Fewer Afghans returning home from Pakistan

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has temporarily suspended its voluntary Afghan repatriation program from Pakistan for the winter months, but will restart it in March of next year, IRIN reported Wednesday.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, over 3.2 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan.

However, despite bolstered financial assistance packages from UNHCR, the number of Afghan’s returning home is in decline due to security concerns.

“Indeed, the situation has deteriorated in parts of Afghanistan, especially the south, southeast and increasingly the central regions,” Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for UNHCR, said. “Others said they cannot return for economic or social reasons, such as the lack of jobs, land, shelter, schools and clinics in Afghanistan,” she added.

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Bush’s Darfur policies falling short

Since the Bush administration classified the violence in Darfur as genocide two and a half years ago – making the U.S. the first and only nation to do so – some have argued that Washington has stalled in attempting to fulfill its promise to end the violence in Sudan.

An article in today’s Washington Post commented on a host of issues that have contributed to the wilting domestic and international commitment to the crisis. Despite the president’s passion for this issue, his policies have fluctuated between putting pressure on and engaging with the Islamist government. Constant turnover of crucial advisors on Darfur has also contributed to the slow progress. The current U.S. involvement in other Muslim countries, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, has added to the already complex foreign relations quagmire.

“It’s impossible to keep Iraq out of this picture,” said Edward Mortimer, who served as a top aide to then-U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and says resentment over Iraq caused many countries to not want to cooperate with the United States on Darfur.

Multilateral bodies such as the U.N., NATO, and the African Union have suffered from bureaucratic slowness, preventing a unified effort to address the humanitarian crisis.

Notably, few other Western nations besides Britain and a handful of Nordic countries have shouldered responsibility for resolving the violence either diplomatically or militarily.

According to the article: “Advisers say Bush came to accept, albeit grudgingly, the arguments against using U.S. military assets – especially the possibility that they might attract al-Qaeda.”

“In my mind, there would never be enough troops to impose order on this place,” former secretary of state Colin Powell said an interview. “The only way to resolve this problem was for there to be a political settlement between the rebels and the government.”

“Overall,” concluded John R. Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, “Sudan is a case where there’s a lot of international rhetoric and no stomach for real action.”

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Emergency aid yet to reach hungry villagers in flooded Viet Nam

Viet Nam has been hit by the worst floods in decades after Typhoon Lekima came ashore last week, leaving houses submerged in water, Independent Online reported today.

Viet Nam has deployed 34,000 soldiers to distribute emergency supplies, such as instant noodles and drinking water, by helicopter and boat. According to locals, however, none of it has arrived.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Minh, the head of the district rescue force, each person is meant to receive 10 packs of noodles and biscuits, while each family can collect 31,000 dong, a liter of fuel oil, and a container of water. The challenge, he said, is delivering the supplies to those in need.

“We cannot move anywhere,” Van Minh said. “It will take at least one month for the situation to get back to normal.”

Meanwhile, victims are left without food or means of traveling to reach aid.

“The water has been here for days now, but we don’t have enough boats to deliver the noodles, the food and the water to the victims,” said Ha Tien Minh, chairman of the Gia Minh commune’s people’s committee. “I think the starvation threat has become more urgent.”

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House bill would condition aid to Viet Nam on respect for human rights

Legislation that passed the House 414-3 Tuesday ties future increases in U.S. non-humanitarian aid to Viet Nam with improvements to Hanoi’s human rights record, The Associated Press reported.

The legislation, if approved by the Senate, would prohibit any increase in non-humanitarian assistance to the country over current levels unless the Bush administration is able to show that Viet Nam has made significant progress in its human rights record, and that officials are not involved with human trafficking.

“Sadly, in recent months, the human rights situation in Vietnam has deteriorated and become substantially worse and a new ugly wave of brutal oppression has been launched by Hanoi,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the sponsor of the legislation.

He added that the people who signed a declaration outlining humanitarian and human rights aspirations for the country have been tracked down and jailed by the Vietnamese government.

The legislation would also provide $4 million over two years to help individuals and organizations promoting human rights and nonviolent democratic change in Viet Nam, as well as set aside $10.2 million for measures to stop Viet Nam’s jamming of Radio Free Asia.

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