TALKING POINTS

· Presentation of FAO/WFP Joint Report on Food Supply and Crop
Assessment

We have two guests that will talk about a very important issue. They are the Country Director of the World Food Programme, Burkard Oberle, and the Head of the FAO Information System Team, Hector Maletta. They will talk about the Food Supply and Crop Assessment Survey that was undertaken by both organizations. A report was issued on Friday, in Rome, and was also presented by the two organizations here in Kabul to the concerned ministries of the Afghan Transitional Administration.

According to that report almost six million people in Afghanistan will continue to be highly vulnerable to food insecurity and require relief food assistance over the next year. The good news, however, is that overall cereal production in Afghanistan has staged a recovery in 2002 despite military and political upheavals that coincided with the planting season as well as a serious locust outbreak in some parts of the country. Total production is estimated to be 82 percent above last year's crop.
As soon as we have finished with our briefing they will tell you about this most important report.

· Disarmament in Gosfandi, Mazar

Following up on the brokered agreement in the North, in Saripul, today at 10.30, the Security Commission of the northern area, which as you know includes senior representatives of all factions as well as UNAMA, will be going to Gosfandi in Saripul. They will be there to monitor the disarmament process which will be taking place in Gosfandi. We are told the weapons will be collected by the representatives of the respective factions and stored outside the district. It is a voluntary disarmament exercise. They expect that this process will take approximately two days.

· Update on Ghazni

On a security note, following the armed robbery of the UNHCR office in Ghazni on 13 August, the Governor of the province, Haji Hassadullah Khalid, met with representatives of UNAMA as well as people from United Nations agencies, and international as well as Afghan non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This meeting took place on Friday 16 August and the Governor told this aid community that he had established a department of foreign relations in the province.

This new body will be the focal point for the coordination of relationships between international organizations and the regional government on political, security and humanitarian issues.

The regional government also stated that armed security would also be placed outside the United Nations offices. This has already been put in place in the UNHCR office that was robbed a few days ago. Security provided by the regional Government is also an option that is available for United Nations agencies, if they so wish, on journeys to and from as well as within Ghazni.

· UNHCR Update on Returnees ? Maki Shinohara

UNHCR and InterSOS conducted a joint survey of spontaneous settlements in Kabul. We found that there were around 1,300 families living in destitute conditions in public space, with poor water and sanitation facilities in Kabul. This rapid assessment covered all districts of Kabul and families living in shelter or tents in the streets or other public areas were identified through staff speaking to shopkeepers and people in the street, mosques and bazaars.

The result of the assessments is being shared with the task force set up to assist the municipality. Other aid agencies are carrying out surveys looking at related problems affecting shelter and living conditions in the capital.

As mentioned earlier, the contents of the aid package given to the returnees had to be reduced since 15 August to keep up with the potential two million refugees returning by the end of this year. But UNHCR has also started consolidating emergency stockpiles for about a quarter of a million people who may be in need this winter. Most of the supplies are already in the country, including plastic sheeting, blankets, buckets, jerrycans, lanterns, soap and hygiene items.

Also winterization packages in the Central region ? mainly Kabul and Bamyan ? will also include tents, heating stoves and fuel for up to 30,000 internally displaced people. We also have stocks of kerosene in Termez. We are also prepared to purchase more fuel locally in case of need.

· Update on returnee figures

The rate of refugee returns to Afghanistan has leveled off this past week, this is after a steady decline from nearly 80,000 people returning during the second week of July, down to 50,000 weekly returns earlier this month. This decrease in the number of returns from Pakistan has been compensated by an increase in returns from Iran since last Sunday. A highest daily count was recorded this past Thursday with 4,854 returnees from Iran.

For your information, starting this weekend, we have reduced the operating hours in the largest encashment center, Pul-i-Charkhi in Kabul. Pul-i-Charkhi is now open Monday through Friday, from 08:00 to 16:00, following the reduction of operating hours of Voluntary Repatriation Centers in Pakistan.

We now have over 1.5 million refugees returning to Afghanistan mainly from Pakistan, Iran and elsewhere in Central Asia.