tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29744042358093196472024-02-21T11:13:01.409+01:00How safe is Afghanistan? Stockholm Oct 4, 2018A conference about the safety situation in Afghanistan related to returning of young refugees.Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-63311688493412949972019-02-16T07:43:00.000+01:002020-02-04T10:48:55.034+01:00Afghanistan's minister of refugees thanks France for restrained deportations<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WbjY8zs268oi80Lp_BQPe1fGegAgP3CTedwOBgx_1jzzKaPRsFlpnTm-XL9OPIy_M1IDjurGWm3C2jrEKfNa5wzLx163jutaH5YAn3C3WCRP1zTNV1u7ldoBNs4UAiQIsok1k4wHDOXA/s1600/Flyktingministern+Frankrikes+ambassad%25C3%25B6r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1236" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WbjY8zs268oi80Lp_BQPe1fGegAgP3CTedwOBgx_1jzzKaPRsFlpnTm-XL9OPIy_M1IDjurGWm3C2jrEKfNa5wzLx163jutaH5YAn3C3WCRP1zTNV1u7ldoBNs4UAiQIsok1k4wHDOXA/s320/Flyktingministern+Frankrikes+ambassad%25C3%25B6r.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">Afghanistan's minister for refugees and repatriations Sayed Hussein AIlemi Balkhi and the French ambassador David Martinon.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">In Paris, there are around one thousand "Swedish Afghans",</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> that is youths with Afghan citizenship who have lived 3-4 years in Sweden. If they are lucky, that is their fingerprints have not got stuck in the international register, they can seek asylum again with great chance to get "positive", that is residence permit in France. They take the chance as they consider it better to live paperless on the streets of Europe than to live on the streets of Kabul. </span> </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">For unknown reason, Sweden has a totally different politics when it comes to residence permits for Afghans that many European countries, among them France. According to the press release below, France sent back 23 voluntary returnees and 9 forced deportees during 2018. Only those who had committed crimes are sent back by force.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Earlier, the deputy minister of refugees and repatriations has denounced the inability in deporting asylumseekers from Europe. This time, it's the minister himself who made a declaration in a meeting December 23 with the French ambassador. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">The text on the <a href="http://morr.gov.af/fa/news/84891?fbclid=IwAR3CZ0bklRyLziuIJCL4NnY9-K8SSyiSM9SPVpiMZTwgUvmCCVSRjA2XVEY" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">website of the ministry of refugees and repatriations</a> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">goes like this in google's translation:</span></span><br />
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600;">Minister of Refugees meeting with French ambassador: Afghanistan is not the right place for expelled refugees</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Publish Date: Feb 12, 2019 Category: General</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Seyed Hussein Alami Balkhi, the Minister of Refugees and Returnees, met with the French ambassador to Afghanistan David Martynon to urge that forced displacement of migrants consider the domestic situation and take on more flexibility.</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The meeting, which was held on Tuesday, 23 December at the headquarters of the Ministry of Refugees and Returnees, was discussed in the context of the joint management of Afghan refugees in France.</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">With the emphasis on providing voluntary return for Afghan refugees, the Minister of Refugees said that the internal situation in Afghanistan is not appropriate for the mandatory return of refugees. He urged France to pay attention to returning returnees in order to prevent returnees from migrating and to help reintegrate returnees.</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The French ambassador to Kabul, recalling his country's goodwill for Afghan refugees, said that France, with 70 per cent of Afghan refugees, has permanently resettled to eight thousand Afghans annually, and last year only French people were forced to be fired from Afghanistan, who were committing crimes. .</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">He added that France is working on a voluntary return of Afghans, and to this end, each volunteer returns a thousand euros for travel expenses and a cash aid package for integration and investment in Afghanistan.</span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">It is noteworthy that in the year 2018, 23 volunteers and 9 forced returns from France were returned to Afghanistan.</span></em><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">France, on the other hand,</b><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> does not really have the same picture of the talk. This is how <a href="https://af.ambafrance.org/Afghanistan-Rencontre-entre-l-Ambassadeur-de-France-et-le-Ministre-afghan-des" target="_blank">the French press release</a> goes:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Afghanistan: Renewal of the Ambassador of France and the Minister of Refugees and Repatriates (Kaboul, 12 February 2019) </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>December 12, 2019, M. David MARTINON, Ambassador of France in Afghanistan, was received by M. Sayed Hussein Alemi BALKHI, Minister of Refugees and Repatriates, in the presence of a representative from the Security Council of the embassy. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>The meeting between the ambassador of France M. David MARTINON and the Minister of Refugees and Repatriates<b> </b>M. Sayed Hussein Alemi BALKHI resulted in a friendly and cordial exchange. The two men discussed the excellent bilateral relationship between the two countries, including the preoccupied subject Afghan immigration. The French ambassador could develop and specify the French politics and material about receiving, asylum and integration of the Afghan population in France, but also take up the problems for the returnees.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>M. BALKHI thanked France for the generosity and flexibility that it has shown. The two parties agreed on the necessity of improving the cooperation between the two countries, notably when it comes to forced deportations, in order to preserve the French model and attraction of the programme offered to Afghan citizens who want to return to Afghanistan. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>To facilitate the exchange between the two parties, the ambassador of France suggested creation of a work group composed by members from the Afghan ministry of refugees and repatriates and the French embassy in Kabul. This project has been approved and accepted by minister BALKHI.</i></span><br />
