U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central Asia

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Central Asia
IRIN-CA Weekly Round-up 34
24 - 30 November 2001


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Agencies fear more displacement and starvation in western
             provinces
AFGHANISTAN: Growing concern over Spin Buldak
AFGHANISTAN: Optimistic opening of Bonn conference
AFGHANISTAN: Annan launches US $2.5 billion appeal
AFGHANISTAN: Reconstruction requires strong Afghan perspective
TAJIKISTAN: Breakthrough in access to Afghanistan
PAKISTAN: Update on refugee situation
KYRGYZSTAN: Drug abuse fuelling HIV/AIDS


AFGHANISTAN: Agencies fear more displacement and starvation in western
provinces

Aid agencies on Thursday warned of starvation if food is not delivered
immediately to western Afghanistan, where the uncertain security situation
has delayed humanitarian supplies to an estimated one million people.
"People have exhausted their survival strategies and now there is a
chronic risk of starvation in many parts of western Afghanistan," Hugh
Fenton, a programme manager with the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan
Refugees, told IRIN. He said the Chaghcharan, Javand and Qadis districts
in the western Afghan provinces of Ghowr and Badghis had not received any
food aid for the last five months because of insecurity.

Fenton went on to say that they were seeing increasing numbers of
displaced people from these areas arriving in the city of Herat. The new
arrivals feared starvation in the coming weeks, when the roads leading
from Herat east to Ghowr and Badghis might be blocked by heavy snow. There
were already more than 350,000 displaced people at camps in Herat from all
over western Afghanistan due to drought and fighting. The World Food
Programme (WFP) has estimated that more than 180,000 people in
Chaghcharan, 90,000 in Javand, and 59,000 people in Qadis were about to
run out of supplies and were in desperate need of new deliveries. It has
been reported that, according to local faction chiefs, close to 100,000
people from Ghowr and Badghis provinces might try to reach Herat before
winter in order to survive. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16667&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: Growing concern over Spin Buldak

Aid workers expressed concern on Thursday over the situation in and around
the border town of Spin Buldak in southern Afghanistan, home to some
60,000 displaced Afghans. The news follows the closure of the Chaman
border crossing to both refugees and humanitarian aid convoys by the
Pakistani government earlier this week. "The Taliban government has
totally evacuated this area, leaving tribal factions to oversee the
situation," the southern regional head of the UK-based NGO, Islamic
Relief, Asadullah Mutawakkil, told IRIN.

"It's very cold, dusty and harsh, and these people don't have any
facilities," Lindsey Davies, the spokeswoman of the WFP in the Pakistani
capital, Islamabad, told IRIN. "We want to get as much food to them as
possible, but at this point our hands are tied." For the past 18 days, WFP
had been unable to travel between the southwestern Pakistani city of
Quetta and the Taliban southeastern stronghold of Kandahar, but had been
able to reach Spin Buldak, she said. "Now that is closed for humanitarian
convoys," Davies said, adding that the situation was extremely tense.

The Quetta corridor accounts for about 8 percent of WFP's total
cross-border deliveries to Afghanistan. As a result, WFP has been unable
to deliver or distribute food to Kandahar city or its environs. The food
agency is concerned about 238,000 people it was assisting until recently
and the many more living in this area who have since become vulnerable,
but cannot be reached. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16659&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]


AFGHANISTAN: Optimistic opening of Bonn conference

The first day of the UN-chaired conference on Afghanistan in the German
city of Bonn ended on a note of optimism on Monday, with delegates
agreeing to a three-point agenda, comprising the formation of an interim
supreme council and an administration, the convening of an emergency Loya
Jirgah (supreme national tribal assembly) and ensuring the security of
Afghans. Afghans in Pakistan have welcomed the reconciliatory moves in
Bonn. Prof Rasul Amin, an Afghan scholar affiliated to the former King's
peace group known as the Rome Process, told IRIN that the agreement on the
UN agenda by all delegates was a breakthrough and could pave the way for
future reconciliation leading to a permanent solution.

In a special message to the Bonn conference, UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan urged all sides participating to seize the historic opportunity to
start the process of finally achieving peace and national reconciliation.
"You must place the interests of your people first, above all other
concerns," he said. A UN spokesman in Bonn, Ahmad Fawzi, told reporters
the mood of the conference could be gauged by a quote from one of the
leaders, who said: "We have a thirst for peace. We are here to work for a
comprehensive settlement, and to find the comprehensive groundwork we need
to build a new Afghanistan."  The 30 delegates attending the conference
include representatives of four Afghan groups; the United Front (also
known as the Northern Alliance), the Council of Understanding and National
Unity of Afghanistan [also known as Peshawar group], the Cyprus Process
and the Rome Process. Some individual tribal leaders are also attending.
[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16517&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

By Friday, according to CNN, agreement had been reached that a supreme
national council be formed to run the country. The UN spokesman at the
conference, Ahmad Fawzi, said the United Front delegation had submitted
its proposed list of members to their leaders in Kabul for approval, while
the other three delegations were already prepared to submit their lists
for the council seats. He added that the parties "hoped to wrap things up
by Saturday and are fine-tuning the details". The report also quoted the
head of the United Front delegation as saying his group would not oppose
an international peacekeeping force for Afghanistan while an interim
government was being set up.


