Articles |
Humanitarian Organizations in Tajikistan and the Coordination of Aid to Displaced Afghans in No Man's Land
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo INO{at}nupi.no
This article examines the coordination of humanitarian aid to displaced Afghans on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan from 2000 to 2002, in order to draw lessons that may be useful in connection with the return of the remaining displaced Afghans and other groups of refugees and IDPs. It examines the roles of the various organizations involved in the humanitarian operation, focusing on UNHCR and its position as lead agency. The case of the displaced Afghans on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan highlights some problematic consequences of locating coordinating functions in sectoral lead agencies, and some advantages of neutral coordination bodies such as OCHA. It also demonstrates the importance of a balance between information gathering, processing and sharing, as well as the interconnections between coordination by command and coordination by consensus.
1. The Pyandzh operation was presented as an example of good coordination both in a film produced for UNHCR Tajikistan, and in a joint UNHCR–IOM press release after the displaced persons had returned to their villages of origin: ‘Displaced Afghan Nationals that Temporarily Resided on the Pyandzh Border Islands between Tajikistan and Afghanistan Returned to their Homes with the Coordinated Support of Aid Agencies and Authorities’ (19 April 2002). The film is discussed towards the end of the article.
2. Tajikistan's gross national income per capita in 2000, adjusted for purchasing power parity, was US$1,060—less than half that of Moldova, the second poorest post-Soviet state at $2,240, and far below Russia at $8,030 (World Bank 2002: 232–233).
3. In August 2001 the displaced persons on Island 13 moved further upstream. Since their location was now nearer Post 14 of the Russian border forces, some documents refer to it as ‘Island 14’. For the sake of simplicity, however, I will continue to call it ‘Island 13’.
4. These interviews were carried out for a forthcoming article on the relationship between UNHCR and the IOM.