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-71312622210147236652018-12-30T16:33:00.000+01:002018-12-30T16:33:32.014+01:00Returnees in Afghanistan - what does GoIRA say?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Alema and First Lady at the Geneva conference, 2018</td></tr>
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The conference <a href="https://unama.unmissions.org/geneva-conference-afghanistan">People on the Move,</a> a meeting between the Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations, took place in Geneva on 27-28 November 2018. In <a href="http://webtv.un.org/assets/rss/video3804186128001/watch/people-on-the-move-geneva-conference-on-afghanistan/5972203951001/?term&lan=english">this video</a>, about 0.30 min, you can hear Dr Alema, the Deputy Minister of refugees and repatriations, commence her speech with these words:<br />
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<i>"</i><i>This title sounds positive. But our audience should understand that when people move from Afghanistan it is not a Sunday afternoon walk through the park. From my point of view, we better have chosen the title "people on forced move". </i><br />
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<i>Is it true progress in terms of our shared values when we send back people in flip-flops to spend wintertime in the mountains of Afghanistan?</i><br />
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<i>Is it true progress when minors are returned to Afghanistan while the rest of their families stay in abroad?</i><br />
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<i>Is it true progress when young migrants are misused and sent to war in Iraq and Syria?</i><i>"</i><br />
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You can read the text on <a href="http://morr.gov.af/en/news/dr-alema-deputy-minister-of-refugees-and-repatriation-in-geneva-conference-in-the-panel-speech-by-the-name-of-people-on-move" target="_blank">the website</a> of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations.<br />
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<b>At the same meeting, </b>H.E. Dr. Jamaher Anwary, Minister of Refugees and Repatriation made a <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/4fa11f886.pdf">speech</a>:<br />
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"Around 60 percent of all returned refugees continue to live below the standard of their fellow
countrymen. They are struggling to find work; to provide housing for their families; to get medical
care when needed; to enroll their children in school; and to find water that is safe to drink. ...<br />
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But while we continue supporting the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees, we also need to get
it right supporting those that have already returned. There are many reasons why repatriation and
reintegration in Afghanistan has slowed down - conflicts in some parts of the country, food
insecurity, scarcity of land and shelter, limited access to education and healthcare and above all, the
need to be able to earn a proper living."<br />
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<a href="http://morr.gov.af/en/page/2204"><b>The statistics of 2018</b></a> is a little bit difficult to understand:<br />
5,6 millions Afghans are refugees.<br />
2,2 millions are refugees in Pakistan.<br />
A little more than 2 millions are refugees in Iran.<br />
7 millions refugees have returned from 2001 to April, 2018.<br />
1,3 millions are internal displaced persons (IDP:s).<br />
250,000 are displaced returnees.<br />
3,265 are returnees from Europe and Arabic up to April, 2018.<br />
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<a href="http://morr.gov.af/en">Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations</a> website</div>
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Earlier statements</h3>
<br /><a href="https://www.unhcr.org/59dcc0287.pdf">Statement by Minister of Refugees and Repatriation of the Islamic Republic ofAfghanistan at the 68th secession of EXCOM, 2017</a><br />
"As you know, Afghanistan and Europe have reached a conclusion on migration
management, which has resulted in the proper process of returning migrants by
aligning and implementing the "Joint Way Forward Agreement" between Afghanistan
and the EU. While Afghanistan remains committed, let me thank the government and
the people of Germany for having stopped the process of forced deportation of
Afghans by appreciating the situation in Afghanistan. Thanks also to other European
host countries, and I hope that they will also correspond to the ground realities for
Afghan refugees in Afghanistan."<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/statement-68th-session-executive-committee-high-commissioner-s-programme" style="text-align: justify;">Statement to the 68th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programm, 2017</a><span style="color: #555555; text-align: justify;"> </span></span><br />
"This was clear to me when visiting Afghanistan earlier this year. The disillusionment today among Afghans, the high unemployment, and the fragile political and security context after almost four decades of conflict present formidable obstacles to success."<br />
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-51323566631428328382018-12-05T09:18:00.000+01:002018-12-05T09:18:20.167+01:00Lifos report: The security situation in Afghanistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Conflict related casualties (both combatants and civilians) that are registered by UCDP during the years 2007 to 2017. Source: UCDP (Afghanistan).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lifos is the Swedish Migration board's center for country information and country analysis within the migration domain. On Dec 4, 2018, a new report on the security situation in Afghanistan finally was released. The next step is that the Migration board makes a new legal position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The full report, with references, is found </span><a href="https://lifos.migrationsverket.se/dokument?documentSummaryId=42414&fbclid=IwAR04jsXwHGLsiVF3xF-ZoK3O55d-VsBs3Sk3kvMCzYjdo5BVzeJ7UPDHYRc" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
