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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 128
11 - 17 June 2007


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: UN says rule of law a top priority
AFGHANISTAN: Police casualties high due to lack of training, equipment
AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian room for manoeuvre diminishing - ICRC
AFGHANISTAN-TAJIKISTAN: Some Afghan refugees said under pressure to
   leave Dushanbe
AFGHANISTAN: UN urges ceasefire for polio immunisation drive
ASIA: Opening eyes of migrants to dangers of big cities' embrace
NEPAL: Impoverished rural women prone to exploitation in towns
NEPAL: UN begins new round of checks on Maoist combatants, weaponry
PAKISTAN: Government welcomes code of conduct for NGOs in
   quake-affected Bagh
PAKISTAN: UNHCR ready for Afghan camp closures
SRI LANKA: Rebuilding livelihoods in tsunami-hit, war-torn Vaharai


AFGHANISTAN: UN says rule of law a top priority

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for 
Afghanistan (SRSG), Tom Koenigs, on Monday called on the government of 
President Hamid Karzai and the international community to intensify 
their efforts to end "lawlessness" in the war-ravaged country.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72663


AFGHANISTAN: Police casualties high due to lack of training, equipment

Under-equipped and poorly trained Afghan police are paying a high price 
in their fight against an intensifying armed insurgency. In the last 
three months alone, over 210 police officers have been killed and 330 
wounded, according to Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior (MoI).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72685


AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian room for manoeuvre diminishing - ICRC

Delivering humanitarian aid and monitoring the situation of civilians in 
Afghanistan has become increasingly difficult, the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told IRIN in Kabul. According to the 
ICRC, the hardening of views among the warring parties and the 
intensification of the conflict have reduced the space in which 
humanitarian workers can operate.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72728


AFGHANISTAN-TAJIKISTAN: Some Afghan refugees said under pressure to 
leave Dushanbe

Afghan refugees living in Tajikistan are calling on the Tajik government 
and international organisations to protect them after reported pressure 
on Afghans in Dushanbe to move to their places of registration outside 
the capital.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72762


AFGHANISTAN: UN urges ceasefire for polio immunisation drive

The UN has called upon all sides of the conflict between insurgents and 
government and international forces in the south, east and southeast of 
Afghanistan to cease fighting for a three-day polio immunisation drive 
beginning on 17 June.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72769


ASIA: Opening eyes of migrants to dangers of big cities' embrace

With ever greater numbers of people on the move in search of jobs and 
opportunities in the Mekong River region, the International Organisation 
for Migration (IOM) has unveiled a series animated videos to inform and 
warn migrant workers about the risk of HIV/AIDS.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=727013


NEPAL: Impoverished rural women prone to exploitation in towns

Maili Buda, 35, is having an increasingly difficult life since her 
husband was killed in Khalanga village, northwest of the capital, during 
a clash between the Maoist rebels and government security forces nearly 
six years ago. Peace has been restored in the country but many Nepalese 
women like Buda remain impoverished, say local aid workers.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72678


NEPAL: UN begins new round of checks on Maoist combatants, weaponry

The UN has on 14 June begun a further series of checks and verification 
procedures in order to register and gather data on former Maoist rebel 
army personnel and their weapons, said senior UN officials in Nepal.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72727


PAKISTAN: Government welcomes code of conduct for NGOs in quake-affected 
Bagh

The Pakistani government has welcomed the adoption of a pre-existing 
international code of conduct for NGOs working in disaster relief 
between a community group in quake-affected Bagh District and the 
government's district reconstruction unit (DRU), following localised 
tensions earlier this year.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72695


PAKISTAN: UNHCR ready for Afghan camp closures

Plans are in place to help thousands of Afghan refugees living in two 
Pakistan camps, due to close this week, to relocate, the United Nations 
Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72730


SRI LANKA: Rebuilding livelihoods in tsunami-hit, war-torn Vaharai

At the beginning of this year, most of Vaharai's population fled the 
fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government 
forces which retook it in an all-out assault. When more than 14,000 of 
those who had been displaced returned in March they found not just homes 
damaged and destroyed but their livelihoods crippled as well.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72681


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