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Afghanistan

International community stops cash aid shipments to Afghanistan: Central Bank

2023-01-08

[KhaamaPress] The UNAMA has stopped its cash aid shipment to Afghanistan in reaction to the ban on women aid workers, Hasib Noori Da Afghanistan Bank spokesperson said, Amu TV reported. This follows the IEA’s ban on women attending public and private universities on December 20 and its subsequent ban on women working for NGOs on December 24, which prompted criticism of aid organizations claiming they could not carry out their humanitarian assistance without female employees. Since the Taliban ...Arabic for students... took control of Afghanistan in 2021, the international community has contributed 40 to 80 million dollars every week to the country’s economy, and the Central Bank officials have tweeted about the infusion of funds each week, according to Noori. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... there was utter silence for a few weeks because the Bank made no announcements. In addition, Martin Griffiths, the UN’s lead humanitarian coordinator, declared that the Taliban’s restriction on NGOs employing women had forced the suspension of the UN flight transporting money for humanitarian aid into Kabul, BBC reported. Griffith’s announcement forced the Central bank officials to admit that the cash aid had been halted. He also told BBC that the UN-supplied aid could not continue if the Taliban did not lift their ban on women working for humanitarian aid agencies in Afghanistan. "Without women working, we cannot deliver for the people who are, in fact, the primary objects of humanitarian assistance for women and girls. So it is a practical matter. It is beyond rights. It is also practical," he said. Since then, five top NGOs halted their work in Afghanistan; Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Save the Children announced that they could not continue their work "without our female staff." According to Da Afghanistan Bank announcements, since August 2021, the international community have donated a total of 1.7 billion USD in cash to the IEA government.

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Afghanistan

Four Five Organizations Suspend Operations amid Ban on Women Employees

2022-12-27

[ToloNews] At least four international organizations have suspended their operations in Afghanistan in the wake of the Islamic Emirate’s ban on female staff members from working in non-governmental organizations. Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, Care Organization and International Rescue Committee are those international organizations that have suspended their operations so far. "We cannot effectively reach children, women, and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without our female staff," said NRC. Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!... Save the Children said that beyond the impact on the delivery of lifesaving assistance, this will affect thousands of jobs in the midst of an enormous economic crisis. "Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan," Save the Children said. Care International Organization in Afghanistan expressed deep concern about the Islamic Emirate’s decision to ban women from working in NGOs. "Without women aid workers, NGOs may not be able to reach women, girls, & families, cutting access to aid for half of a population already suffering from a hunger crisis," said the organization. "For IRC our ability to deliver services rely on the female staff at all levels of our organization. If we are not allowed to employ women, we are not able to deliver to those in need. Therefore, the IRC is currently suspending our services in Afghanistan," the International Rescue Committee in Afghanistan announced stopped their activities. A number of organizations Islamic Relief, UNICEF, and MSF Afghanistan, announced that without their female staff they are not able to do work. The Ministry of Economy in a statement on Saturday ordered all national and international non-government organizations to suspend their female staff members until the next announcement. The announcement of the Islamic Emirate faced widespread reactions at national and international levels. Al Arabiya adds: Christian Aid on Monday became the fifth foreign aid group to suspend operations in Afghanistan after the country's Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... rulers ordered all NGOs to stop women staff from working. The UK charity was "rapidly seeking clarity on this announcement and urging the authorities to reverse the ban", head of global program Ray Hasan said in a statement. "Whilst we do this, we are unfortunately pausing the work of our program," he added.