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English summary</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The general security trend in Afghanistan is one of continued successive deterioration, according to Lifos’ assessment. The US’ new South Asia strategy has resulted in an escalation of the military involvement in the country, including thousands of more US troops on Afghan soil and a significantly intensified air offensive, in order to defeat the insurgents and ultimately force the Taliban to the negotiating table, since a definitive military solution to the conflict seems futile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Afghan government forces, who have long been on the defensive against an increasingly offensive Taliban movement, aim to have control or influence over territory covering about 80 percent of the country’s population by the end of 2019. However, the government has not shown any success reclaiming areas from the Taliban during 2018. In July 2018, the government had control/influence over approximately 65 percent of the population, which meant that no real change had taken place during the first seven months of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The escalated military campaign by the government, with all time high air strikes, targeted attacks on Taliban leaders at various levels, and various search operations, has however affected the Taliban’s military operations. In contrast to the two previous years, during the spring offensive 2017, the Taliban did not undertake large-scale attacks against the provincial capitals but instead shifted focus to coordinated attacks on police and army posts around the country. During these operations, a limited number of fighters were deployed in order to protect their human resources while still inflicting considerable loss on the government part.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, the changed warfare of the insurgents should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness, according to Lifos’ assessment. It should rather be considered as an adaptation to current conditions. The large-scale insurgency attacks on provincial capitals in Farah and Ghazni in 2018 show a continued high capacity to mobilize a large number of fighters to carry out large-scale attacks in urban centers, without regard of own losses. These attacks probably mainly serve as a show of strength and relevance, to undermine the government’s legitimacy, and to get more and more Afghans to lose confidence in the current regime and the national government, which the Taliban consider a puppet government controlled by the US.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There has been no significant change in the situation in the country as a whole in 2018, but the violence between the conflicting parties has intensified. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) has recorded significantly more conflict-related deaths (civilians and combatants) in the first eight months of 2018 than during the corresponding period of 2017. UNAMA, which only records civilian casualties (killed and injured) of the conflict, had by 30th September 2018 documented marginally fewer casualties in total compared to 2017. Likewise, the number of new conflict-related internally displaced persons as well as the number of security incidents, has decreased in 2018 in comparison to 2017. However, according to Lifos’ assessment, the decrease in these three conflict indicators cannot be explained by improved conditions for civilians, although some actions have been taken by the conflicting parties to avoid causing civilian harm. For example, UNAMA has received reports during the year that the parties of the conflict have warned the civilian population ahead of upcoming ground operations in some populated areas, and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) has also avoided the use of heavier weapons in such areas to a greater extent than before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other trends in 2018, such as the increased use of suicide bombings and other IEDs by the insurgents, the insurgents’ targeted attacks on civilians, and the government’s intensified air operations, indicate however that the method of warfare used in 2018 has not reduced the risk of civilians being harmed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">An increased risk for civilians to suffer from targeted violence is, rather, a trend. In addition to the civilian profiles that are regarded by the insurgents as part of the government side, and thus legitimate military targets (for example various government representatives), the Shia minority in Afghanistan has increasingly become target of attacks with sectarian motives. This wave of violence is showing an upturn and during the first nine months of the year, more casualties have been claimed as a result of sectarian violence than throughout 2017. In particular, Shiites in the western parts of Kabul have been affected by this targeted violence, but sectarian attacks against Shiites have also taken place in for example Herat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The security situation in Kabul city is characterized by increased violence and with increasingly frequent suicide bombings. Although the incident level in Kabul is relatively low, each individual attack can potentially claim a large number of casualties. After the first seven months of this year, almost as many suicide bombings occurred in the capital as in the whole of 2017. Although Kabul is under stable government control, the frequent attacks have a great impact on people’s perceived security in the capital, and many Kabul residents limit their movement in the city to only necessary travel, avoiding traveling at times when many military convoys and other government targets are moving about the city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In regards to the situation in different provinces, Lifos notes a significant deterioration of the security situation in the Nangarhar (east) and Ghazni (southeast) provinces. Moreover, the province of Faryab in the north is highly contested and afflicted with violence, and is among the provinces where most civilian casualties were claimed in 2018 (along with Nangarhar, Kabul, Helmand and Ghazni). There is also a great deal of uncertainty about the future development of Kandahar since the Taliban, by way of an “insider attack”, killed the province’s influential police chief Abdul Raziq. He has been largely attributed the fact that the authorities have a relatively strong position in the province. It is too early to say what Raziq’s demise may entail, but in a worst case scenario it may destabilize the whole of the southern region if his successor fails to maintain the unity of the Afghan security forces in the province.