*EPF407 02/07/2002
UNHCR Concerned About Afghan Security
(Lubbers reports on refugee situations in Afghanistan, Africa) (940)

By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees told the Security Council February 6 that security must be a high priority for Afghanistan and he supported calls for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be extended throughout the country.

During a public meeting with the Security Council, Ruud Lubbers, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said that "security is the most important factor" in getting a significant number of the almost 5 million Afghan refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes.

"At this moment we see 'two clouds in the sky.' One is a number of incidents in which...especially Pashtuns are now fleeing from certain regions where obviously there is a lack of tolerance and respect of security," Lubbers said.

"We fear the second cloud is that enthusiasm will go down if there is not sufficient security in the countryside," he said. "I am not in a position to estimate what that means in numbers, but the signals encourage us to look seriously to addressing this security problem."

Lubbers said he is concerned about deteriorating security in various parts of Afghanistan. "Events such as those in Paktia and Balkh provinces and ethnic tension in general in the north of the country, including Baghlan province, are inevitably a deterrent to the return of refugees and internationally displaced people. They also prevent access for humanitarian operations."

On February 5, U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi asked the council to give "urgent consideration" to expanding the ISAF from Kabul to the rest of the country. He reported that security is the main preoccupation of the population and the continuing clashes and instability are generating fears around the country that peace will not last.

Even before September 11, Afghans constituted the largest single refugee population in the world with 3.5 million in Pakistan and Iran and others spread out around the world. Since September 11, some 300,000 Afghans have fled to Iran and Pakistan. In December the number of internally displaced people was estimated at about 1 million, the high commissioner said.

While an estimated 800 people a day have been seeking refuge in Pakistan, about 100,000 Afghan refugees have been repatriated since the end of November, Lubbers said. The two reasons cited by those still fleeing have been lack of sufficient assistance and discrimination against Pashtuns, the high commissioner said.

Lubbers said that while it is difficult to estimate the magnitude and speed at which Afghans will return home, UNHCR has drawn up an initial plan to help up to 1.2 million returnees in 2002.

Lubbers also said that the global fight against terrorism must not weaken international refugee protection. For years, refugees and asylum seekers have been treated with mistrust and hostility in many countries and are particularly vulnerable, he said. Governments must avoid resorting to mandatory or arbitrary detention of asylum seekers and apply the standards of due process, he added.

U.S. Ambassador Sichan Siv said that the United States "cannot and will not permit the tragic events of September 11 to compromise our longstanding tradition of providing refuge to those in need."

"We must make sure, however, that terrorists are not allowed to take advantage of the refugee protection system," said Siv, who is the U.S. representative to the Economic and Social Council.

"This can be prevented through scrupulous application of the exceptions to refugee protection available under current law. We stand ready to work with UNHCR to ensure that refugee status determination procedures and registration methods take into account the new security measures to combat terrorism," he said.

The ambassador also stressed the importance of security in refugee camps.

"We need to ensure that refugees are protected from attacks, from hostage-taking, from recruitment, and from sexual and gender-based violence," Siv said.

Lubbers also discussed the worldwide refugee situation noting that while international attention has been focused on Afghanistan, Africa consumes the greatest share of UNHCR's resources and attention with more than 5 million refugees, a number of whom have been languishing for years in refugee camps almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.

The high commissioner spoke positively, however, about the situations in Sierra Leone, Eritrea, and Somalia.

Repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees has begun in earnest especially refugees from Guinea, and UNHCR will soon start aiding returns from other countries, especially Liberia, he said. And over the last year, some 36,000 refugees have been voluntarily repatriated from Sudan to Eritrea, and UNHCR expects to complete the repatriation of those refugees -- some who have been living in camps since the 1960s and 1970s -- by 2003, Lubbers said.

In another successful repatriation operation about 50,000 refugees have returned from Ethiopia from northwest and northeast Somalia over the last year, Lubbers said.

"These numbers may be modest in comparison with the total numbers of refugees in Africa, but they are significant in that we are finally putting an end to what have been very protracted refugee situations. The challenge now is to make sure that these returns are sustainable," he said.

Siv said that the United States is concerned about the range of refugee situations in Africa. "We welcome the prospects for voluntary return in safety and dignity but caution against premature and therefore destabilizing repatriation," the U.S. ambassador said.

"We are pleased with the progress towards peace in Sierra Leone," Siv said. "While we continue to support efforts to facilitate the return of Sierra Leonean refugees who have expressed a firm desire to repatriate, we recognize that for many the time is not yet right for repatriation."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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