TALKING POINTS
JEMB now complete, Chief Electoral Officer appointed
The election authority in Afghanistan is the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB). It ran the presidential elections last year. It will do the same this year with legislative elections.
It is called Joint because it brings together into the same Body the Afghan Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which has nine members, and the international electoral experts appointed by the United Nations.
The IEC was appointed by President Karzai on January 27, 2005 . The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Jean Arnault, has now concluded the appointment of all four international electoral experts. They are: Alison Redford, from Canada , Julian Type, from Australia , Noor Mohammad, from India , and Ray Kennedy, from the USA .
Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Type have been in Kabul for a few weeks working with the Afghan members of the JEMB. Ms. Redford and Mr. Noor Muhammad are expected to arrive in Kabul very shortly.
Special Representative Jean Arnault congratulates them all on their appointments. He also welcomes Peter Erben, whom he has appointed as the Chief Electoral Officer. Mr. Erben is the senior international election official in Afghanistan and as such he will advise the SRSG on all electoral matters and he will also be in charge of the 2005 electoral operations, under the policy supervision of the JEMB.
Now let me tell you briefly about each one of them.
Alison Redford
Alison Redford is a human rights lawyer with 14 years experience in the public-sector capacity building and policy reform efforts, participatory capacity assessment, and community mediation in post-conflict situations. She provided technical support to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa and coordinated the Northern Transvaal Election Observer Mission during the 1994 South African National Elections on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat. She designed and managed a project to train South African journalists in election reporting and has held senior positions in numerous political campaigns in Canada .
Julian Type
Julian Type has had 21 years of practice of electoral administration in Australia with the Australian Electoral Commission. His experience includes electoral districting expertise when serving for the Tasmanian Department of Justice. He has had international electoral experience in elections in Cambodia (1993), Indonesia (1999), Timor Leste (2001-02), and in Afghanistan during the 2004 presidential elections.
Ray Kennedy
For 10 years Ray Kennedy was a senior manager at the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). His experience abroad includes supporting the elections in Haiti (1990-1991) and Guyana (1991-1992) as well as organizing conferences on civic education in Nicaragua (1991) and electoral reform in Argentina (1991). From 2000 to 2002, he was deputy to the Chief Electoral Officer in Timor Leste. In October 2003, he became a member of the Joint Electoral Management Body in Afghanistan.
Noor Mohammad
Noor Mohammed has been a member of the Electoral Commission of India since 1994. He has run the electoral administration of the Commission and dealt with the preparation for and the conduct of Presidential elections, Parliament elections and election to the State Legislature in India. He has also supervised elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Peter Erben
Peter Erben has been seconded to the United Nations by the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) as Chief Electoral officer for the 2005 Afghan elections. At IFES he is a senior advisor and deputy director of its Centre for Transitional and Post-Conflict Governance. He is specialized in the management of electoral projects in emerging democracies.
He was responsible in 2004 and 2005 for the out of country voting programmes for the Afghan Presidential elections and the Iraqi National Assembly elections. Since 2002 he is the senior expert for the elections in the Palestinian territory, supporting the independent Palestinian Central Election Commission. At different capacities he participated in the management of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
Click here to view the full biography of Alison Redford , Julian Type , Ray Kennedy , and Peter Erben .
Humanitarian relief continues to winter affected areas
Despite adverse road conditions in Ghor province, the clearance of critical access roads and effective air drops by Coalition Forces mean that relief is reaching affected areas.
Four trucks carrying 32 Metric Tons (MT) of food from the World Food Programme (WFP) for almost 5,000 people in Chaghcharan had been blocked by snow in Darai Takht up until yesterday – however they have now proceeded.
Also in Ghor Province -12,000 people received a total of 94 MT of WFP food assistance in the severely affected areas of Sharak, Kemenj, Dara-e-Takh, Chesht-e-Sharif and Obehs by the 28 th of February.
In Zabul, WFP have now reached some 55,000 people with 515 MT of food – this includes some 85 MT airlifted by military helicopters to remote locations that were impossible to reach by land.