AFGHANISTAN: Annan launches US $2.5 billion appeal

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday appealed for US $2.5 billion to
help 33 million victims of conflict and natural disasters. The
humanitarian situation and reconstruction process in Afghanistan formed a
major part of the appeal. "Today, the world's eyes are on Afghanistan and
the plight of its long-suffering people," Annan told donors gathered at UN
headquarters in New York for the launch of the 2002 Consolidated
Inter-Agency Appeals. "But just three months ago, before the terrorist
attacks of 11 September, the people of Afghanistan faced a humanitarian
disaster of massive proportions, caused by continuing civil strife and yet
another year of drought." While welcoming donor efforts to alleviate the
suffering of the Afghan people, Annan urged those present not to forget
the 17 other complex humanitarian crises identified in the UN appeals. "Is
it not ironic that it took a terrorist attack and military reaction to
raise awareness of the vast humanitarian needs in Afghanistan?" Annan
asked. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16117&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=ASIA]

AFGHANISTAN: Reconstruction requires strong Afghan perspective

As the international conference, "Preparing for Afghanistan's
Reconstruction", sponsored by the World Bank, the UN Development Programme
(UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank, opened on Tuesday in the Pakistani
capital, Islamabad, experts agreed that its ultimate success would be
measured by its ability to maintain a strong Afghan perspective. Over 200
delegates are participating, including some 60 Afghans, whose knowledge of
the country could prove pivotal as the international assistance community
prepares to support the recovery, reconstruction and development of the
country. "We need to build on that Afghan perspective," the UNDP programme
adviser, Robert Mister told IRIN. "The most effective programmes are those
that are built on local knowledge and expertise, and that is true in most
post-conflict, post-disaster situations," he said.

According to Mister, the three-day conference must be seen as part of a
much wider process for Afghanistan. "You have the conference in Bonn
looking at the political issues, a meeting of civil society organisations
to take place later in Germany, and this," he said. Collectively, such
discussions would hopefully slowly rebuild the country, but including
Afghans in this process was a key component, he added. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16325&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

TAJIKISTAN: Breakthrough in access to Afghanistan

The Tajik government said on Thursday it had abolished the need to obtain
special permission to use international crossing points between Tajikistan
and Afghanistan, greatly facilitating cross-border operations and the
delivery of humanitarian assistance to its southern neighbour. The
decision will be effective from 5 December. "We cannot overestimate the
significance of this announcement," Valentin Gatzinski, the head of the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) in
Tajikistan, told IRIN in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on Friday.

Prior to this arrangement, apart from having valid Tajik and Afghan visas,
international organisations had to have special permission obtained
through OCHA and the foreign ministry in consultation with the ministry of
security and Russian forces on the border, he said. The decision means the
UN, NGOs and other international organisations are required only to inform
the foreign ministry 48 hours in advance of planned border crossings.
Without having to wait for permission, foreign citizens and their vehicles
will be able to proceed to Afghanistan, provided they have valid multiple
Tajik and Afghan visas, while Tajik national staff will enjoy the same
treatment, but with a notification of one week instead.

PAKISTAN: Update on refugee situation

The situation of refugees in Pakistan remains uncertain after the
authorities again halted the pre-registration of newly arrived Afghans in
the south of the country due to security concerns, to the dismay of the
office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Meanwhile, refugees already installed in camps are said to be in
increasing danger of harassment from ethnic groups, with reports of
Pashtun villagers in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
becoming hostile towards Tajik and Uzbek refugees. The predominantly
Pashtun Taliban have long retained support in certain areas of the NWFP,
and although UNHCR is doing its best to monitor returnees, there remains
concern that some could be going back to unsafe areas. UNHCR said on
Monday that it was "alarmed" by Islamabad's decision to halt
pre-registration of new Afghan refugees crossing the country's southern
Chaman border with Afghanistan. "The authorities in Quetta [in the
southern province of Baluchistan] said they had received instructions from
the interior ministry over the weekend to stop us from registering more
refugees, due to the security situation," A UNHCR spokeswoman in
Islamabad, Fatoumata Kaba, told IRIN on Tuesday.

An estimated 2,000 Afghans were now left outside UNHCR's staging post of
Kili Faizo, putting them at risk, she said. "There is a protection problem
if these people are left out in the open." Following the events of 11
September, the government had first refused to take any refugees, saying
it was home to nearly three million Afghans already, and could not cope
with the extra burden. Later an agreement was reached with UNHCR, which
had expected an extra 1.5 million Afghans to cross into Pakistan in a
worst-case scenario.  To date an estimated 135,000 have entered Pakistan -
75,000 into the NWFP and 50,000 into Baluchistan - over the past two
months. However, the number of refugees crossing into the NWFP is said to
have dropped from 4,500 to an average of 1,000 per day since Kabul and
Jalalabad were taken by opposition Northern Alliance forces. A government
official told IRIN that they were worried about recruitment of men within
camps, and a possible movement emerging from that. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16308&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN]

KYRGYZSTAN: Drug abuse fuelling HIV/AIDS

One of the main factors driving the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kyrgyzstan is
the boom in intravenous drug consumption, now reaching alarming levels in
the southern region of Osh and in the capital, Bishkek, in the north of
the country, United Nations specialists told IRIN. "In the past eleven
months of 2001, we have registered 115 new cases of HIV in Kyrgyzstan.
This represents an eightfold increase compared to 2000 at the national
level and a 35-fold increase for the region of Osh," Larisa Bashmakova,
UNDP's HIV/AIDS coordinator for Kyrgyzstan, told IRIN. Latest figures
indicate 168 people registered as living with HIV/AIDS, most being men
under the age of 30. It is estimated that 90 to 95 percent of those
recently infected are intravenous drug users (IDUs). The epidemic is
largely concentrated in the southern region of Osh. "Osh is at the
crossroads of drug-routes from Afghanistan to Russia. A dose of heroin
costs 25 soms (US 50 cents), which makes it cheaper than a bottle of vodka
or even beer," Bashmakova said. [Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=16595&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN]


Islamabad, 30 November 2000

IRIN-Asia
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