Afghanistan - ICRC: 07 October 1996

ICRC Factsheet: Afghanistan
07-Oct-96


What is the ICRC doing in Afghanistan?

Active in Afghanistan since 1987 and witness to both the withdrawal of 
Soviet troops in February 1989 and the fall of President Najibullah's 
regime in 1992, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has 
maintained a constant presence and ongoing programmes to help the victims 
of the interminable Afghan conflict, a conflict so universally forgotten, 
particularly in its post-Soviet, civil-war phase, that the whole country 
until recently seemed to have faded from the map of the world. As the 
only organization, apart from Midecins sans frontihres, not to have left 
Kabul in 1994, when the Afghan capital was being ravaged by particularly 
fierce fighting (resulting in 8,000 dead and over 50,000 wounded - mostly 
civilians), the ICRC has over the years had to face the challenges of 
providing humanitarian aid in difficult circumstances and has been 
obliged to play its role of neutral intermediary not only between the 
rival factions, but also between the international community and an 
exhausted people bled dry by the fighting. Its delegates remain active in 
the country, including its capital now in the hands of the Taliban 
forces.


Current situation

The Taliban militiamen, who appeared on the Afghan scene during the 
autumn of 1994 and gradually gained control first over the western 
provinces, then those of the south and finally the south-east of the 
country, entered Kabul on the evening of 26 September 1996 following 
heavy fighting on the city's outskirts, which resulted in several hundred 
casualties. The ICRC, which had a six-month stock of medical supplies, 
continued throughout the fighting to provide support for the main 
hospitals in Kabul, in particular perfusion equipment.

The day after the capital was taken by the Taliban, the ICRC met with one 
of their representatives in Kabul and obtained a number of guarantees 
regarding the future of its humanitarian activities. Among the subjects 
discussed was the need, with winter approaching, to keep open the 
food-supply routes into the city.

On 30 September, the ICRC resumed its flights between Kabul and Peshawar, 
in Pakistan. On 1 October it was able to send out a first road convoy 
from Peshawar, carrying 500 tonnes of food for the Afghan capital. On 2 
October a second convoy started out towards Jalalabad with a load of 250 
tonnes of flour.


The need for humanitarian action

In a country laid waste by 17 years of war, infested with 10 million 
mines and its ruined capital the object of repeated food blockades, the 
needs are enormous in terms both of meeting the present emergency and 
rehabilitating the facilities on which the population depends. The ICRC 
is endeavouring to respond to those needs on several fronts.


Protection

Over the years, the ICRC has gained access to people detained by most of 
the forces involved in the conflict. Between January and June 1996, over 
2,000 people were visited in 38 places of detention. Following Kabul's 
capture by the Taliban, the ICRC was able to confirm that all the 
detainees whom it had previously visited in the capital had been 
released. It continues to carefully monitor the situation in the 
capital's prisons. On 3 October it began visits to newly-arrested 
detainees in Jalalabad, a city which earlier fell to the Taliban.

Medical assistance

The ICRC provides massive assistance in the form of medicines and other 
medical supplies to five hospitals treating the war-wounded, two of them 
in Kabul and one each in Jalalabad, Ghazni and Kandahar. (Kandahar's 
Mirwais hospital, which has 100 beds for surgical cases, has been 
thoroughly renovated and once again made operational by the ICRC.) Some 
forty medical establishments across the country also receive emergency 
assistance from the ICRC, which is continuing its limb-fitting programme 
for war amputees at its four workshops in Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad and 
Mazar-i-Sharif. Over 2,000 prostheses were manufactured at these 
workshops during the first seven months of 1996.

Material and food aid

In Kabul, which is still without water or electricity, the needs of the 
civilian population constantly exceed the available resources. The 
approach of winter and the gradual deterioration in the nutritional 
status of the most vulnerable groups are the greatest sources of concern 
for the ICRC. A recent survey among children showed that over 50% of them 
are suffering from acute malnutrition. The ICRC is currently furnishing 
food rations to over a quarter of Kabul's civilian population: 250,000 
people (orphans, widows, disabled and elderly) with no family support, 
who are also being provided with clothing, blankets and kitchen utensils. 
Finally, throughout the country the ICRC has developed programmes for 
small-scale tool manufacture, seed distribution and repair of irrigation 
systems in order to encourage the resumption of agriculture.  

Development of the National Red Crescent Society

Over the past two years, the ICRC has redoubled its efforts to promote 
development of the Afghan Red Crescent Society throughout the country's 
territory. Joint programmes have been initiated to provide medical care, 
assist displaced persons, restore links between members of separated 
families and promote knowledge of and respect for international 
humanitarian law. The recent events have led to changes in the leadership 
of the Afghan Red Crescent, and the  ICRC hopes to be able to continue 
its cooperation with the new incumbents.

Staff and budget

The ICRC's staff in Afghanistan comprises 72 expatriates and over 800 
Afghan nationals. They are based in Kabul, where the delegation has its 
headquarters, and in Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar and Jalalabad. The 
organization's budget for the Afghan conflict in 1996 is 49.9 million 
Swiss francs.