Elsewhere, in the Dih Bala district of Nangarhar province - WFP finished the distribution of some 44 MT of food to some 2,400 people on 26 February, in conjunction with local authorities and communities.
Meanwhile in Uruzgan, WFP is in the process of distributing 28 MT of food to 480 families in the Chora and Khas districts, while in the Gulran district of Heart Province, 3 MT of WFP food is currently underway to 100 families.
On the medical and emergency assistance front - medical teams from the local NGO, the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), were dispatched last week to the Ghulan district of Heart, following reports that families have been severely affected by the cold weather. They have now reported that there are no major disease outbreaks, although 100 families had been affected by damage to homes due to rain and snow. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided household items to ARCS for distribution to these families.
Meanwhile, in response to a reported outbreak of acute respiratory infection in the Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province, UNICEF has provided emergency medical supplies, including antibiotics, to the Department of Health for treatment of affected children.
Elsewhere, emergency supplies to Nimroz, Uruzgan, Helmand and Kandahar provinces provided by UNICEF, and mentioned in earlier briefings, have now been distributed – over 31,000 people have received a range of non-food items, and medical supplies.
An assessment mission to the Darwaz district of Badakhshan province, flown in two weeks ago by ISAF in response to reports of a pertussis outbreak, has returned. They have found that the situation is non-threatening and no specific actions have been recommended at this stage.
Though there were no reports received this week of disease outbreaks in Nuristan, as a precautionary measure UNICEF have sent two emergency health kits to help deal with any potential outbreak. Four more will be sent in the next few days to the Nuristan Department of Health.
Click here to view the English WFP press release.
More access as roads cleared
Four passes (Khowja Angor, Kariz, Ali Jan, and Qaria Timor) in Logar that were closed for the last 50 days are open as of yesterday. The Ministry of Public Works, and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) worked very hard to clear roads. In some of them there were up to six metres of snow. In all, 80 villages that were cut off now are accessible. So significant was this occasion that it prompted the Governor of Logar to have a special re-opening ceremony.
In Ghor the Ghok pass is open after 50 labourers have been working on it for the last 10 days. The other pass, the Bayan, remains closed. Major parts of the Chaghcharan road have also been cleared.
According to Solidarités all the roads in the Central Highlands, including the Shibar Pass, are now open. The NGO also indicated that with no snow expected to fall in the coming days the situation should continue to improve. However, Solidarités also warns that with the mild weather comes the melting of snow. Plenty of mud finds its way on to the roads making driving conditions hazardous.
As for the status of the Salang Tunnel, the Ministry of Public Works tells us that the tunnel is open from the northern side, closed from the southern side. Drivers should be careful when driving due to the presence of ice. It is also cloudy on the southern and northern sides.
Last week, the Salang mountain slipped, because of mild temperatures, but the Ministry of Public Works cleared the road. However, work is ongoing as we speak.
[After the briefing the Spokesman clarified the Salang Pass situation. It is open from both directions, with a 100 metre restriction on the southern side where the mountain slipped.]
Flood preparedness update
Here is a brief update on flood preparedness.
Last Sunday, in a meeting co-chaired by the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) Haneef Atmar, and the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan Ameerah Haq, five working groups were established to address the issue.
Each group deals with a specific area; The ‘Forecast Analysis Group' is mapping high-risk areas throughout the country, the ‘Coordination Mechanism' will identify current capacity and stocks, and the ‘Pre-positioning Group' will identify key hubs and strategic location points. In addition to this, the ‘Relief Response Group' will aim to ensure the best possible response and avoid overlapping in the delivery of relief assistance. Lastly, the ‘Public Awareness Group' will ensure that the populations of affected areas are informed about potential floods, once those high-risk areas have been identified.
These working groups - made up of Afghan officials, UN agencies, international and Afghan NGO's, as well as Coalition and ISAF representatives – have been meeting over the last four days. It has also decided that similar working groups would be established at the provincial level under the leadership of the provincial governor.