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the negative security trend in 2018, the probability of a more positive future scenario in the slightly longer term has increased somewhat during the year, according to Lifos’ assessment. There is widespread war-weariness within the Afghan nation and an insight among the fighting parties that there is no military solution to the conflict. A spontaneous grassroot movement for peace conducted a peace march during the year which received considerable attention, and the parties of the conflict have shown a greater willingness to approach each other than in the previous years. Previously locked positions have eased, which has led the US to engage in direct talks with the Taliban, something that the movement has long demanded but which the US has opposed on the grounds that peace talks should be held between the two main parties: the Taliban movement and the Afghan government. The fact that the two, during the year, managed to bring about a ceasefire, albeit briefly, also constitutes a unique development. This ceasefire was the first of its kind since the Taliban regime fell 17 years ago, and the fact that it was respected as well as it was indicated that both parties have significant control over their respective forces, something that has previously been viewed as an obstacle to the counterpart’s ability to uphold agreements.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite this positive event, there is a deep mistrust between the parties, and many potential obstacles to a possible negotiated solution and peace agreement. For example, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is an actor that has no interest in a peace process, the group has for example taken responsibility for an attack on both the government part and the Taliban during the ongoing ceasefire. Thus, ISKP is likely to disturb a possible peace process, and also exploit it to try to recruit more hardline insurgents who oppose a negotiated agreement. The influence and interests of external actors in Afghanistan is also an important factor that complicates the situation and impedes a solution to the conflict. Lifos’ assessment is that the establishment of a peace agreement between the internal parties to the conflict has a low chance of success without at least some involvement from influential external actors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although the trend in 2018 has increased the likelihood of a more positive scenario in the longer term, Lifos’ assessment in the short term is that the levels of violence in Afghanistan will escalate. This is due, inter alia, to the government’s goal of pushing back the insurgents and regaining control over more territory, while the insurgents on the other hand are likely to accumulate strength in order to, as much as possible, disturb the forthcoming important presidential election scheduled for April 2019. Next year is therefore likely, according to Lifos’ assessment, to continue to be characterized by a high level of activity on the insurgents’ part, but also by an increasingly offensive government side that will try to regain territory lost to the Taliban over the years through intensive air and ground operations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There is also a risk of an even more negative scenario, should the ISKP’s sectarian violence spread with the emergence of violence between different ethnic groups as a result. Despite two years of sectarian violence, this has not happened yet. However, increasingly stronger voices have raised demands that the Hazara population in Kabul should “take security into their own hands”, as they have lost confidence in the government’s ability to put an end to the sectarian attacks in the capital. Recent occurrences of violence and the Taliban movement’s attacks on the former peaceful Hazara-districts Jaghori and Malestan in Ghazni Province, as well as Hazara villages in the neighbouring province of Uruzgan, threatens to further drive this development. The Hazara population has largely been supportive of the central government, but there is a risk of a development where this minority considers it necessary to take arms themselves for their own security. There is also a risk that Afghans who have fought in Syria will return home, bringing with them a sectarian mindset, which could also have a negative effect on the development. In addition, a greatly disputed presidential election next spring could lead to a collapse of the government and throw the country into a political chaos where the population would completely fall back on their protection networks, often based on ethnic divisions, with possible sectarian violence as a consequence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The forthcoming presidential elections in April 2019 constitute an important event that may potentially be of great importance for the continued development of the country, according to Lifos’ assessment. It is therefore difficult to predict what direction the conflict may take in the second half of 2019. However, even if the presidential election does not lead to political collapse, immense challenges remain for Afghanistan in addition to the ongoing violence. These challenges concern the weak Afghan state and its very limited ability to meet the needs of the population. The humanitarian situation is difficult, with over one million internally displaced persons and over three million people who are deemed to be in need of vital assistance. The economic and humanitarian situation is also at risk of further deterioration, partly due to developments in Iran. The recently reintroduced US sanctions have hit hard against the many Afghan labour migrants who for a long time has had Iran as an alternative labour market. The lack of opportunities in Iran means that many of them must return home and compete for insufficient labour opportunities, which furthermore means loss of important remittances from Iran to families back in Afghanistan. This situation can also be expected to drive migration towards Europe, as Afghans no longer see any potential for livelihood in neither Afghanistan nor Iran.</span><br />
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-39254262919477488082018-12-05T08:54:00.000+01:002018-12-23T22:30:54.036+01:00Conference summary: "Afghanistan is not safe"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjUl9H4ynxuvUT4u-Y4oS38XESr9Km9Hmnlr-tRPzJmtrLbZEwqJkkIcu5P7z2Ji-Krj_O7nnVLf2QqhJlRxCsmcuK0RAKE6L7vv5pcQUtXJZqh7cukCXj9c5bHF4aTq0abqZ_2eU278/s1600/Panelen+IMG_5826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjUl9H4ynxuvUT4u-Y4oS38XESr9Km9Hmnlr-tRPzJmtrLbZEwqJkkIcu5P7z2Ji-Krj_O7nnVLf2QqhJlRxCsmcuK0RAKE6L7vv5pcQUtXJZqh7cukCXj9c5bHF4aTq0abqZ_2eU278/s320/Panelen+IMG_5826.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The panel discussion.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated
the last years and no regions can any longer be regarded as safe. This
conclusion was drawn by the participants on the international conference How
