Thousands displaced by crisis in Afghanistan

Refugees sitting on a truck with their belongings at a UN centre in Kabul Keystone

Fighting in Afghanistan has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and the number of displaced is growing by the day, says a Swiss human rights expert.

Walter Kälin, the United Nations representative for the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), says the dangerous security situation in the country means it is almost impossible to get help to those in need.

“Humanitarian access is a huge problem and is very limited. Humanitarian workers have been killed, have been attacked and right now there is a big threat of abductions by the insurgents,” he told swissinfo.

“Equally, when the military forces assisting the Afghan government in restoring security and order conduct their operations, it’s too dangerous to go into these places.”

Kälin has just returned from Afghanistan where he attended a UN-sponsored conference in Kabul on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The three-day meeting was dominated by concerns over the hundreds of civilian deaths and arbitrary arrests.

The Bern University law professor was unable to leave the Afghan capital because of the ongoing security risk but he held a series of meetings with government officials and international agency staff to assess the “complex” IDP situation.

Drought and insecurity

According to the UN, there are already around 129,000 IDPs who were displaced by drought and insecurity in 2000/2001 and who are still unable to return home.

In addition there are now those that have been forced out of their homes by ongoing military operations in the south, southwest and central parts of the country.

“Their number is estimated at up to 80,000 but nobody really knows because many of these areas are inaccessible both for the international community and the Afghan governmental authorities,” said Kälin.

He added that there was a need for all parties involved in the conflict to do more to prevent internal displacement and to “scrupulously respect” international humanitarian law.

He highlighted in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality, insisting that insurgents should not hide among the civilian population and that international troops should not use disproportionate force, which often results in civilian deaths.

Returning refugees

Another factor adding to the IDP problem is that neighbouring countries such as Iran and Pakistan are now sending back Afghan refugees.

Many cannot return to their homes because of the security situation and have nowhere else to go, so they end up as IDPs, often looking for shelter in the vicinity of cities.

Kälin said governments in the region needed to agree a phased approach to the return of the approximately three million Afghan nationals who remain in neighboring countries.

He said he would be urging the UN and the government to establish a clear picture on internal displacement in Afghanistan and to agree a common and coherent strategy.

“What is lacking in this country is a clear comprehensive vision of what the situation is, what should be done and how it could be done under the present very difficult circumstances,” he said.

swissinfo, Adam Beaumont

In brief

Hundreds of Afghan civilians have died so far this year in fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan government and international forces.

Last month Nato said international forces in Afghanistan would start using smaller bombs in air strikes in order to stem the rise in civilian casualties.

Key facts

Walter Kälin is a professor of constitutional and international public law at Bern University. He was appointed the UN secretary-general’s representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons in 2004.