A joint mission, consisting of UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and UNAMA returned to Kandahar yesterday after visiting the southern province of Nimroz . As you know there were reports of floods in the province. The mission confirmed that there has not been significant flooding in the province, however they did see that there has been quite a bit of rain and as a result some houses have been affected by heavy rains. The estimation of the damage is that 300 houses were damaged in Zaranj, 400 in Chakhansur (and not 1,000 as reported), and 400 in Kang, including a primary school.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has already sent, from Heart , 360 blankets and 90 tents to these affected areas. UNICEF will be delivering plastic sheets for the damaged houses and WFP is looking at food for work projects and free food components for vulnerable populations

In Farah, members of the Regional Combined Disaster Management Team (CDMT – Regional Government Departments, UN agencies, and NGO's) are being deployed in the coming days to Poshteckoh, Bala Bluk, and Gulistan districts, to verify local authority reports that houses had been destroyed by floods and that three people had been injured.

Also in Farah Province , UN personnel are liaising with the Provincial Emergency Task Force (Provincial Government Departments, UN agencies and NGO's at Provincial level), following reports that the district of Pur Chaman was in need of assistance. Two separate missions to Pur Chaman and Shebi Koh districts have already previously been deployed to this area, but a new assessment team is being sent there.

Pending confirmation of the needs in these areas, the Red Cross and the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in Heart are ready to send 200 tents, 500 plastic tarpaulins, 300 kitchen utensils which can be distributed through the local ARCS immediately.

Last briefing we mentioned to you that there was a joint UN Mission deployed to Bagdhis Province on March 7 th . It has returned. They report that preparatory activities for possible floods are going according to plans. The also noted that previous reports of flood damage in the Quadis area have been exaggerated. There were no fatalities and no one had to leave their homes.

•  DDR: Kunduz next region to undergo Heavy Weapons collection

Afghanistan 's New Beginnings Programme (ANBP) has sent one of its Heavy Weapons Collection Teams from Kabul to Kunduz where about 160 Heavy Weapons remain to be collected. The deployment of the team has been delayed by poor road and weather conditions through the mountains.

Kunduz and Shindand in the west are the last two areas where Heavy Weapons need to be collected.

•  Ammunition survey gathering steam

ANBP is also completing a countrywide survey of ammunition stores, depots and caches on behalf of the government. Four survey teams have been working for the past several weeks and now ANBP has added a fifth team. This team has been sent to the Kunduz region where it is considered a priority because it is thought to contain vast amounts of ammunition and no one knows just how much there is or where it is.

ANBP hopes to be able to start providing data to the media shortly to illustrate the amount and nature of ammunition that needs to be collected or destroyed. The Government of Afghanistan is working on a plan to deal with the ammunition once the survey is completed, possibly in a couple of months.

Although ANBP cannot yet provide an accurate picture of how much ammunition is scattered throughout the country it is able to say that much of what they are discovering is not only improperly stored, but much of it is highly dangerous. They are reminding everyone to be extremely cautious when coming across ammunition caches or depots. These should never be handled and should be reported to the authorities.

•  ANA gets new recruitment headquarters in Heart

Last Wednesday (March 9) provincial and military authorities in Heart inaugurated the new premises of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Regional Recruitment Battalion.

The site covers 330 square metres and the construction of the building should be completed by mid-June. The total cost of project, which was funded by the US Rehabilitation Fund for Afghanistan , is USD $45,000.

So far 22,000 soldiers have been trained and are deployed as members of the ANA and they are organized into 31 battalions.

•  Sudden death of FAO colleague, Mr. Waqar Ahmed Jehangir

We are very sorry to communicate the death of Mr. Waqar Ahmed Jehangir, an irrigation engineer who worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Mr. Jehangir, who is from Pakistan and was on a six-month contract, passed away from natural causes yesterday here in Kabul .

He is described by his FAO colleagues as a smiling and hard working man. The FAO, both in Kabul and Islamabad have been in contact with the family and we here would like to extend our condolences to Mr. Jehangir's family. He is survived by his wife and four children.