safe is Afghanistan? in Stockholm on October 4, 2018.</b></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="text-indent: -24px;">- It is very likely that Afghanistan will be the worst country in the world when it comes to conflict related deaths, said Therese Pettersson, project leader for Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), to the audience that filled the hall at Convendum in Central Stockholm. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">That the situation in Afghanistan is difficult is not a piece of news. The Australian professor William Maley, Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, gave in his presentation a broad historic expose of the war-torn history of Afghanistan.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Although the last conflict started in 2001, the country has not had a normal peaceful situation in 40 years. This has made the
situation very difficult to ordinary people, said William Maley.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
security situation has declined significantly since the withdrawal of most of
the international forces in 2014, and the number of civilian fatalities is
facing new records, according to UN.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Among other things, this depends on that the Taliban,
who wants to take over the power of the country, has intensified its activities
and to a greater degree focuses its attacks on civilians in densely populated
areas. Also the Islamic State, IS, is advancing in the country and has carried
through large scale attacks on, among other things, Shia mosques, with many
deaths.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That the security in the country is inconstant and
that it is difficult to predict where the attacks will happen was a pervading
theme for the speakers at the conference. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- There are no safe areas in Afghanistan. As the
institutions are as fragile as they are in the country today, an area that
seems safe today might be exposed to violence tomorrow, said professor William Maley
and underlined that the state neither now nor within a foreseeable future has
what is needed to protect the inhabitants. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the same time as the security situation is
deteriorating, the majority of the Afghans who seek asylum in Sweden and Europe
get their asylum applications rejected. According to Hellen Kooijman,
co-founder of the European network Don’t send Afghans back, Sweden is one of
the countries that is hardest in its assessment of Afghans’ right to asylum. In
2017, 37 percent of the Afghans in Sweden were granted residence permit, while
the cut for the EU the same year was 47 percent. In 2015, the average figure
for the EU countries was 67 percent, although the security situation has
deteriorated since then. The lowest figurers come from Bulgaria, where on 1,5
percent of the Afghans were granted residence permit in 2017. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-
During my work with this presentation, I realized that the EU as a whole starts
to move in the direction of Bulgaria when it comes to the attitude towards
Afghan asylum seekers, Hellen Kooijman said.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which is the reality that meets those who have been
forced to return to Afghanistan? According to the last legal position about
Afghanistan from the Swedish Migration board, internal flight for persons who lack
network can be “relevant and reasonable above all to the towns Kabul, Herat or
Mazar-e-Sharif”. In a legal commentary from September 2018, as an answer to the
new guidelines from UNHCR that Kabul cannot be regarded as safe for IDPs, the
authority repeated its position that Kabul still can “be regarded as a relevant
and reasonable alternative for internal flight”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;">But
the capital Kabul is a place that is distinguished in UCDP’s statistics. In the
Afghan capital, more civilians die as a result of the conflict than members of
the conflicting parties, according to Therese Pettersson.</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The sociologist Dr. Liza Schuster, City University of
London, has made research on what happens to those who are deported to
Afghanistan. She concluded that most re-migrate as the reason that made them
leave the country to start with in most cases persist or worsened, at the same
time as many were indebted in connection to the flight.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Of the others, few are integrated in the society,
while others end up in addiction and homelessness, dies or are recruited to
militant groups, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also Liza Schuster concludes that the security
situation, in Afghanistan in general and Kabul in particular, has deteriorated
considerably during the last years, which affects those who never left the
country as well as those who are forced to return. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Earlier you could get in trouble if you were in the
wrong place at the wrong time. Now these times and places have extended and
there are no longer any absolutely safe areas, she said, and described how her
colleagues and friends in Kabul more often stay at home, and choose not to send
their children to school as it has become too dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- There is a profound feeling of fear in the society
that should not be underestimated. Of course this also affects the economy,
said Liza Schuster. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;">A
person who after all has managed to build up a life in Kabul is Abdul Ghafoor,
founder of the organisation Afghanistan Migrants Advice Support Org (AMASO). He
grew up himself in Pakistan and came to Afghanistan in 2013. Today his
organisation offers support to those who are deported to Afghanistan from
Europe.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Some of the young boys I
meet have not put his foot in Kabul earlier, but come to Europe from Iran or
Pakistan. They don’t know anything about the country or the town and end up in
a war zone. Imagine yourself which trauma it is to be sent to an unknown place
where explosions and suicide attacks happen nearly on a daily basis, he said via
link from the Afghan capital. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abdul Ghafoor tells that those who don’t have access
to socio-economic networks in the town face great difficulties to cope. Also
those who have their family in the country many times cannot return home, as
the families reject them and believe that the deportation is due to that they
have not behaved properly.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- Another threat to young ones who are sent back is
that they are exploited as Bacha bazi, which means that young boys are made use
of as sex slaves. I have heard from young boys that they have been molested in
different ways, and that was the reason that we started a kind of protected
shelter for the most exposed ones, said Abdul Ghafoor.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abdul Ghafoor also mentioned Christian converts as
extra exposed and said that many who are forced to return to Afghanistan end up
in addiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 3.75pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- The reason that we don’t hear so much about these
problems is that there is no follow up of those who are deported. What do they
get – two weeks in a hotel and a small support package? A support package that
takes much longer time to get now than earlier, so the deportees often have no
money, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In front of the elections to the parliament on October
20, reports about deadly attacks are frequent and hundreds of people, of whom
several candidates, have ended their lives. The authorities have insisted that
the election should be implemented, but in Kandahar the election is postponed one
week since the province’s police chief Abdul Raziq was killed in an attack.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, <i>How safe is Afghanistan?</i> After a full day
conference, filled with different aspects of security, deportation and social
networks, Therese Pettersson made this comment during the final panel
discussion:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;">- My
answer is that it is not safe, there are no safe areas, and it is getting
worse.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><i>First published in <a href="http://www.amnestypress.se/artiklar/reportage/26325/afghanistan-ar-inte-sakert/">amnestypress.se</a> Oct 20, 2018. Author Vera Häggblom. Translation Ingrid Eckerman (no language checking).</i></span></span></span></div>
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-9732634515489626702018-11-18T22:51:00.000+01:002018-11-18T22:59:05.765+01:00Afghanistan's refugee minister: Stop the deportations!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbjUy2ntvGGLCQQwCUzDXbd3i-TnGXfj82XI5BLgIl19fZKAJunm96RqRyOLM3L8GYZuByRXIo3xgAJ5jlo19DWjGy23o18rNQQpGBkBCyopiKhc_A29dc0YkmRBoBvNQwoT7zjna0cY/s1600/Deportation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="688" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbjUy2ntvGGLCQQwCUzDXbd3i-TnGXfj82XI5BLgIl19fZKAJunm96RqRyOLM3L8GYZuByRXIo3xgAJ5jlo19DWjGy23o18rNQQpGBkBCyopiKhc_A29dc0YkmRBoBvNQwoT7zjna0cY/s320/Deportation.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only very few return to Afghanistan voluntarily. Unaccompanied children prefer to live on the streets in Sweden to those in Afghanistan. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>Translation from Swedish: <a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressreleases/afghanska-flyktingministern-stoppa-utvisningarna-2799242" target="_blank">Afghanska flyktingministern: Stoppa utvisningarna!</a> Nov 18, 2018</i><br />
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On Monday, November 19, 2018, 48 persons are going to be deported by force from Stockholm (Märsta custody) to Afghanistan. Within the group, there are youngsters wrongly written up to 18+, Christians, atheists, hbtq-persons, fathers of babies, physically ill persons, mentally ill persons. Protest demonstrations are planned outside the custody during the day and evening.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Afghanistan's refugee minister</b> <a href="https://www.farr.se/sv/aktuellt-a-press/notiser/1653-utvisade-i-livsfara-stoppa-transporten-till-afghanistan?fbclid=IwAR164qBKhOhO7aDY49Yp3YLg3nB7FwVIT4ubrJK7MDY67miabH5mEWWtC6o" target="_blank">Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi</a> was interviewed by FARR, the Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups. He maintained that internal flight, that is settle down in another place than the domicile, is <i>not</i> an alternative for "returnees" - least for vulnerable groups. The security in Kabul is too low. As aid transports don't reach the province Ghazni the deportees cannot be sent there. Afghanistan cannot offer the forced deportees (by whom many have never been to the country before) the support for re-integration that is demanded according to the return agreement between Sweden and Afghanistan from autumn 2016.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5b8900109.pdf" target="_blank">UN organisations</a>,</b> <a href="https://www.raddabarnen.se/contentassets/191df8fc5e974b7aa6b2e7c053546675/from-europe-to-afghanistan.pdf" target="_blank">Save the children</a> and <a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">the research community</a> agree that the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated the last years, accelerating the last months. This is verified by the Taliban's unsuspected attacks ahead the elections as well as the weeks in areas dominated by the ethnic group Hazara. Professor William Maley points out specially that also quite new information is too old. Afghanistan today is dangerous everywhere and to everyone - it is not possible to protect oneself to the violence.<br />
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<b>The Migration board</b> made its last legal position in August 2017. It was based on data from 2016. As late as a few weeks ago a represent for the security department of the Migration board said that the situation hardly had changed during the last four years. There is no information that the Migration board has started the work to produce an updated legal position.<br />
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Since the temporary law (July 20, 2016; retroactive from November 25, 2015) removed "other protection needs" and humanitarian reasons, the Migration board has sharpened its assessments. Very few asylum applications are accepted. They are not "enough" believing Christians, atheists or hbtq - the are not "believable". Children are rejected as the Migration board on loose grounds consider they have "arranged reception" - in spite of that it is the Migration board that should prove that they have. It is the same with single women. The Migration board is of the opinion that the law does not include the possibility to make exceptions for children with resignation syndrome, demented and other sick persons. They don't oppose splitting families.<br />
