanistan will take part, and they in turn will share what they learn at the regional and provincial levels.

Meanwhile, the return to Afghanitan by international staff members of UNICEF continues. Currently, UNICEF has 11 international staff members working inside Afghanistan. Another six are scheduled to travel to Kabul this weekend, while two are ready to return to Kandahar and two to Jalalabad pending improved security conditions in those regions.

** Einar Holtet, Spokesperson for the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan

A desperate health situation in large areas of Afghanistan and a renewed surge of banditry and armed Taliban activities pose critical challenges right now. Especially from Kandahar I am sorry to say I have bad news.

The security situation is in acute crisis in and around Kandahar, and it is dangerous for aid personnel and others to move in the area. Taliban fighters with Arab and other elements are still in the city and near Kandahar airport. Gunfire and rocket fire are rife.
The atmosphere is tense.

Both local and international personnel are strictly advised to stay at home. Local staff will not go to work in the coming days.

The road from Kandahar to Herat is a high risk route, and also the area south of Ghazni is troublesome. However, an assessment by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, UNOCHA, is that the UN may be able to open for international staff in Jalalabad in the coming weekend.