Police board officially inaugurated in Balkh
Yesterday morning the police board in Balkh was officially inaugurated in the office of the Governor. Others in attendance included the Balkh Chief of Police, representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Afghan National Army, the regional training centre for police, the head of the National Security Directorate (NSD) in Balkh, the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), UNAMA and other organizations.
The main objective of the board is to promote the rule of law through coordinated efforts to address any outstanding police-related issues among the local authorities, the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and the international community.
In the meeting, all participants welcomed UNAMA's initiative to encourage the establishment of the board and pledged their full commitment for better cooperation and coordination.
The Chief of Police, General Akram, reported the activities of police and identified 10 areas of concern for coordination and assistance. It was also decided in the meeting that the governor's office will coordinate action to remove all the black-tinted windows of vehicles in the province, a working group will be formed to identify the notorious militia commanders who have been harassing local people and report to the next meeting for follow-up action.
At this stage, UNAMA is taking a leading role in coordination for the board with the hope it can gradually be transferred to the local authorities.
Panjshir Valley nearly free of Heavy Weapons
The collection of Heavy Weapons in the Panjshir Valley is nearly complete. As of yesterday the ANBP collected, secured and deactivated 104 Heavy Weapons at the compound in Jebel Seraj. ANBP estimated that the Panjshir Valley has a total of 110 Heavy Weapons.
In the west, the Shindand and Farah regions, Heavy Weapons that were not known to be there have been found. Estimates indicate there are 60 Heavy Weapons to be collected.
The remaining significant area is the Kunduz region. Some 165, or perhaps more, Heavy Weapons have been found and ANBP teams will soon be transporting them to secure compounds.
This brings the total number of Heavy weapons collected throughout the country to 8,614.
As for the number of disarmed soldiers, today that number is 42,549. Of those, 37,975 have been formally removed from their units through demobilization and received their medals of honor, new clothing, and food. 36,640 are in, or have completed the reintegration phase.
ANBP helps clear drainage channels for villagers of Faroj
The ANBP ammunition and Heavy Weapons collection teams have also been helping citizens of Afghanistan with small projects as a gesture of goodwill.
Last week they helped clear a road that had been blocked due to an avalanche in the Panjshir Valley. The team also noticed the drainage channels were clogged with boulders. They were quickly cleared much to the delight of the citizens of the village of Faroj.
Kabul-based Division 1 still not complying
Two briefings ago we told you about the Kabul-based Division 1 not complying with DDR requirements and instructions from the Ministry of Defence. They should have handed in a list of men to be disarmed. After a long delay that list was submitted but then was taken away by Division 1. Again we look forward to resolving one of the last significant obstacles towards the full success of the DDR programme hoping that this list will come forward and disarmament can take place in Division 1.
Press conference to announce additional USD $28.8 million dollars from Japan today at noon
During our last briefing we told you about the March 1 st press conference announcing the Japanese Government's contribution of USD $28.8 million dollars to ANBP's DDR programme. This briefing was subsequently postponed. It is happening today at noon at the Japanese Embassy and it is open to the media.
Including today's contribution, Japan has donated more than USD $93 million dollars to ANBP's DDR program and is the largest supporter. Other donors to ANBP include Canada, the United States of America, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Due to the normal security procedures at the embassy media are advised to get there 10 or 15 minutes early.
SRSG in Tokyo
Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Jean Arnault is currently in Tokyo, where he has attended a symposium called ‘Post Election Afghanistan and Peace-Building Support'.
Mr. Arnault spoke about the challenges of reconstruction assistance in Afghanistan, focusing on peace building support by the United Nations. He also participated in a panel discussion on ‘Target setting for a better future in Afghanistan'.
The event was organized by the Japanese Institute for International Studies and the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony was Sadako Ogata, the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Before returning to Kabul this weekend, the Special Representative is having meetings with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Shinako Tsuchiya, Chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party Foreign Affairs Committee.
