PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

Afghanistan was living through the fastest growing displacement crisis in the world today, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Internally Displaced Persons told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

Dennis McNamara, who is also the United Nations Special Coordinator on Internal Displacement and who led the recent mission of the senior inter-agency network on internal displacement to that country, said Afghanistan's worst drought in 30 years had disabled some 85 per cent of the population engaged in agriculture.

"The magnitude of the movement is highly destabilizing within Afghanistan", he added.  Nearly 2,000 internally displaced persons were arriving in the western city of Herat near Iran every day.  A similar number were probably moving towards the eastern and central parts of the country, also because of the drought.  Some 500,000 people had moved within Afghanistan since last summer and more than 250,000 had probably moved across neighbouring borders, he added, although the borders with Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan were officially closed.

In recent months, the senior inter-agency network on internal displacement had been conducting a global review of displaced populations, including situations in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi and Angola, Mr. McNamara explained.  The United Nations agencies involved in the Afghanistan mission from 18 to 25 April included the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).  

The purpose of the mission was to assess the United Nations response to the humanitarian needs of the displaced populations, he said.  The mission, which followed other visits by senior United Nations officials to the region in recent months, confirmed more dramatically than expected that the displaced population was growing, he said. 

In addition to the drought, the results of which were likely to continue until the middle of 2002, fighting would most likely intensify in the coming months of the "dry season offensive", Mr. McNamara said.  Despite appeals to end the conflict, no one predicted a reduction in fighting.  In fact, recent reports anticipated increased fighting.

Without prompt action and increased donor support, there was the risk that a similar number of people -- about half a million or more -- would move within Afghanistan, he said.  Appeals to donor governments had been two-fold.  Urgent, immediate relief was needed -- such as tents, water, sanitation and food aid -- for those who had moved.  Agricultural support was also needed for those who were likely to move within Afghanistan or across borders.

The situation was dramatic and urgent, he said.  The United Nations was anxious to respond more quickly than it had done.  The presence of United Nations agencies within Afghanistan needed to be increased.  The

non-governmental organizations' presence also needed to be increased within the country.  But, while capacity to deliver on the ground was lacking, so was funding.

This year's humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan was $250 million, he said.  As of now, only some $88 million in pledges had been received.  The $250 million would have to be increased, moreover, because of the population movements.  There was an urgent need for an increased response.  The report of the United Nations Internally Displaced Persons network could be found on the United Nations Web site, he said.

In response to a question on the United Nations presence in Afghanistan, Mr. McNamara said all of the humanitarian offices were open in seven locations throughout the country.  The offices were not closed and were fully functional, with all the United Nations agencies on the ground and more than 100 non-governmental organizations operating.  The problem was that the agencies lacked the capacity to deliver the necessary quantity of aid.

Did the closure of political offices have an impact on the delivery of humanitarian goods? a correspondent asked.  Mr. McNamara would not speak on the United Nations political offices in Afghanistan.  As far as he knew, they were present inside.  He did not think they had closed. 

The Secretary-General's Spokesman, Fred Eckhard, added that he had announced yesterday that four political offices would be closed on 20 May.  The Kabul office would remain open.  He had also announced that the closures would not have an impact on the humanitarian operations in the country.

Were the Taliban's policies an obstacle to raising money? a correspondent asked.  Prolonged conflicts with not very popular regimes always posed a problem in trying to raise humanitarian aid, Mr. McNamara said.  Afghanistan was no exception.  The inter-agency mission did meet with Taliban senior officials and urged them to cooperate more with the agencies on the ground, which they had agreed to do. 

Was there evidence of Taliban cooperation? a correspondent asked.  The Taliban's plea for increased humanitarian aid had been very strong,

Mr. McNamara said.  There had also been recognition by Taliban officials that United Nations agencies were very welcome to operate in Afghanistan.

Were women working with the United Nations agencies? a correspondent asked.  Women were working with the United Nations agencies, he said.  The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, for example, had international female staff heading their offices in Kabul and Mazar-el-Sharif.   

Asked to comment on the combination of fighting and drought,

Mr. McNamara said that affected populations were moving east, west and south of a massive central drought area, mainly because they could not survive on

the land.  Although the conflict was more restricted to the north-eastern corner of the country, according to recent reports, new fronts were likely to open up in the central region as well.  If the conflict took place at anticipated levels, up to 250,000 civilians could be affected.  That figure was speculative, however.  New displacements would be anticipated if the conflict continued at the intensity with which it had started.

Had the drought caused a health problem? a correspondent asked. 

Mr. McNamara said WHO's main concern was the outbreak of epidemics, which was likely without water, sanitation and food aid.  There had been an outbreak of cholera in Afghanistan before.  There was no information on the magnitude of HIV/AIDS in the country.

What had happened to the controversy brought up last year by former United States Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, that the UNHCR rarely took care of internally displaced persons, and that the United Nations was not equipped to deal with them? a correspondent asked.  "Partly thanks to Ambassador Holbrooke we are where we are today, with a network of agencies reviewing displaced populations around the world", Mr. McNamara said.  Following the reviews, the idea was to make proposals to the Secretary-General for strengthened United Nations capacity.  Those proposals would go to the Secretary-General in the coming weeks for his endorsement to set up a strengthened mechanism.

Asked if Mr. McNamara envisioned a new agency, he said that no one was talking about a new agency.  The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, was the designated focal point for coordination of such issues in the United Nations system.  "The idea was to get operational agencies engaged in the structures of the Emergency Relief Coordinator and to strengthen his capacity."  The key was going to be the delivery of operational agencies on the ground.  They had found serious gaps in the delivery of assistance and protection to displaced populations.

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