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<b>Between 4000 and 5000 youngsters,</b> unaccompanied children when they arrived in Sweden, are <i>not</i> included in the new law on studies in upper secondary school. Most of the considers that living on the street in Sweden or France is preferred to living on the street in Afghanistan. They cannot see any possibility to establish themselves, as they usually are lacking network in the country.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">READ MORE</span><br /><span style="color: #555555;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Links to articles in English with more detailed information about the security situation in Afghanistan can be found on these sites:</span><span style="color: #555555;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/background.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: inherit;">How safe is Afghanistan? Background</span></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://stoppautvisningarna.blogspot.com/p/nytt-fran-afghanistan.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e69138;">Nytt från Afghanistan</span></a><span style="color: #1155cc;"> </span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">(News from Afghanistan)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Facebook:</span><span style="color: #555555;"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e69138;">How safe is Afghanistan? Conference Oct 4, Stockholm</span></a><span style="color: #555555;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial !important; background-repeat: initial !important; background-size: initial !important; border: none; box-shadow: none !important; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px !important;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Youtube:</span><span style="color: #555555;"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvVPtyrdNtSdUNvuhu0BFsA/videos" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e69138;">How safe is Afghanistan?</span></a><span style="color: #555555;"> </span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The lectures from the conference How safe is Afghanistan? October 4, 2018</span></span></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">Media has the right to reproduce this text, parts or whole, with source indication: The Swedish network Stop deportations of young Afghans! </span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></em></div>
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-26632780445007521542018-10-14T22:55:00.000+02:002018-12-23T22:33:01.934+01:00Do the migration authorities in EU underestimate the insecurity in Afghanistan?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ecASYhsEyx2NWYsl86fQSla1xCmXCQgyhESIiDV90v84MoM6-f_nY0ZCaLhJXm-pyS4UILMZLR9wQaHOBtuQwz7dwTI1sha8YV7w09RgztYJ6hYQtGw3R8FEBpyci2csCs5h_mTkIfo/s1600/Therese+d%25C3%25B6dsfall+svart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ecASYhsEyx2NWYsl86fQSla1xCmXCQgyhESIiDV90v84MoM6-f_nY0ZCaLhJXm-pyS4UILMZLR9wQaHOBtuQwz7dwTI1sha8YV7w09RgztYJ6hYQtGw3R8FEBpyci2csCs5h_mTkIfo/s400/Therese+d%25C3%25B6dsfall+svart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fatalities in Kabul 2013 - August 2018.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The <a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-outcome-how-safe-is-afghanistan-oct.html#more" target="_blank">outcome</a> of the conference was that no place in Afghanistan is safe enough for deportations. However, it seems like EU:s migration authorities does not agree on this. But when you look into the different countries' advices to travelers, it seems like they are very well aware about the insecure situation in Afghanistan. Read more in <a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressreleases/do-the-migration-authorities-in-eu-underestimate-the-insecurity-in-afghanistan-2761755" target="_blank">the press release</a>. <br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Swedish press</h3>
<a href="https://www.unt.se/asikt/debatt/var-egen-del-i-ondskan-5167780.aspx">Vår egen del i ondskan</a> Prof. William Maley, UNT 23.12.2018<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressreleases/afghanska-flyktingministern-stoppa-utvisningarna-2799242" target="_blank">Afghanska flyktingministern: Stoppa utvisningarna!</a> 18.11.2018<br />
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<a href="https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressreleases/professor-maley-afghanistan-extremt-instabilt-extra-farligt-foer-hazarer-2796780" target="_blank">Professor Maley: Afghanistan extremt instabilt; extra farligt för hazarer</a> 14.11.2018<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.etc.se/inrikes/valdet-har-blivit-fullkomligt-oforutsagbart?fbclid=IwAR3tFaIGj8EE8_Y2hjEu8_tnhSM99qymrEPrQ1EMnkwHATlvkAQ1WQiQe6c" target="_blank">Våldet har blivit fullständigt oförutsägbart</a> ETC Oct 10, 2018<br />
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<a href="https://www.dagen.se/nyheter/professor-konvertiter-tacksamt-mal-for-extremister-1.1212802" target="_blank">Professor: Konvertiter tacksamt mål för extremister</a> Dagen Oct 4, 2018<br />
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<a href="http://www.amnestypress.se/artiklar/reportage/26325/afghanistan-ar-inte-sakert/" target="_blank">"Afghanistan är inte säkert"</a> Amnesty press Oct 20, 2018<br />
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#howsafeisafg<br />
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-56100471295198854742018-10-08T11:20:00.000+02:002018-11-28T07:59:12.826+01:00The outcome: "How safe is Afghanistan?" Oct 4, 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRPaUiTL0cFtQlr4oE9bxAIF5mIqc7rodmYbM1U8WodOMkB_Z6na6hU2mOHlp7RFl5k4MhyaMSlZe71Dv5ZNnyUowYPrMUBsoYGvfNAM7hGx07OxOKQtdFOEEhldGCj3zEtoV-4FQ54g/s1600/Panelen+IMG_5826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRPaUiTL0cFtQlr4oE9bxAIF5mIqc7rodmYbM1U8WodOMkB_Z6na6hU2mOHlp7RFl5k4MhyaMSlZe71Dv5ZNnyUowYPrMUBsoYGvfNAM7hGx07OxOKQtdFOEEhldGCj3zEtoV-4FQ54g/s320/Panelen+IMG_5826.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The panel discussion. From left Annika Hamrud, Therese Pettersson, Vera Meijerling, William Maley, Anders Fänge and Liza Schuster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
At the conference <b>How safe is Afghanistan? </b>on Oct 4, 2018, a row of respected <a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/lecturers.html" target="_blank">researchers</a> presented their findings about the security situation in Afghanistan. Representants from non-governmental organisations gave us a view of the diverse asylum policies within EU.<br />
<br />
In <a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/pr.html" target="_blank">the program</a>, after each title, you find links to the videos on facebook, ppt-presentations and papers.<br />
<br />
You find <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvVPtyrdNtSdUNvuhu0BFsA/videos" target="_blank">all videos on youtube</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b0yRFvmurBME9dglcyC3z67BJyG3aGkV/view" target="_blank">PPT-presentation</a> in Swedish<br />
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<a name='more'></a><h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The security situation
in Afghanistan</span></span></b></h3>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All lecturers, of whom
several spent many years in Afghanistan, agreed that the European migration
authorities underestimate the dangerous situation in Afghanistan, for inhabitants as well as for returnees. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The violence is today unpredictable.
