06 October 2001
Afghan Forum: Donors Promise $600 Million in New Aid
(Priority is getting assistance to vulnerable populations inside
Afghanistan) (860)
By Wendy Lubetkin
Washington File European Correspondent
Geneva -- The United States joined United Nations agencies October 6
in expressing satisfaction with the outcome of a two day meeting on
humanitarian aid for Afghanistan during which donors announced some
$600 million in new funds.
The October 5-6 "Afghan Forum" brought together U.N. and other
humanitarian agencies, major donor countries, and "host countries,"
including Pakistan and Iran, which neighbor Afghanistan, and have for
many years supported large Afghan refugee populations on their soil.
"We believe the forum was successful," Douglas Hunter, Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration,
said at an October 6 press conference following the meeting. All
participants agreed that the highest priority must be given to
providing assistance inside Afghanistan and getting food into the
country now, he said.
The World Food Program told the meeting that the already alarming food
crisis inside Afghanistan is bound to worsen. WFP estimates that the
number at risk could rise to 6 million inside the country. Mohamed
Zejjari, WFP's Assistant Executive Director, said the main challenge
remains access to the most vulnerable populations. The WFP is planning
to launch an enormous operation to transport 52,000 tons of food
overland into Afghanistan each day, but Zejjari said he believes that
airdrops will be "absolutely necessary for some areas."
The purpose of the Afghan Forum was threefold, according to Hunter,
who led the U.S. government delegation at the meeting. A first
objective was to draw world attention to the humanitarian crisis and
show the concern of the international community for the Afghan people.
Another primary goal of the meeting was to bring Afghanistan's
neighboring countries -- Pakistan, Tajikistan and Iran -- to the table
so that they could tell the international community directly about
their concerns. And a third was to urge those countries to allow
Afghans to enter their territory where they can be provided protection
and assistance.
Asked whether it was new for the United States to be involved in
direct discussions of this nature with Iran, Hunter responded, "I
think what is different today is that we've sat at the table with
Iran, and asked them explicitly to present to the international donor
community their assessment, their policies, their concerns, so that as
the international community works out the planning and the policy
responses we've had a direct dialogue with them."
Both Pakistan and Iran sought and were given assurances by the Afghan
Forum that if they opened their borders to new refugees, the refugees
would only stay temporarily and would not have the same refugee status
as groups that have been there for 20 years.
Speaking the same day at a separate news conference, U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers also emphasized that "durable
solutions" need to be found inside Afghanistan which will allow
refugee populations to return home.
Lubbers said he had made a plea to Pakistan and Iran to provide
temporary protection and assistance for the most vulnerable, and had
received "positive reactions" from them.
"I am glad to report that although the borders are formally closed,
they are open for the most vulnerable, and they will be open if there
are bigger numbers and a real necessity, but with the intention to
make this temporary."
The UNHCR is preparing for the possible outflow of up to 1.5 million
refugees, but the U.N. refugee agency emphasizes that that is a
scenario it hopes will not materialize.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan recently launched a $584 million
Donor Alert to meet the needs of possible new refugee populations and
to assist up to 7.5 vulnerable people inside Afghanistan.
Although Afghan Forum was not a formal pledging conference,
participating donor states used the opportunity to announce $600
million in new funding for aid programs for Afghanistan.
Kenzo Oshima, United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian
Affairs, explained that not all of the new funds would be for United
Nations programs.
Oshima said that during the meeting $180 million dollars was
specifically pledged to the United Nations, and an additional $28
million dollars was pledged to aid agencies outside the U.N. system,
including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Donor
States have also announced their intention to allocate a little over
$400 million dollars in additional support for humanitarian assistance
for Afghanistan. This figure includes the $320 million in aid for
Afghanistan announced by President Bush on October 4.
Oshima noted that over 50 percent of the total $600 million in new
funding has been pledged by the United States. He also said the Afghan
Forum agreed that the group should continue to act as a "humanitarian
coalition" in responding to the crisis in Afghanistan.
"This coalition is about protection and assistance to Afghan
populations and it is also about supporting political solutions and
good governance that the people of Afghanistan deserve and desperately
need," he said.
(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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