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International-UN-NGOs

UN knew years ago about refugee sex-for-food scandal, leaked report reveals

2018-05-30

[NYPOST] Workers from more than 40 charity organizations exploited refugee children and women in West Africa by trading food for sex, according to a leaked report ‐ that the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... has known about for 16 years. The disturbing scandal is laid out in an 84-page report produced in 2001 by researchers for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Save the Children working at refugee camps in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The report was handed over to the UNHCR in 2002 but only a summary of the allegations was published. Identified in it are 40 organizations "whose workers are alleged to be in sexually exploitative relationships with refugee children," according to The Times in the UK, which obtained a copy of the full report. Aid workers were "among the prime sexual exploiters of refugee children, often using the very humanitarian assistance and services intended to benefit refugees as a tool of exploitation." They allegedly traded basic needs ‐ like food, oil, access to education and plastic sheeting for shelters ‐ for sex. Women at a camp in Guinea told the researchers, "In this community, no one can get corn soya blend without having sex first. They say, ’A kilo for sex,’" the Sun reported. "These NGO workers are clever, they use the ration as bait to get you to have sex with them," a teenage girl in Liberia added. Some families felt compelled to offer their young daughters as a way to "make ends meet," the report found. Many of the organizations implicated were small and local but 15 were international, including UNHCR, the World Food Programme, Save the Children and Merlin. Also named were Médecins Sans Frontières, Care International, the International Rescue Committee, the International Federation of Red Thingy Societies and the Norwegian Refugee Council. The researchers said some of the allegations in the report couldn’t be fully verified and needed further investigation. But they noted, "The number of allegations documented, however, is a critical indicator of the scale of the problem." Allegations leveled against 67 people were provided to senior UNHCR officials in "confidential lists" but fewer than 10 were dismissed and none were prosecuted, The Times said. The UNHCR notified all of the charities about the allegations and sent UN Sherlocks who identified 43 separate cases in west Africa. The UN said it had implemented "specific preventative and remedial actions." In a 2005 interview, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers downplayed the report. "We have to find concrete evidence," he said at the time. "It’s very scarce. So the idea of widespread sexual exploitation by humanitarian workers, I think it’s simply not a reality." Christine Lipohar, a Save the Children official who co-authored the report, was "frustrated and annoyed" at Lubbers’ response. "Good systems for preventing and responding were developed on paper, but have not been effectively and consistently rolled out in all locations; so implementation . . . is often reliant on individuals committed to the issue," she said. The UNHCR said it had a "a zero-tolerance policy, which means that every possible report or allegation of sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment by UNHCR or partner personnel is thoroughly assessed and if substantiated leads to sanctions, including summary dismissal."

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Africa Horn

AMISOM, Jubaland forces rescue Kenyans held by Shaboobs

2014-04-12

KISMAYO, Somalia -- AMISOM troops along with Somalia's Jubaland forces have freed two Kenyan nationals being held captive by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group on Friday, Garowe Online reports. According to a press statement from African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the surprise operation occurred in the outskirts of border town and Lower Jubba regional district of Dhobley which is situated a few kilometers from Somalia-Kenya border. "James Kiarie Gichoi, working for aid agency Care International was kidnapped near the Dadaab refugee camp, while Daniel Njuguna Wanyoike, a driver's helper employed by Shibli Enterprises Ltd, a company contracted by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to transport medical supplies from Nairobi to Marerey, was kidnapped in Afmadow," the statement read. A facility run by AMISOM offered medical assistances to the two Kenyans before they have been flown to Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Speaking about the successful operation, The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission to Somalia (SRCC) Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif felicitated the Kenya Defence Forces on the move. "Our mandate requires us to create a safe haven for aid agencies to carry out their operations and we are committed to ensuring the protection of aid workers as they deliver essential services to the Somali population," said Annadif. Al Shabaab lost battle against Somali government forces and AMISOM peacekeepers, with militants vacating a string of strategic towns in central and southwestern Somalia over the last six weeks.

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Africa Horn

75 Killed in Rebel Attack in South Sudan State

2011-10-30

[An Nahar] Seventy-five people were killed on Saturday when government forces in the oil-rich South Sudanese Unity state repelled an attack by rebel militia, in which 15 civilians also died, the state's information minister said. "There was a militia attack at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning (02:00-03:00 GMT) in Mayom county," said Gideon Gatpan Thoar, adding that another 18 were maimed. Thoar said rebels, most of them fighting under the banner of the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), attacked Mayom town and that the majority of the civilian casualties were residents bumped off while "running for shelter." "We are counting the bodies now but over 60 militias were killed and many more maimed," said Thoar, adding that 15 non-combatants were killed in the attack. Among the dead was the notorious rebel fighter Colonel Ruadheal Gatwech, he said, adding that SPLA government forces also captured one soldier in Mayom town and three more in the east of the county. "The situation is under control by the SPLA. The rebels are still being chased away," Thoar told Agence La Belle France Presse seven hours after the attack. Thoar said the last serious attack in Unity was early October, when the rebel group was suspected to have laid an anti-tank mine that killed 20 people in a passenger bus, and before that another mine incident in September. On Friday, the SSLA gave the U.N. and aid agencies one week to evacuate Unity state, promising to "violently resist the regime of Governor Deng Taban," who the rebels accuse of human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... abuses. "SSLA is calling upon all NGOs and U.N. personnel to leave Unity State within a week for their own safety," the group said in a statement from their Mayom headquarters. The rebels claimed Governor Taban ordered SPLA troops to confiscate 600 cattle from SSLA Commanders family members, who were allegedly jugged in unknown locations and beaten. Cattle are vital for a dowry under local tribal customs of the Nuer people. Thoar denied the group claims. "All these allegations have no basis at all." "They do with the intention of interrupting the peaceful program of disarmament and to recapture the civilian guns." Thoar said the voluntary disarmament program had collected 1000 guns, over half of which came from Mayom County. The rebel group is made up of forces formerly loyal to Peter Gadet, who accepted South Sudan President Salva Kiir's offer of amnesty in August, a month after the country gained independence from the north after a 22-year civil war. While Gadet was reintegrated into the SPLA, an unknown number of men rejected the ceasefire, accusing their former leader and renegade SPLA general of accepting government bribes. The U.N. Mine Action Coordination Centre has said it will ramp up efforts in Unity state due to the increase in incidents and the approach of the dry season, when rebel groups are more active. Insecurity is one of the decampedgling nation's biggest challenges. Rebel militias in Unity state threaten not only the country's economic lifeblood but also aid access and the livelihood of many civilians in the largely pastoral state plagued by fear of mines and violence. Dozens of aid agencies like Care International, The International Rescue Committee, Medecin Sans Frontieres, The International Committee of the Red Thingy are working in Unity state alongside a large U.N. presence.