UNMACA responds to Mine explosion near Bamyan Buddhas
The United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA) has just dispatched a mine risk education and minefield survey team to the area near the Buddhas in Bamyan. This was in response to a mine incident on the 23 rd of February which caused multiple injuries to a person. Preliminary indications suggest that the mine was most likely washed down from a minefield at the top of the hill where the Buddha niches are built into. The teams have erected mine warning signs in the area, which is inhabited and is also a tourist attraction.
Afghanistan has a high level of mine contamination and it has the largest humanitarian mine clearance operation in the world. Each month about 100 people are either injured or die from mines. Thanks to the work of thousands of Afghan deminers the number of mine victims went down from 300 in 2001-02 to the current level of 100.
UNMACA asked us to tell you and through you the people of Afghanistan that all attention is needed when walking or driving on flat land near slopes with melting snow on them and when it is raining. Landmines can move about in these conditions and are likely to come to rest on flat surfaces.
UNMACA involved in clearing mines during Kam Air crash recovery efforts
UNMACA has also just deployed a mine clearance team to the area of the Kam Air plane crash at the request of the Afghan National Army (ANA).
The crash site itself is not mined. However the ANA has established a base camp below the crash site. A minefield exists between the crash site and this camp. A team of Afghan deminers was airlifted to the site yesterday morning and began clearing mines.
Kandahar: Management training for 60 Government officials held
In an effort to prepare and further educate government officials, an intensive eight-day basic management training session, involving 60 government officials, was completed earlier this week in Tirin Kot in Uruzgan province.
The session involved 14 Department Heads and Deputy Department Heads as well as the district chiefs of Derawood and Shahidi Hassas. All received training on basic management and planning skills, teamwork, leadership skills, basic project management, and evaluation.
The workshop was facilitated by UNAMA, with financial and logistical support from the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and USAID (US Agency for International Development).
A similar workshop, facilitated and financially supported by UNAMA, was held earlier this year in Kandahar with the participation of 60 senior department staff. Future workshops will be held in Zabul (facilitated by UNAMA, with financial and logistical support from the PRT and US AID), as well as Helmand and Nimroz provinces (both to be facilitated and financially supported by UNAMA).
Support for International Women's Day
UNIFEM is supporting a one-day gathering of the Women Journalist's Section of the National Journalists Union of Afghanistan, which will be held at the Sham Shaban Hotel, in Khair Khana, Kabul today from 9am-3pm.
The event, which is timed to highlight International Women's Day on March the 8 th , will focus on the role of Afghan women journalists in advocacy, and awareness raising campaigns for women around Afghanistan.
As I end the briefing, and we talk about International Women's Day, let me just remind you of a few indicators regarding women in this country.
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Afghan women have an adult literacy level of only 14% - some three times less than Afghan men.
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The percentage of women with access to primary, secondary or tertiary education stands at a mere 27%, less than half that of their male counterparts.
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Women in Afghanistan have an estimated earned yearly income of only USD $402, three times less than Afghan men.
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One woman dies from pregnancy-related causes approximately every 30 minutes in Afghanistan and maternal mortality rates are 60 times higher than in industrial countries.
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In Afghanistan, some 70% of all tuberculosis cases are amongst women.
In the next briefing we hope to have more news on the activities regarding International Women's Day in Afghanistan and we will have more facts on the situation of women in this country. We believe that awareness of a problem is already a significant step towards addressing and mitigating the problem.
Afghan female photographer at OCPI
As we talk about opportunities for women, I would like to introduce to you Freshta Dunya, an Afghan photographer who is working with our office.
Edward Carwardine, UNICEF Communication Officer
As part of its ongoing support to the Government of Afghanistan, UNICEF this week signed two new agreements with Government bodies to develop national capacity in the information sector.