•  UNICEF workshop on iodized salt

A two-day workshop hosted by The Ministry of Public Health and UNICEF on promotion of iodized salt use ends today here in Kabul .

Seventeen participants from the Ministry's Public Nutrition Departments in Central and Eastern

Afghanistan joined UNICEF technical staff from across the country to discuss ways of increasing household use of iodized salt, ahead of a new public information campaign due to begin in early April.

Lack of iodine in the diet affects up to 80 per cent of the Afghan population, and is a major cause of conditions including goitre, physical stunting and mental retardation. One of the simplest methods of introducing iodine into the diet is through salt, but research indicates that on national average less than 40 per cent of Afghans consume iodized salt.

The workshop examined issues including the health benefits of iodized salt, barriers to consumption and ways of increasing usage of iodized salt through effective communication and advocacy at the community level, to prepare participants to play a role in promoting the information campaign next month.

•  UNAMA office in Kunduz help ‘green' city by planting 100 trees

A lack of trees in Kunduz City prompted the Governor, Mayor and all UNAMA staff to plant 100 evergreen and eucalyptus trees in Kunduz Central Park yesterday (March 13). The ceremony, related to Nawrooz, and called “ Green City ” also included several dozen community elders and school children.

The initiative was launched by the international staff of the Kunduz UNAMA office who raised USD $300.00 to help pay for the cost of trees estimated at between USD $2.00 to $4.00. Governor Mohammad Omar, Mayor Said Jahangir and several heads of government departments also contributed in supplying water, labour, and towards the cost of trees.

Kunduz was once one of the “greenest” cities in Afghanistan , however its landscape was greatly affected by the war. In search of wood for fuel, a vast majority of the province's forests were chopped down by the inhabitants. This rapid deforestation process has led to poor air quality, an increase in respiratory deceases caused by summer dust storms, and po llution from individually heated houses by burning wood.

While no official date has been set the Governor is planning for more tree planting campaigns in different areas of Kunduz in particular near hospitals, the airport, schools, orphanages and government buildings.

•  UN Human Rights Commission to hold 61 st session – reports on Afghanistan

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights will hold its sixty-first session from 14 March to 22 April.

The Commission sets standards to govern the conduct of States, but it also acts as a forum where countries large and small, non-governmental groups and human rights defenders from around the world can voice their concerns.

The Commission meets annually in Geneva in March and April for six weeks and is composed of 53 members. Over 3,000 delegates from member and observer States and from non-governmental organizations participate.

This year a report on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan will be made by the Independent Expert on Human Rights in Afghanistan , Professor Cherif Bassiouni. Dr. Sima Samar, the Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission will also make a statement. Both statements are expected to happen after 10 April.

Afghanistan is an observer to the Human Rights Commission.

•  Spokesman's farewell address

I have a final remark to make at this final briefing. This week marks the end of my work in Afghanistan . On Wednesday afternoon I will be leaving the country, after a little over three years I will return to UN Headquarters in New York .

My Afghan life has given me many experiences, but also many emotions. Above all what I will take in my heart are the moments I spent with the people I met and worked with; of course you journalists, in particular Afghan journalists, at the top of this list.

I am very grateful for the coverage you have given to the issues the UN deals with, the Bonn process and the statements we have made and also for your questions in interviews and during these briefings. They keep us on our toes. This is a key role of the media as society's watchdog – through your questions and your stories you contribute to the transparency and accountability of governments and institutions like the United Nations.

I will leave this room today happy for having had so many days with you for three years. I never got tired of it. Always enjoyed it. I am sorry if at any time I frustrated you, as I was not capable of providing you with the information you needed.

I can tell you of my greatest frustration – I have never briefed you in Dari or Pashto. This frustration is compounded by the fact that our simultaneous interpretation equipment is not yet operational – but here is the good news; its installation is going to happen in about 10 days. It will come with the Afghan New Year! Nawrooz Tabrik!

I wish to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in this Office of Communication and Public Information (OCPI), at UNAMA and UN agencies. The ones here today and those who worked at OCPI in the last three years. Also the spokespeople from other agencies. The easy part of a briefing is to come up here and talk with you. It is much tougher to put the briefing together and that is only possible because of the work of OCPI colleagues, at UNAMA at large and all other UN agencies.

