TALKING POINTS

Update on the Earthquake
While tremors are continuing in the area of Nahrin, they are lessening and there are no new reports of additional damage. Moreover, continued assessments to the outlying areas have not reveals any further needs.

Despite nearly 24 hours of rain on Sunday and Monday, which somewhat delayed the distribution of non-food items -- especially tents and blankets -- has reached about 15,000 families and is almost complete now. By today, initial food distributions for 15,000 families should be completed. As you know, WFP is distributing food to everyone on the register, not only to those directly affected by the earthquake. There are some 23,000 families in the region, so the remaining 8,000 families will be reached later through regular food distributions.

The number of medical mobile teams has been reduced, but a few people with quake related injuries are still being found.

The water situation has improved now that all seven water distribution sites, serving 14 villages, are working. On education, UNICEF has sent enough tents into Nahrin to allow all 12 schools there to reopen. The nine schools in Burka district will be assisted within a few more days.
The UNICEF school tents are capable of holding 50 children [each], plus latrine tents, schools books and stationery.

Deminers remain in the area to not only map out mines but also train relief workers, particularly drivers, in mine awareness. A stockpile of 20 old anti-tank mines was found near the aid compound in Nahrin which is being given to the United Nations Mine Action Programme for disposal.

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan
Nigel Fisher, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan for humanitarian and reconstruction affairs has now initiated his visits to the field. Yesterday he went to Kandahar, he met with the Governor. Nigel Fisher took along with him a World Bank urban development mission to look at the needs in Kandahar city. The mission discussed those needs with both the Governor and the Mayor who told of their priorities for reconstruction and that is mainly roads, transportation, utilities and housing. The Deputy Special Representative also discussed with the local authorities questions relating to security, drug control and, as you know the new United Nations Mission is being established, with regional offices also discussed, the structure of the Mission in supporting the region of Kandahar.

Update on Afghan Returnees
One month into the assisted repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, the number of returnees has already topped 130,000. The current daily return rate is around 8,000 to 9,000, so UNHCR's planning figure of 400,000 returns from Pakistan this year will likely be surpassed.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, representatives of Afghanistan, Iran and UNHCR will sign in Geneva an agreement for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees in Iran. The repatriation from Iran is scheduled to begin on 9 April. UNHCR is preparing centres where refugees in Iran can register to return. These are in Teheran, Mashad, Zahedin, Isfahan, Yazd, Qom, Shiraz and Kerman. In Iran, refugees will be transported to the frontier, where UNHCR will then give them 10 dollars each to finance their transport homeward and the same food and relief items returnees from Pakistan receive.

UNHCR, working with the International Organisation for Migration and the Afghan Interim authorities, has assisted in the return of some 11,000 internally displaced Afghans at the old Soviet Compound in Kabul to the homes they left three years ago in the Shomali Plain in central Afghanistan. This programme, which started on 6 March, is expected to be completed this week.

Mine Action
Representatives of the Untied Nations Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA) will be traveling to Iran this week to help prepare for mine awareness training for Afghan refugees returning from Iran. The MAPA estimates that more than 30 mine awareness trainers will be needed at the two main crossing points at Dogharoun, near Islam Qala, and Milak near Nimroz province.

UNIFEM begins Regional Visits
This week UNIFEM travels to Herat, the first stop on a regional tour of the country to assess the role and treatment of women in rural and urban Afghanistan. Representatives will meet with various women's NGOs, UN agencies, the authorities as well as with women from different districts. The Minister for Women's Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar has been working in close consultation with UNIFEM to develop a mechanism whereby input from women from all over the country forms the basis of the strategy and framework of the new Minsitry of Women's Affairs. The forthcoming schedule will include visits to Mazar-i-Sharif, Bamyan, Badakshan and Jalalabad, areas that have not normally been taken into account.

New Women's Publication
I wish to welcome to the world of media in Afghanistan, the newest Afghan publication called 'Rouz', which means 'day'. It is a publication by women only on women, and they are being supported by an NGO called Afghanistan Libre, which is a French-based NGO, and they also have the support of French magazine 'ELLE'. The magazine is due to come out in the coming days.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is your latest on the death toll of the earthquake?

Spokesman: We still have what we had before, we think it [could] be somewhere between 800 and 1,000, and most likely closer to the lower end of this range.

Q: You mentioned that the Deputy Representative met with the Governor of Kandahar and discussed drug control, can you tell us any more on that?

Spokesman: I do not have any more details to share with you. In the coming days I hope to have Nigel Fisher come here to this briefing where he will be talking to you about overall reconstruction efforts and humanitarian assistance. As you know he joined the mission a few weeks ago.

Q: How many refugees in Iran?

Spokesman: In Iran there are 1.5 million Afghan refugees, and 2 million in Pakistan.

Q: Is there capacity in Afghanistan to handle the return of refugees, where do they go?

Spokesman: UNHCR and the authorities are working and are prepared to receive these numbers. The original idea was that close to 1 million would be returning this year, but of course the indication so far is that the numbers are going beyond the original estimate. In terms of the goods, I have no doubt, currently we do have them, UNHCR does have them and other partners working with them do have the necessary supplies to assist them. The question that is the traditional issue is where they go back to. First of all, it is still a country that has drought, so UNHCR and no one is encouraging them to go back to areas where there is no water. Another issue to consider is that some refugees may be tempted to remain in urban centres where they originally may not have been from. If that occurs that is indeed putting strain on the services of urban centres that are already quite strained after so many years of war and destruction. So we will be dealing with the situation as it comes along. The different partners involved are being kept informed, so are the refugees themselves. UNHCR has a regular programme of informing refugees where they are in the country of asylum of what the conditions are and that there is a plan of return.

Q: [Inaudible] On earthquake assistance.

Spokesman: The emergency phase is being taken care of. You may still need some relief supplies here and there but overall the supplies, because they were in the country and because the humanitarian agencies were in the country, in particular in that region, and working so closely with the Afghan Authorities who have been present from the very start of the crisis, everyone has been able to respond very fast. The question is that already now we have to start looking at the longer term reconstruction needs, bearing in mind it is a poor region, it is a region that has suffered from a lot of fighting, it is a region that has been the epicentre of the drought and for instance, we do have the tents that have been distributed, people have protection but of course tents are not the long term housing solution. Construction is what the long term solution is, and construction, having in mind, is in a region that is bound to have earthquakes, so there is already a working group set up for that purpose. The same is true for agriculture, the same is true for the impact of the earthquake on the social tissue and the families. We do not have yet, although it is happening now, a clear identification of who the victims are, for instance, were they the leading bread-winners in their families. If they were the men in the family, and the main economic activity in that region is agriculture which is a male-oriented activity, so the women who are left with families to take care of, we will have to look into activities that will help them generate income to support their families since agriculture will not, in all likelihood, something they could be doing. We are looking into projects that bring cash into the region and will allow different activities to be initiated by the population. The agriculture itself has to be supported, since that is the economic activity there; the irrigation canals have to be repaired, seeds have to be brought in. Of course all of that looking at the drought situation so as I said, immediate relief emergency is being taken care of but we cannot stop here, we have to look at the longer term needs of the community.