Afghanistan.

Condemning the spiral of violence and destruction in Afghanistan, Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Organization of the Islamic Conference on 9 December to renew efforts to help end the fighting in the region.

Stressing the need for a complete ceasefire and an effective arms embargo, he charged that the conflict was fuelled by the unabated military and financial support of the warring factions by foreign Powers, which undermined United Nations attempts to mediate a lasting peace.

In view of the deteriorating safety conditions in Mazar-i-Sharif, the Head of the United Nations Special Mission in Afghanistan (UNSMA), Norbert Holl, urgently appealed to the warring factions on 10 October to facilitate the evacuation of international personnel from the city.

Humanitarian conditions worsened due to the fighting. On 18 November, mass graves containing the remains of thousands of Taliban soldiers were found in northern Afghanistan. The number of internally displaced persons increased by 200,000 this year, exacerbating the already dire refugee situation. The crisis was intensified by landmines. The Secretary-General reported on 17 September that nearly 777 square kilometers were contaminated by mines. Of this, 322 square kilometers were classified as "high priority", requiring urgent removal.

In his emergency assistance report on Afghanistan of 28 October, the Secretary-General pointed out that a large number of families headed by women were unable to support themselves because of the interdiction of women's employment, while, at the same time, women and girls could no longer receive education. "In response to discriminatory practices imposed by the Taliban, almost all United Nations education projects were suspended or were not implemented", Mr. Annan reported. "United Nations agencies and NGOs faced constraints in undertaking needs assessment, humanitarian programmes and monitoring without the benefit of contributions provided by female national staff."

On 26 November, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it was planning to airdrop urgent food supplies to the Bamyan region in north-central Afghanistan, blockaded since 4 May. The WFP warned that, with winter fast approaching, the situation was "becoming critical", with 1.2 million inhabitants suffering from lack of adequate food and about 160,000 of them facing starvation "unless aid arrived immediately".

RELATED ARTICLE: Taliban to Aid Narcotics Curb

According to a survey conducted by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, released on 11 September, Afghanistan's opium poppy production rose to 2,800 metric tons in 1997, an estimated 25 per cent increase over the previous year. It also found that 96.4 per cent of the estimated 58,400 hectares under opium cultivation, generating over $60 million in annual income for approximately 200,000 farmers, originated in provinces controlled by the Taliban. However, according to the interim report of 16 October by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, the Taliban authorities were reported to have taken measures to ban the cultivation, sale and use of illegal drugs. The Special Rapporteur welcomed that the Taliban authorities had voiced their readiness to cooperate with the international community in eradicating drugs.