The person who will replace me as spokesman has not yet been identified. Until then Ariane Quentier, Sultan Baheen, Richard Provencher, and Martin Battersby will be holding the fort and will continue to put together the briefings, with the cooperation of our colleagues from the agencies.

I am already talking too much, but just a couple more words, if you allow me. First, through the transcript of this briefing, to say goodbye to those whom I have not been able to bid farewell in person. Your reading of the briefing transcripts and calling us afterwards to ask questions or to give us feedback has been an invaluable contribution to our office and to me personally.

I have saved to the end, some words to Afghan men and women. First to say how much I enjoyed this beautiful country, its traditions, art, culture, your generosity and your hospitality. Being a guest of Afghanistan has been an honour for me.

Thank you.

Questions & Answers

Question: With reference to the floods in the south, in Kang, how many people were killed and in which area were the four hundred houses destroyed?

Spokesman: We do not have any indications of any casualties. I am talking about Nimroz Province . I am not saying that the houses were destroyed, they were damaged.

Question: The Chairman of the Elections Commission said that by delaying the Parliamentary Elections, the new budget would increase. By how much? Is the International Community ready for this?

Spokesman: I hope they are ready. I cannot tell you how much it means in terms of money, but I can explain why there is an increase. There was an original budget indication that took into consideration the fact that elections would be happening in the spring. This means that a number of elements in the budget would be required for a certain number of months. But as elections will not be happening in Saur but later – the later they take to happen the more time you need to have people working, the more time you need to rent equipment, the more time you need to rent offices and fuel of vehicles. So you have more expenditures which leads to an increase in the budget. I cannot tell you the budget as I do not have it. But I understand that the electoral experts are working on it and I understand that in the coming days they will be concluding the operational plan that I mentioned to you a few days ago – and that of course has a clearer budget estimate. I also understand that Peter Erben, once this is concluded, will be in a position to come here and brief you on the operations plan. Of course, until some of the decisions that are pending are taken, the operations plan cannot be finalized. But most of it is done – sometimes making assumptions, sometimes leaving the flexibility to make adjustments once certain decisions that are pending are finally made.

Question: Yesterday Human Rights Watch issued a letter in which they criticized the UN and UNAMA for not criticizing the War Lords for human rights violations and not publishing regular human rights violation reports. How credible are these criticisms?

Spokesman: I have not read their letter. I saw a media report on it. So I cannot go into details. But I think UNAMA has been very clear since the beginning of our operation three years ago, that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is not a clear one. It is one with many problems. I think that the role of commanders has been clearly mentioned by us a number of times. Including in the reports issued to the Security Council, which are public reports. I also think that there are actions that we support – government actions - that aim to address these issues which are not easy to address and have many aspects. In what concerns commanders – there is the DDR programme. As you know the DDR programme is reaching its end most likely in June – the disarmament portion of it that is, the demobilization - not the reintegration which you will have to continue for another year. But that's quite significant. More than forty two thousand Afghans that have been in arms have been demobilized. Further, as you know we have talked about it here – the DDR has focused, and that was the design of the programme, on the militias under the umbrella of the Minister of Defence, the Afghan Militia Forces. But we all know that there are commanders and people in arms outside the AMF in illegal militias. There are very active talks on how to address this illegal militia. I don't have anything to announce now but this is something that is in the works. But I think that while the role of commanders cannot be forgotten, human rights is so complex that we should look beyond the commanders. Because you know there are people at different levels of authority that are not so called commanders – they may be called something else - that play a role in the question of human rights. These people need to be looked at and vetted. The administration has to have this in mind when people are appointed to certain positions. Finally, and very importantly, the issue of human rights in Afghanistan goes hand in hand with the issue of reform of the justice system. You need an effective police and an effective justice system that will enable people to file complaints, have an investigation done and bring people to justice [if appropriate] and have justice done. I believe we must look at human rights in this very wide context. I think statements made like the one made by Human Rights Watch are important as we cannot forget that this is an issue of concern in Afghanistan . It is important to issue these things around the time of the Human Rights Commission. Again I did not read it, but anything to keep a problem in front of the eyes of those who can contribute to address the problem is positive.