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Iraq

Iraq: Life sentence for murder of aid worker

2009-06-04

[ADN Kronos] An Iraqi man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an Irish aid worker shot dead in 2004. Margaret Hassan, who had lived in Iraq for 30 years, was seized by a group of armed men wearing Iraqi police uniforms in October 2004 and killed a month later. Fifty-nine year-old Hassan was the director of Care International in Iraq and was kidnapped on her way to work in Baghdad. The body of Dublin-born Hassan, who had Irish, British and Iraqi citizenship, was never found. Triple citizenship? Isn't that a bit...exuberant? Didn't save him, either ... "Ali Lutfi Jassar is sentenced to life for participating in the killing and kidnapping of Margaret Hassan, and of attempting to blackmail her family," said Assaad al-Moussawi, a judge at Baghdad's central criminal court, cited by Arab TV network Al-Jazeera on Tuesday. "His role in the killing was proved." Jassar, a 25-year-old engineer, had pleaded not guilty at the start of the one-day trial. He said that his confession had been extracted through torture.

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Iraq

Iraqi jailed over kidnap and murder of Margaret Hassan

2009-06-02

An Iraqi man was jailed for life today for the kidnapping and murder of aid worker Margaret Hassan. Mrs Hassan, 59, the director of humanitarian group Care International in Iraq, was taken hostage on her way to work in Baghdad in October 2004 and shot dead just under a month later. Ali Lutfi Jassar was given a life sentence at Baghdad's Central Criminal Court today for his part in her abduction and murder and for attempting to blackmail her relatives. The aid worker's family welcomed the court's decision, but appealed to Jassar to tell them where her body is so they can bring her back to Britain. They said in a statement: "We are content that this man has been found guilty. "However, he has still not revealed the whereabouts of Margaret's remains, which would enable us to bury her with the respect she deserves." Jassar, 36, a Sunni architect from Baghdad also known as Abu Rasha, pleaded not guilty to the charges but was convicted after a one-day trial. He was arrested by Iraqi and US forces last year after contacting the British Embassy in Baghdad and attempting to extort 1 million dollars in return for leading them to Mrs Hassan's body. Jassar was the second person to be brought to justice over Mrs Hassan's abduction and murder. Mustafa Mohammed Salman al-Jabouri was given a life sentence by a Baghdad court in June 2006 after being convicted of aiding and abetting the abductors. His sentence was later reduced on appeal. Mrs Hassan's family has been told that three leading members of the kidnap gang who fled Iraq will be tried in their absence.

