New UN mission established. (Peacewatch: Afghanistan).

The Security Council on 28 March voted unanimously to establish the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), endorsing the mandate and structure laid out by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Set up with immediate effect for an initial twelve-month period, the Mission's mandate is to fulfil all tasks, including human rights, the rule of law, and gender issues, that were entrusted to the United Nations under the Bonn Agreement, which paved the way for the country's political transition. UNAMA will also seek to promote national reconciliation, while managing all UN humanitarian activities in Afghanistan in coordination with the Afghan Interim Authority and successor administrations. The Council called on all Afghan parties to cooperate with UNAMA in the implementation of its mandate and ensure the security and freedom of movement of its staff throughout the country.

UNAMA will be comprised of two "pillars--one for political affairs, and the other for relief and reconstruction. Human rights will be central to the new Mission, as it fulfils the provisions of the Bonn Agreement directly related to human rights and as it seeks to fully integrate human rights into its humanitarian, reconstruction and political activities, including the rule of law and national capacity-building. Noting that Afghanistan was a "shattered society" and that it would take "much more than 36 months to heal the wounds left by 23 years of war", the Secretary-General stressed that to ensure the Afghans themselves benefit most from the international presence, UNAMA should employ as many local staff as possible, "thereby leaving a light expatriate 'footprint'."

On 6 March, Mr. Annan named lean Arnault of France as his Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan responsible for political matters. He is the head of the political pillar of UNAMA, while Nigel Fisher heads the humanitarian and developmental pillar.

In setting up the Mission, the Council also reaffirmed its support for the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, and endorsed his "full authority" over all United Nations activities in Afghanistan. Stressing that the provision of focused recovery and reconstruction assistance would serve to promote the implementation of the Bonn Agreement, the Council urged bilateral and multilateral donors to coordinate their activities and provide aid through the Afghanistan Interim Administration and its successors, and in close coordination with Mr. Brahimi.

Following a day-long open debate chaired by Nonwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, the Council on 27 March acknowledged the importance of maintaining security in Kabul and expressed its intention to extend the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond the current 20 June 2002 expiration date.

At the outset of the debate, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette pointed out that even though UN agencies were gearing up to meet the challenges, the slow pace of funding was an increasing cause for alarm. "Almost a month ago in Kabul, we presented the immediate and transitional assistance programme for this year, spelling out requirements of $1.18 billion", she said. "We now urgently need to convert the generous pledges already made into actual contributions." The Deputy Secretary-General noted that, while the security situation in Afghanistan had apparently improved somewhat over the past few weeks, there had been further violent incidents in some areas, including reports that Taliban elements were regrouping in southern Paktia for a guerrilla campaign against the Interim Administration. "The concerns about security expressed in the Secretary-General's report remain all too pertinent", Ms. Frechette said.

She further reported on recent developments in the country, stating that both the Interim Administration and the United Nations had made education a key priority. The "historic" first day of the school year, beginning on 23 March, had been a major step towards getting children back to school, Ms. Frechette said. For the first time in six years, girls were among the 1.5 million students attending formal classes. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) had provided to some 3,000 schools around the country more than 7,000 tons of learning materials for both students and teachers, supplying 93 per cent with items such as textbooks, blackboards, pencils and notebooks, teaching aids and tents. Afghan officials estimate that an additional I million children may return to the public school system in April and another million in May and June, as displaced populations return home. On 21 March, the World Food Programme launched its largest-ever drive to feed up to a million schoolchildren. The school meals serve to entice poor children to attend classes while enhancing performance and providing essential nutrients.

RELATED ARTICLE: Loya Jirga 

The Emergency Loya Jirga, or tribal council--key to Afghanistan's future peace process--will meet in Kabul between 10 and 16 June 2002. The Chief of Staff of the new UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Karl Fischer, said that it was part of a process to achieve within two to three years "a situation where a peaceful Afghanistan is guaranteed, where the Afghans themselves take their destiny into their own hands".

On 1 April, procedures were announced for convening the Loya Jirga. The UN will be responsible for providing security and order during the elections to the tribal council, which will be held in two stages. Of the body's 1,451 members, 1,051 will be elected, with the remaining 400 selected in accordance with the Bonn Agreement, which paved the way for the political transition.

Earthquake Hits Northern Afghanistan

A devastating earthquake struck the northern Afghan province of E3aghlan on 25 March, with the epicentre located in the Nahrin district, about 160 kilometres north of Kabul. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated a total of 800 to 1,200 casualties, with 4,000 people injured and 20,000 left homeless. OCHA Humanitarian Emergency Branch Chief Kevin Kennedy stressed that roughly 20,000 families--up to 100,000 people--had been affected by the devastation. Relief efforts were hindered by aftershocks, as well as 'the already existing landmine threat", he said, noting that Nahrin had been heavily mined during fighting between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.

The World Food Programme has deployed some 552 metric tons of food aid to the area--enough for the next three months. Relief agencies have distributed some 15,000 tents and 100,000 blankets, as well as food rations to over 20,000 people in the earthquake zone. UN officials lauded the cooperation of the Afghan authorities, saying that urgent needs in the area had been met mostly through in-country stocks. The World Health Organization has sent in an emergency medical team to support Afghan officials in coordinating health relief efforts. As the acute phase of the earthquake response winds down, housing is the main problem, with an estimated 15,000 homes damaged or destroyed by the quake.