Question: As you leave here, what are your personal highs and lows over the last four years?

Spokesman: Let me start with the lows that to me are fewer than the highs. I think that the frustration of Afghans that do not see what they expected to see as a result of the peace process is a low. We can understand why it happens but nevertheless it is frustrating for Afghans and frustrating for all of us, not only the UN, but all of us who are here to support this process. It's frustrating that it is not moving faster. We understand the process has its own speed – you have to build capacity in a number of institutions for these institutions to be able to deliver. And building capacity is not visible, and it takes time. Sometimes you have to physically reconstruct certain facilities. Those of you who were three years ago will remember that Kabul had a sea of destroyed buildings, which now [we see] is much less because of the clean-up and the new constructions. But in addition to that, you saw empty streets, very few cars, a number of bicycles, and fewer people than what we see now. At the very beginning one of the immediate actions of the International Community – just to illustrate in terms of national capacity - was to put furniture in the offices of ministers, to put glass in the windows, to give a set of cars to government officials. Because there was nothing. There were no phones. If you remember if you wanted to have a meeting you had to give a driver a piece of paper to say [to the person you wanted to see] meet me at such a place and at such a time – that's how it was. So looking back at these things, even though we are far away from what everyone expects, I think it's a high what has been accomplished. Of course, there are specific moments – Election Day is certainly a land mark here. I was in Kabul and not other places - seeing people in Kabul lining up and seeing the pictures of people lining up in the snow in Bamyan, or in the rain in Panjshir, was quite something.

One of the very important aspects that can contribute to more highs is Afghans really feeling confident that they can do it. Yes there are things that are not happening fast, there is unemployment, and there are not enough schools or hospitals. But on the other hand there are more than four millions children in school which this country never had before – thirty percent of them are girls. Polio is about to be eradicated. The roads are not very good still - I have a friend who went from Gardez to Khost and showed me pictures of all these trucks stuck in the mud - it takes time to [improve] the infrastructure.

But what I really wish is that people could overcome this sense that ‘we are a poor country', ‘we suffer', ‘we were destroyed'. Yes Afghanistan had all kinds of suffering, the lives you lost, the families the friends. Few countries in the world went through this. The number of people that live abroad and who were forced to leave the country. That is such a loss for the country – the capacity that is not here yet.

But let's get beyond this - Afghans can do it. Who would have thought that more than eight million people would come out and vote in spite of the fears. There were fears in those days, we all remember that – but people went out and voted.

It's a good thing more people are back and this is a high. But there is a low; more traffic jams. But you also have many more people hearing about these things [problems]. Just look at the Afghan media. Despite of the fact that I embarrass myself everyday by speaking in English to a mostly Afghan audience of journalists. Afghans can do it. They overcome this barrier that we are imposing [because of my language limitation]. But still they overcome the limitations and write the stories and you see how much is covered. There are more than three hundred publications in this country, close to fifty radio stations, more than twenty TV stations – in three years all of this. This is another high I would say.

One final word. Just to tell those Afghans that have seen these briefings on TV and after the briefings come to us to ask questions, to make comments and to say what they thought. This is great and it is another high - people coming to you in the street to say what they think and give an opinion. For us it has been one of the greatest tools. Their opinions have been extremely useful not only for this briefing but for the work of the Mission [UNAMA]. I also want to say that in the difficult moments when we were worried about security, the warmth and concern expressed by Afghans in the streets really was extremely encouraging and important to us.

This is my last briefing and this is goodbye for the time being. But I really hope that in some months I will return as a tourist and I will be able to see more things in Kabul, and more things elsewhere in this country and above all more things happening in the rural areas. And a new National Assembly with your representatives – [representing you].

I hope that your leaders, no matter which political party they belong to or what background they have, will take actions that truly represent the aspirations of Afghans as you develop your institutions and legislative process.

All the best to you and your country.

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