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Africa Horn

Aid agencies welcome in central Somalia- Islamist group

2008-10-08

(SomaliNet) International aid agencies can operate in central Somalia where they control, a major Somali Islamist group reiterated on Monday. A senior Islamist official, Sheik Dahir Addow said that aid agencies can safely work in central Somali regions where Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an insurgent movement that has ruled much of southern and central Somalia since 2006, is in its control. Islamist-named governor of Middle Shabelle region in central Somalia while speaking to local reporters said that his administration met with officials from three international aid agencies in the Middle Shabelle regional capital of Jawhar and discussed ways of strengthening of security for foreign and local humanitarian staff. "We had the common understanding with the agencies that we allow them to operate here and help our people and we guarantee the security of their staff," Addow said. Addow added that a six member delegation from UN aid agencies had arrived from Nairobi for a meeting with Islamist administrators and an agreement was reached that they resume their operations which have been halted because of an escalating security situation. The development came three days after another faction, Al-shabaab Islamist movement, banned some aid agencies from operating in places under their control in south Somalia including the main port town of Kismayu. The group accused Care International and International Medical corps of anti-Islamic activities but Care International, the U.S.-based aid agency, said on Monday that the direct threat by the Somali military group has put at risk the lives of 1 million people who need humanitarian aid. Leaders of ICU, which is in full control of the central Somalia provinces of Middle Shablle, Hiran, Galgadud and Mudug, late last month invited aid agencies to freely operate in the regions under their control.

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Africa Horn

Islamist warn aid agencies in Somalia to desist from 'the anti-Islamic activities'

2008-10-04

(SomaliNet) The Islamist insurgent group fighting in Somalia, Alshabab, warned of reprisals some of the international aid organisations operating in Somalia if they do not desist from "anti-Islamic activities" they are involved in, Al Shabab spokesman Sheik Muqtar Robow Abu Mansur told APA during an interview on Friday. Sheik Muqtar warned that the NGOs, International Medical Corps and Care International, will face negative consequences if they do not stop what he referred to as "bad activities against Islam". Sheik Muqtar did not give details on the anti-Islamic activities these NGOs are being accused of. "We can no longer tolerate what they are doing and this is our last warning. We hope they will understand and if not we will take tough steps against them." Sheik Abu Mansur also urged other international aid agencies active in Somalia not to interfere in "what cannot be compatible with their regular humanitarian jobs". "They claim that they came here for humanitarian purposes, but we have gathered more reliable information about the bad things they are engaged in, so we can say they have crossed the line and we have to go against that," he stated. The Sheik who fought in Afghanistan in 2001-2002 said that after a warning, the next step of his group will be to punish International Medical Crops (IMC) and Care International. The representatives of both aid agencies are yet to react to the warning from Al Shabab, which is one of the strongest insurgent groups operating in Somalia. However, it is unclear how both Aid groups will be able to continue their humanitarian works in this lawless nation of Somalia after Al Shabab's Friday warning. Earlier this week, the Union of Islamic Courts of Somalia, another powerful insurgent group, announced that it will guarantee the safety of aid workers in the areas it controls while asking them to increase their humanitarian activities.

