Top UN humanitarian official visits returnees in Afghanistan

(New York, 27 June 2008): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes today arrived in Jalalabad, in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan on the second day of a five-day visit to the country.

He visited two sites for Afghan refugees who have returned home from Pakistan. The visit underscored the numerous challenges of refugee resettlement. In one site, where former refugees returned two years ago, some important basic aid has been provided, including drinking water, a school, a mosque, and shelter, thanks to the combined efforts of the Government and the aid community. The second site, which hosts more recent returnees, exhibited more rudimentary conditions. These returnees were unable to return to their areas of origin, due to lack of land, and are awaiting further assistance on the current site, which the Government has made available for them.

Mr. Holmes is also meeting the humanitarian regional team in Jalalabad and the Governor of Nangarhar, Mr. Gul Agha Sherzai. They will discuss the situation of the people of Nangarhar, including that of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Yesterday, Mr. Holmes met the UN humanitarian team in Kabul. On Saturday, the USG will travel to another field location before returning to Kabul.

The ERC's visit will allow him to review the humanitarian situation in order to improve response to the humanitarian needs of the Afghan population.

The security situation has made it difficult for humanitarian agencies to adequately assist those in need in parts of the country, and Mr. Holmes is raising the issues of humanitarian access and protection of civilians when he meets with senior Afghan government officials and representatives from both the Afghan military and those from the multi-national forces deployed in the country.

Afghanistan is one of the countries severely affected by the effects of the global food crisis. A special task force on food security that brings together the Government of Afghanistan, UN and other development agencies has already been set up.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; John Nyaga, OCHA-NY, + 1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.