EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The capacity of security forces to both prevent and provoke conflict is increasingly recognised. Police forces can play a vital role in providing the security environment necessary for peaceful political and economic development, and are at the forefront of tackling international security issues, including drugs trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. A competent and democratised security sector is vital to enhancing governance and ensuring greater public trust in the state. Bad security forces, on the other hand,

General Assembly
Fifty-seventh session
Agenda items 21 (d), 37, 86 (b), 87, 100, 101 and 160
Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance: emergency international assistance for peace, normalcy and reconstruction of war-stricken Afghanistan
The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security
Sustainable development and international economic cooperation: integration of the economies in transition into the world economy

What we now know as the sovereign territories of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were created by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1920s to divide and conquer the Central Asian peoples. The artificial boundaries separated communities, created ethnic enclaves, and disrupted patterns of trade and movement. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, these unnatural dividing lines became international borders. To compound the tension, Uzbekistan, which is bordered by the other four Central Asian republics and Afghanistan,

Previously named Humanitarian Crisis Appeal Appeal No. 32/01
Revision no. 3 seeks CHF 37,176,906 (USD/EUR)

A Preliminary Appeal was launched on 21 September 2001 for CHF 8, 765, 000 for two months. Responding to the evolving situation, revision no. I was issued on 3 October 2002, with the budget increased to CHF 40,280,340 for six months. Revision no. 2 was issued on 19 December 2001, with a total revised budget of CHF 28,748,124 for 12 months. Revision no. 3 was issued on 14 May 2002. This current revision remains a multi-country appeal covering activities in Afghanistan, Pakistan,

All known types of viral hepatitis are endemic to Central Asia. Approximately 5-10% of the Central Asian population is chronically infected with hepatitis B. According to CDC, the average number of Central Asian patients with acute hepatitis per year is 250,000. The number of patients with chronic liver diseases exceeds 1 million cases.

USAID/CAR and CDC provided technical assistance to the Ministries of Health of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to successfully apply to the Global Alliance for Vaccines

In Central Asia, the agricultural sector plays a vital social and economic role. 60% of Central Asians live in rural areas, and agriculture contributes to approximately 30% of the countries' GDP. USAID's current assistance strategy for Central Asia (2001-2005) emphasizes citizen activism and participation to improve their livelihoods and quality of life; food security is a particular concern in several countries. USAID's primary activities that contribute to agricultural development are improved management of water resources and the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Many factors threaten peace and stability in the five new nations of Central Asia. Negative economic growth is highly correlated with the emergence of civil conflict; yet, the root causes of potential conflict are dynamic in nature, rather than a result of poverty or ethnic differences alone. Central Asia is continuing to face historically unprecedented declines in family incomes and increased unemployment, deteriorating health and educational status at all levels - overall a precipitous loss of socioeconomic security for all but the new elite. When this precipitous

UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
AFGHANISTAN: UN wants to prevent refugees returning to Pakistan and Iran

Life for 70-year-old, Enjeer Gul has not changed much for the better since he returned home after 20 years of exile in neighbouring Pakistan. "We are happy to be back but we have nothing to rebuild our lives again," he told IRIN in the Afghan capital, Kabul. "We find no work and nobody is giving us food anymore. Even

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, September 2 (UNHCR) -- In an important boost to Kyrgyzstan's naturalisation process, President Askar Akaev recently presided over a ceremony to distribute passports to 69 long-time Tajik refugees.
Last Friday's event saw refugees living in the Chui Valley near Bishkek receive passports, and hence Kyrgyz citizenship, personally from the President in a colourful ceremony that ended in a fanfare of national music and song.

In his speech welcoming the refugees as new Kyrgyz citizens, President Akaev praised the work of UNHCR and thanked