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Home Front: WoT

Muslim 'charity' figure out on bail, judge ‘struggling’ with sentence

2008-06-13

A former official of a defunct Muslim charity, who was convicted of lying to an FBI agent, was set free on bail yesterday to await sentencing next month. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty objected to U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV’s decision to free Emadeddin Z. Muntasser of Braintree, a former Worcester resident, who was president of Care International Inc.>Care International Inc. in Boston from 1993 to 1996. The decision was welcomed not only by several family members and Muslim supporters of Mr. Muntasser, but also by the Worcester County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Ronal C. Madnick, director of the ACLU chapter, noted that Judge Saylor’s decision came on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 that the constitutional rights of Muslims imprisoned by the United States in Guantanamo were being violated. Mr. Madnick said the Bush administration received messages yesterday from courts from Worcester to Washington “that we do have a legal method of warfare system and it will be carried out.” Earlier this month, Judge Saylor acquitted Mr. Muntasser, Muhamed Mubayyid of Shrewsbury, and Samir Al-Monla, a former Worcester resident living in Brookline, of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by concealing information that would have affected the IRS process to grant tax-exempt status in 1993 and to keep it for 10 years after that. Judge Saylor cleared Mr. Al-Monla of all charges and freed him, while Mr. Mubayyid remains jailed and continues to face charges of concealing material facts, impeding the IRS and filing false tax returns. Sentencing has been rescheduled for Mr. Muntasser, who faces only one count, for July 17, and the following day for Mr. Mubayyid. Yesterday’s hearing in the Donohue Federal Building occasioned a fierce fight between the Justice Department and Kathleen M. Sullivan, Mr. Muntasser’s lawyer. She argued for the correctness of the Probation Department’s calculation that her client should be sentenced to between 0 and 6 months and said the government pushing for five years in prison disrespects the court’s dismissal of most of the counts against him. The U.S. attorney’s recommendation to exceed the guidelines by a factor of 10 runs counter to the policy enunciated three years ago by Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey to “ensure adherence to the sentencing guidelines,” even in light of Supreme Court decisions making them advisory only. Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann said the court is required to consider what is called relevant conduct — supporting jihad and raising money and contributing it to groups subsequently designated as terrorist organizations. She said the reason Mr. Muntasser lied to an FBI agent in 2003 about meeting with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a Muslim warlord, in Afghanistan in 1994 was to conceal that he had pledged Care’s support to him. She also said he promised to carry out his orders, as reflected in a document the FBI covertly copied pursuant to a search warrant from a secret court. The prosector said it was part of a pattern of lying to the government over a number of years to continue to hide the non-charitable activities of Care International. Judge Saylor was clearly torn by the arguments, telling the lawyers several times that he is “struggling.” The judge said that on one hand, the government argues the statute of limitations doesn’t matter and the judge’s acquittal of the defendants on many charges doesn’t matter as far as his sentencing is concerned. On the other hand, the judge said, the defense says that only the narrow behavior of lying to the FBI agent should be taken into account. “Is there any stopping point in between these extremes?” he asked the lawyers. Judge Saylor said he will consider several issues before crafting a sentence: evidence from the trial, how much of a tax loss there was, and the “so-called terrorism” connection the government claims. While the release of Mr. Muntasser put a smile on the faces of his supporters, Judge Saylor also said, “There is a substantial possibility I may give a sentence longer than the guideline. I haven’t decided.” Mr. Chakravarty said the government intends to file notice of appeal of the judge’s earlier acquittals on many of the charges; and Ms. Siegmann predicted a substantial chance that Judge Saylor will be overturned by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. But Ms. Sullivan predicted the judge’s decision will be upheld, and he should sentence on narrow grounds, revisiting the sentence only if the appeals court orders him to. Judge Saylor ordered Mr. Muntasser to put his commercial property — valued by the defense at $1.9 million — as security for his release, on top of his home valued at $400,000. He also ordered home confinement and electronic monitoring. Ms. Sullivan said Mr. Muntasser, who was jailed upon his Jan. 11 conviction, could rejoin his pregnant wife and their four children as soon as today.

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Home Front: WoT

Overturned convictions in Muslim charity case draw contrasting reactions

2008-06-09

The decision last week by a federal judge to overturn convictions on the most serious charges against three officials of a defunct Muslim charity has been met with sharply different reactions. There is dismay by those who believe, contrary to U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV’s declaration in court, that the court should support the government’s policies, especially a foreign policy designed to thwart terrorism. And there is elation among civil libertarians who see the courts’ role as stopping a government that is willing to prosecute Muslims even for perceived crimes when it believes they are aiding the country’s enemies. Judge Saylor, who normally sits in federal court in Worcester, overturned a jury verdict that convicted a Shrewsbury man and two former Worcester men on a charge of conspiracy from 1993 to 2003. The conspiracy charge was to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by concealing information to get tax-exempt status for Care International Inc., a Boston-based Muslim charity. The Justice Department charged that Muhamed Mubayyid of Shrewsbury, Emadeddin Z. Muntasser of Braintree and Samir Al-Monla of Brookline failed to tell the IRS that it supported Islamic holy war and fighters by publishing a pro-jihad newspaper and fundraising. It also alleged that the charity concealed that it was the successor and outgrowth of Al-Kifah Refugee Center, which had been tied in news accounts to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Judge Saylor freed Mr. Al-Monla after acquitting him of the charges on which the jury convicted him and threw out all of the charges against Mr. Muntasser except for lying to an FBI agent in 2003. However, the judge upheld all charges except the conspiracy charge against Mr. Mubayyid. Those charges are concealing material facts from the IRS, impeding the IRS and three counts of filing a false tax return in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

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Home Front: WoT

US judge quashes convictions of 3 charity leaders accused of pro-jihad actions

2008-06-04

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the government's case against a former Islamic charity leader and partially overturned the convictions of two others, ruling prosecutors failed to prove all the charges. The charity leader, Samir Al-Monla, was cleared of all charges and immediately released. The two others - Emadeddin Muntasser and Muhammed Mubayyid - remain in custody pending sentencing next week on the remaining counts. The three were convicted in January of duping the US government into awarding their Boston-based organization, Care International Inc.>Care International Inc., tax-exempt status by hiding its pro-jihad activities. Care International, which is now defunct, described its mission as helping war orphans, widows and refugees in Muslim nations. But prosecutors said the organization also distributed a newsletter promoting jihad and supported Muslim militants involved in armed conflicts around the world.

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