On Sunday 27 February, UNICEF Representative Bernt Aasen and Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism His Excellency Dr. Sayed Makhdoum signed a Memorandum of Understanding that establishes the first ever formal partnership between the two bodies. Under the Memorandum, UNICEF has agreed to provide vitally needed audio-visual equipment to Government radio and television stations around the country, including cameras and recording equipment, and support the development of children's radio programming through professional training and financial assistance to pilot projects. The Memorandum also sets out the Ministry's own commitments to ensuring that national priorities for children in areas such as health and education are given maximum coverage by State broadcasters and newspapers. The partnership is worth an estimated $200,000 of support to the Ministry.
On Tuesday 1 March, UNICEF and the Government's Central Statistical Office signed a partnership agreement worth $150,000 that will see UNICEF providing a range of support to data gathering and analysis in Afghanistan. The DevInfo system is a global tool for monitoring progress towards human development at the country level, with a specific focus on the Millennium Development Goals.
The Central Statistical Office is the key Government authority responsible for undertaking information management, dissemination, monitoring and reporting on progress towards these goals, and as part of a broader base of support provided by the UN, UNICEF will be supplying IT equipment for running the DevInfo system, along with capacity building of staff to manage the programme.
DevInfo is a database software package which enables storage and analysis of development information including basic indicators such as child and infant mortality, demographic indicators, access to health care and education, availability and usage of safe water and sanitation, employment data and other information that will be used by planners and policy makers to help in strategic decision making.
Click here to view the Dari version of the press release.
Questions & Answers
Question: Can you tell us about the International members of the Election Commission? What exactly will they do?
Spokesman: The JEMB is comprised of the Independent Electoral Commission, which has nine members and four international electoral experts. How they divide the work within the body is up to them. I assume the work will be divided up according to expertise and experience. The nine Afghan members are individuals from different parts of the country with different experience. The four international experts bring a variety of skills. It's the combination of this that makes up the strength of the body as a whole. But how they divide the work, is up to them.
As to whether this will have an impact on the legislative elections? The JEMB is not the executive arm; the Secretariat is and these people who will be working under the guidance of the chief electoral officer, Peter Erben will follow the policy direction of the JEMB to execute the work.
Now I told you at the last briefing that the concept of operations should be available in two weeks or so. I spoke with Peter Erben yesterday and I asked him what the current status is. He reaffirmed that by mid-March there will be a concept of operations. And of course these colleagues are in contact with key partners that have a role to play in the execution of the elections themselves. Security is a very important aspect and the Coalition, ISAF, the MoD, the MoI, NDS have been working along with the electoral experts for some time now, on all the aspects that impact on defining the concept of operations - following the guidance that comes from the JEMB. There are a few little points that require decision. There is movement and the Cabinet has been meeting and looking at some of these key issues. But these things take time – we can never forget where Afghanistan is coming from [many years of war and destruction with very weak institutions that need strengthening]. I think the objective here that we cannot lose sight of is what we want? I may not be here by election time, but I hope you don't lose sight of this; we want a credible process and a good electoral process - this does not always mean ‘speed, speed, speed'. But I do think things are on a good track and we will see things moving soon.
Question: There is a belief that not all WFP gets to the people that need it and that some of the food is sold locally. What is the mechanism of accountability to areas where WFP cannot go?
Maarten Roest, WFP Communication Officer: We have a system called monitoring and evaluation. Obviously sometimes we cannot go somewhere so we have to rely on reports. It does happen that things are used in the way that they should not be used. But over the last year we have total losses of 6% of our total distribution – this includes normal losses such as the fire in Kandahar. We also have extensive monitoring and following up of our process which also involves a judgment on the way our implementing partners operate. In general this is satisfactory in Afghanistan. Although over the last year we have discontinued collaboration with some partners. We are in a country with a lot of difficulties and are trying our best to make sure food arrives in the hands of the people who need it. It is becoming more of a priority with WFP to work directly with communities themselves.
Question: An official in the ministry of the interior has said that ex-soldiers who have entered the DDR process are often involved in criminal activity as they are unable to secure good jobs. What is your position on this, and do we have any figures on the number of soldiers in employment?
