UN Refugee Agency Failing In Aid Effort By Mike Wendling CNSNews.com London Bureau Chief October 12, 2001

London (CNSNews.com) - As it was announced that the United Nations and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan have been jointly awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the U.N.'s refugee agency said that it was failing in its effort to provide much-needed aid to millions of Afghan refugees.

The Geneva-based United Nations High Command for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed "concern and frustration" over bureaucratic obstacles preventing it from dealing with a new influx of up to 400,000 refugees from Afghanistan.

Those refugees come on top of an estimated 5 million Afghans who have already fled the country. The U.N. estimates that up to 900,000 more people are displaced within Afghanistan.

"We are in a real race against time, and right now we are losing," UNHCR chief Ruud Lubbers said in a statement Thursday. "We hope there are no new refugees fleeing to neighboring states, but there is every possibility that we could soon start seeing large numbers of new arrivals."

The UNHCR is complaining that the Pakistani government is only allowing new refugee camps to be built in remote areas near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where tribal unrest and poor roads make operating conditions difficult. Security concerns have kept UNHCR staff near the border confined to their offices for the past four days.

A stone-throwing crowd forced the evacuation of the UNHCR office in Quetta on Monday. Staff were able to return Thursday, but have not been able to work in the field in one of the major refugee centers in Pakistan.

The organization said it acknowledges that Pakistan is already home to 2 million Afghan refugees, but the U.N. will continue to push the Pakistani government for more suitable sites for refugee camps. Lubbers urged other nearby countries to open their borders to displaced Afghans.

"It is our responsibility to work with countries (in the region) to be prepared in the event of a refugee influx," Lubbers said. "We are not receiving the support - in the region or internationally - that we need."

The UNHCR also called for more international aid. The organization said it would need $50 million for the first phase of the Afghan refugee emergency, and that it had only received about $23 million out of $29 million already pledged.

"We have repeatedly stressed the need for international burden-sharing in this emergency so that the neighbouring states, who have already made enormous sacrifices, can be more generous in their response as well," Lubbers said. "I appeal to donors to make their contributions now, before it is too late." Extra British funds

On Friday, U.K. International Development Secretary Clare Short pledged an extra $22 million in British funds to assist relief efforts in the region.

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson has called for a temporary halt to the bombing to allow aid through. Short said there was no need to stop attacks, but U.K. Defence Minister Lewis Moonie said coalition air strikes were likely to ease off over the next few days out of respect for a Muslim holy day Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, it was announced that Annan and the United Nations were the joint winners of the $934,000 Nobel award.

The Nobel committee said the U.N. "is at the forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world." It said that Annan has "risen to such new challenges as HIV/AIDS and international terrorism and brought about more efficient utilization of the U.N.'s modest resources."

The UNHCR has twice won the Nobel Peace Prize, most recently in 1981. In that year, the Nobel committee cited the aid agency for its work with Afghan refugees displaced by Soviet occupation, among other activities.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001