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Update of the Situation in Afghanistan and International Protection Considerations Restricted Use and Circulation Update of the Situation in Afghanistan and International Protection Considerations July 2003 This document is issued primarily for assistance in refugee status determination procedures, and may therefore be shared with national authorities, NGOs and refugee advocates engaged in such procedures only. It is not for public dissemination on the internet or otherwise. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees CP 2500, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Update of the Situation in Afghanistan and International Protection Considerations, UNHCR, July 2003 – Restricted Use & Circulation TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN ................................................................. 4 A. General Background ............................................................................................. 4 B. Political Situation .................................................................................................. 6 1. Main Features Prior to the Bonn Agreement of 5 December 2001 ............... 6 2. Key Developments Since September 2001.................................................... 8 2.1 The Bonn Agreement...................................................................................... 8 2.2 The Interim Administration and Authority..................................................... 9 2.3 The Emergency Loya Jirga and the Transitional Administration ............... 10 2.4 National and International Security Structures........................................... 11 2.5 Consolidation of the constitutional and political framework ...................... 13 2.6 The Establishment of Rule of Law and Promotion and Respect of Human Rights .......................................................................................... 13 C. Obstacles to Security, Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law .............................................................................................................. 15 1. On-Going Military Activities....................................................................... 15 2. Military Factions and Commander Presence ............................................... 16 3. Respect for Human Rights........................................................................... 19 3.1 Ethnic, religious and social groups ............................................................. 19 3.2 Political opposition groups.......................................................................... 20 3.3 Gender.......................................................................................................... 22 3.4 Education ..................................................................................................... 24 4. The Rule of Law .......................................................................................... 25 5. Some Initiatives to Address Obstacles......................................................... 26 D. Humanitarian Situation...................................................................................... 28 1. Food Security and Drought.......................................................................... 28 2. Nutritional Status and Health....................................................................... 29 3. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)............................................................ 30 4. Mines............................................................................................................ 31 E. Return of Afghans from Neighbouring and Non-Neighbouring Countries .............................................................................................................. 31 II. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION NEEDS OF AFGHANS............................ 32 A. General Considerations ...................................................................................... 32 B. Considerations Concerning Refugee Status on the Basis of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees........................................ 33 1. Convention Refugee Status According to Article 1 A (2) ........................... 33 1.1 Persons associated or perceived to have been associated with the Communist regime, as well as others who have campaigned for a secular state......................................................................................... 34 1.2 Certain profiles of women ........................................................................... 35 1.3 Persons at risk of persecution on political grounds .................................... 35 1.4 Persons originating and returning to areas where they constitute an ethnic minority........................................................................ 36 2 Update of the Situation in Afghanistan and International Protection Considerations, UNHCR, July 2003 – Restricted Use & Circulation 1.5 Persons who are perceived to have been associated with or supported the Taliban regime ...................................................................... 37 1.6 Non-Muslim religious minorities ................................................................. 37 1.7 Converts ....................................................................................................... 38 2. Exclusion on the Basis of Article 1 F of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees............................................................... 38 2.1 Members of military, security and police forces during the Taraki, Hafizullah Amin, Babrak Karmal, and Najibullah regimes......................................................................................................... 39 2.2 Specific high ranking members or commanders of Afghan military and political factions and movements ............................................ 39 2.3 Specific members and commanders of the Taliban movement .................... 40 C. Considerations Relating to Complementary Forms of Protection ................. 40 D. Humanitarian Considerations............................................................................ 40 E. Internal Relocation Alternative ......................................................................... 41 III. BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................... 42 UNHCR Documents.................................................................................................... 42 United Nations Documents ......................................................................................... 42 Governmental and International Resources............................................................. 42 Non-Governmental Resources ................................................................................... 43 Selected Web Sites....................................................................................................... 44 IV. ANNEXES ................................................................................................................ 45 A. Afghan Displacement: Global Levels and Trends............................................ 45 1. Populations, New Arrivals and Durable Solutions ...................................... 45 2. Asylum and Refugee Status Determination................................................. 46 3. Demographic Profile.................................................................................... 46 B. Ministers of the Afghan Government, March 2002 ......................................... 50 C. List of Afghan Ministers Without Portfolio...................................................... 51 V. MAP OF AFGHANISTAN..................................................................................... 55 3 Update of the Situation in Afghanistan and International Protection Considerations, UNHCR, July 2003 – Restricted Use & Circulation I. THE SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN This update includes facts and events through the end of April 2003. A. General Background 1. Afghanistan is a land-locked country covering 647,500 square kilometres. It shares borders of 5,529 kilometres with six neighbouring states: Iran (936 km), Turkmenistan (744 km), Uzbekistan (137 km), Tajikistan (1,206 km), China (76 km) and Pakistan (2,430 km). The country is mountainous with only 12 % arable land, 3 % of the land under forest cover and about 46% under permanent pastures. 2. The majority of the estimated 22.2 million Afghans who live in Afghanistan reside in rural areas. Between 80 to 85% of the Afghan population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. Almost 5 million Afghans live abroad, the majority in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. 3. The country’s administration is divided into 32 provinces and 329 districts1. Based on the existing legal system, the administration is theoretically organised as follows: • A province is the largest administrative unit led by a Governor2 (Waali), who is generally appointed or confirmed by the central authority. At present, not all governorships are filled -- or appointments accepted -- by the local elders. • Districts (woluswali) and municipal wards are the decentralised administrative units within a province, normally headed by district officers. Districts and municipal wards (as well as district centres without a ward) are, according to the “Procedures for the elections of the members of the emergency Loya Jirga,” the currently relevant electoral constituencies. • Villages form the basic communities within every district. The social institutions at community level in Afghanistan vary from region to region in function
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