Spokesman: I do not know who this official is or how much he knows about DDR. His comments do not reflect the reality of the DDR programme. There are over 30,000 soldiers and officer that have begun or are going through integration programmes. These are people whose military units have been demobilized and who had the option of choosing what activity in civilian life they would like to have in order to make a living. Is this process without problems – of course not. This process, as any other process, is fallible. I think I mentioned in a previous briefing that there is an evaluation of the pilot phase of DDR to get a clear picture of what is happening to the people who have been disarmed and have gone through the reintegration process. There are reports of some problems, which is to be expected. But the occasional problem is not indicative of the process as a whole, and in order to have a clear picture of the programme you need to refer to the evaluation which will be available soon. The pilot phase covers October 2003 to January 2004. Those were the first people to go through DDR. Why are we looking at these people? That is what gives you enough time to see what the trend is. It is not easy to go from military life to civilian life, so you have to allow some time before evaluating them.
I will now turn to the issue of demobilized militia units or AMF units. 60,000 men were being paid by the Afghan Government and 60,000 men have now been removed from the payroll. One aspect that we cannot lose sight of is the savings that the Afghan treasury has made due to the DDR process. And this is just one positive aspect - there are many others.
So to answer your question - the comment you heard does not represent the reality of the programme. There are many positive benefits, but we are aware of the need to keep track of it, which is why there is an evaluation of the pilot phase which will be made public when it is finished.
Question: I have a question about the reports that were published yesterday in Vienna about the opium economy and it's worrying conclusion. What do you think about this report? What kind of signs does the UN see on the ground about the reduction of opium?
Spokesman: This report was put out yesterday by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). It is an annual report by a body of 12 people who serve in their personal capacity. In many ways what they do is a compilation of the information available around the world on drugs for the last 12 months. The numbers made available yesterday, although I have not seen the report, I saw the media stories on it, if I'm not mistaken are the numbers of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime that in many ways act as a secretariat to the INCB. Those concerns were expressed earlier by the United Nations and in fact it is very good that they are brought up again and it is very good that it gets wide coverage because it is a very serious problem that requires not only action by Afghans, but also the international community in support of the Afghans. There is an issue of production of poppy in Afghanistan but there is equally a very serious issue of demand for drugs in the west. So the UN's view has been known many times on the question of the impact of drugs in this society, of the question of drugs and corruption in the state and how it is disruptive to the economy of this country. There are a number of countries, the UK, the US, other countries which are very active supporters of the process of dealing with counter narcotics here. One of the points President Karzai clearly made when he was inaugurated on December the 7 th was the fight against narcotics, and following up on his words at that time, he created a Ministry of Counter Narcotics to further spearhead their efforts. They have created a Counter Narcotics Police. There are a number of initiatives - you've got to have a body of legislation to support the action against counter narcotics, you've got to have the law enforcement capacity, both things that need to be developed greatly in this country. But it is not only a question of repression or eradication. It is a question of livelihood, it is a question of the economy, it is a question of enabling and creating conditions for those people who plant poppy to be able to do something else in order to provide their families with a means of living their lives in dignity. So it is good that this issue came to the fore again. I hope it is not forgotten. It is not an event. There is a process here that needs to continue to be a priority for all of us, in order for this country to move forward.
Question: Do you confirm that Afghanistan is becoming a narco state?
Spokesman: I would have to refer you to the experts that deal with that.
Question: What would be the side effects of postponing the elections for six months, and what would be the positive effects if it was held on time?
Spokesman: I think what you are asking is an academic question – “What if?” We have a reality here. The reality is, as has been widely discussed and announced, elections cannot take place in the month of Saur. The JEMB will announce a new date once they feel they have all the necessary elements that enable them to reach a decision on the most appropriate date to hold elections. I know that everyone concerned wants to have it as soon as possible. But I also know that everyone concerned wants to have a process that is credible that is a good election. So it is this balance that the JEMB has to strike as they make their decision on the date of the election.
Question: So the election will not be in the month of Saur?
Spokesman: It is not possible in the month of Saur, because among other things the Electoral Law says that the date needs to be announced at least 90 days before the elections.