AFGHAN CIVILIANS TO FACE INCREASED VULNERABILITY AFTER UN INTERNATIONAL STAFFERS ARE EVACUATED TO PAKISTAN

14 September 2001





Due to concerns about possible retaliation against Afghanistan, the United Nations system in Afghanistan has evacuated all of its seventy-five international staff from that country as a security precaution, the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan in Islamabad, Pakistan announced today.

By the evening of 13 September, all United Nations international staff had returned to Islamabad. Several hundred staff of non-governmental organizations have also left Afghanistan.

The humanitarian situation of the Afghan people is dramatic. The deepening humanitarian crisis, with conflict affecting 17 out of 32 provinces of the country, is continuing to gravely affect Afghan civilians. There are currently believed to be almost six million vulnerable people inside Afghanistan, which is approximately 25 per cent of the total population.

The current caseload of internally displaced persons is estimated at 900,000 and is expected to reach one million before the end of the year. Millions more are severely affected in their villages, too poor or unable to move. It is noteworthy that the great majority of Afghan civilians are women and children.

Due to the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the United Nations plans to continue to provide as much essential, life saving, assistance to the civilian population as possible. Of particular importance will be caring for extremely vulnerable families in their places of origin, and internally displaced persons who are almost totally dependent on aid to survive. There is greatest need to try to continue food aid, shelter, and clothing so that people can survive the advancing winter.

Despite the Afghan people's overwhelming need for help, some important humanitarian assistance programmes will not be able to continue if volatility inside the country increases. The World Food Programme for Afghanistan is currently helping to feed three million people in Afghanistan's rural areas alone. If this support cannot be continued, massive displacement cannot be ruled out. At least half may be forced to leave their homes to avert starvation, seeking survival either within or outside Afghanistan's borders. Any reduction of assistance will increase both levels of vulnerability and the overall number of vulnerable Afghan civilians.

On several previous occasions, during earlier withdrawals of United Nations international staff from Afghanistan, essential programmes were able to continue due to the efforts of hundreds of dedicated and professional Afghan staff. In the absence of international staff, they will undertake their activities insofar as the situation permits and security prevails. However, national staff have never been called upon to carry out their duties in a crisis of this magnitude. It must also be recognised that, while they will receive as much support from Islamabad as possible, as individuals, they will also be faced with making decisions about the best interest of their own families.

For further information, please call Stephanie Bunker, Spokesperson, Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan Telephone: 92 51 2211451 x 415; mobile 92 320 4261325



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