No place in Kabul is protected from suicide bombers, and no place in
Afghanistan is safe from Taliban attacks. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Civilians are hit hardest. Schools are bombed, and parents don't dare to send their children to school or let them play outside the home. Returnees without social networks face very difficult lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Professor William
Maley</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> described the
situation since the cold war, and how the interventions from west rather
decrease the possibilities for a sustainable peace. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/videos/290162278259540/" target="_blank">Facebook live</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbhei2NR34M&t=14s" target="_blank">Youtube</a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Therese Pettersson</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> showed that Afghanistan is expected to be the most
dangerous country of the world in 2018. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/videos/258885501436185/" target="_blank">Facebook live</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_Vqu2mzeF0&t=12s" target="_blank">Youtube</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Liza Schuster</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> described how Kabul has changed the last years, and
the impossible situation for deportees. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/videos/185785432312607/" target="_blank">Facebook live</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfGsJKk7-Z0&t=4s" target="_blank">Youtube</a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Abdul Ghafoor</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> told us about every day’s life in Kabul and the
difficulties to support the deportees. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/videos/2154185507989141/" target="_blank">Facebook live</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pme9jzQLoq4" target="_blank">Youtube</a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anders Fänge</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> showed how impossible it is to hide from the enemies, may it be relatives, neighbours or talibans. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/videos/1875836515784685/" target="_blank">Facebook live</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEDF9IeUCm4&t=2s" target="_blank">Youtube</a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Niamatullah Ibrahimi</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> said that there are three reasons to stop
deportations to Afghanistan: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Legal reason, as deportations of Hazaras are crimes against article 33
of the refugee convention, 1951*. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moral reasons, as we have a moral responsibility for those who has been
involved in international or governmental work and now are threatened. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> - </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Humanitarian reasons, as social and economic conditions in Afghanistan
are deteriorating. <br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/videos/2145813495737273/" target="_blank">Facebook live</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A4gR3ZKmRE&t=2s" target="_blank">Youtube</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* "No Contracting State
shall expel or return ('refouler’) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the
frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on
account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group or political opinion."</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<i>Recent articles are added at <a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/background.html" target="_blank">Background</a>.</i> </div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sweden has the
toughest asylum policy in Europe</span></span></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In comparison with other
EU-countries, Sweden belong to those with the hardest assessments of refugee
reasons. In 2017, Sweden gave residence permits to 37 % of the afghan asylum
seekers, compared to France 84 % and Italy 92 %. In 2014, 67 % were allowed to
stay, and in 2018 only 32 %.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sweden has had a
generous asylum policy when it comes to bigger groups from exposed countries,
like Syria. For individual assessments it has always been much more difficult.
Today, the demands on evidence are often impossible to fulfill, also for those
who have strong individual asylum reasons. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-35921051378145535432018-10-06T12:10:00.000+02:002018-10-12T10:42:21.058+02:00A success: "How safe is Afghanistan?" Oct 4 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-conference meeting with the organizing group, volunteers and some of the lecturers. </td></tr>
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The conference <b>How safe is Afghanistan?</b> in Stockholm, Oct 4, 2018, was a success. The lecture-hall was filled, and around one thousand followed the conference online.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvVPtyrdNtSdUNvuhu0BFsA/videos" target="_blank">Listen on Youtube</a></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to what some of the lecturers say about the conference!</span><br />
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On <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/howsafeisafg/" target="_blank"><b>Facebook,</b></a> you find all the lectures. Later, they will be uploaded on Youtube. A conference report is planned.</div>
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<b>We want to thank everyone who made this conference possible: </b></div>
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- <a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/lecturers.html" target="_blank">The lecturers</a> who did not ask for economic compensation in spite of their expertise </div>
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- The <a href="https://www.ufstockholm.com/" target="_blank">Stockholm Association of International Affairs</a> that stepped in as a collaborator </div>
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- <a href="https://www.raddabarnen.se/" target="_blank">Save the Children Sweden</a> that sponsored the venue</div>
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- <a href="http://hotellstrindberg.se/" target="_blank">Hotell August Strindberg</a> that sponsored by accommodating some of the lecturers<br />
- The organizing group from the network <a href="https://stoppautvisningarna.blogspot.com/p/natverket.html" target="_blank">Stoppa utvisningarna av afghanska ungdomar! </a>who spent many hours in telephone meetings</div>
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- The volunteers who helped with practical details</div>
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- Johannes from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Alltidmediase-1482811395105789/" target="_blank">AlltidMedia</a> who managed sound and pictures</div>
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- The moderators Waris Sabah and Annika Hamrud who did an excellent work</div>
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- <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jalalruhollah/?modal=admin_todo_tour" target="_blank">Jalal & Ruhollah</a> who entertained us during the conference dinner<br />
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<i>Karin Fridell Anter and Ingrid Eckerman, promotors to the conference </i></div>
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2974404235809319647.post-81927677274573085312018-08-09T17:10:00.000+02:002018-10-08T12:20:55.905+02:00Conference on the safety situation in Afghanistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVrIwtotfAoQ0Tp-shrEWHWLwQFANoUjhMhmsOgzc8PwYQYfF3lasCh_HOex05VFB4Sx5qop-YPxViv-ULlR_uYwU1Pv837bbtN_kTFtEzee889F0rjglVYgP3HU_0K9lrhNjRpPiK2U/s1600/1d3ecf025d79406fa92fe358d5359dfd_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1146" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVrIwtotfAoQ0Tp-shrEWHWLwQFANoUjhMhmsOgzc8PwYQYfF3lasCh_HOex05VFB4Sx5qop-YPxViv-ULlR_uYwU1Pv837bbtN_kTFtEzee889F0rjglVYgP3HU_0K9lrhNjRpPiK2U/s320/1d3ecf025d79406fa92fe358d5359dfd_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome to the international conference How safe is Afghanistan? in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 4, 2018 at 9-17 h</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (</span>Central European Summer Time = UTC/GMT + 2h).<b style="font-family: inherit;"> </b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><b style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: cyan;">Participants: Register for <a href="https://en-gb.invajo.com/event/howsafeisafghanistan/conferencedinner" target="_blank">the Afghan evening!</a> </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: cyan;">The conference will be sent live at facebook</span> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howsafeisafg/" target="_blank">How safe is Afghanistan?</a></i></span><br />
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<i style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: cyan;">The conference will be uploaded on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrc-0VxbPaE" target="_blank">Youtube</a> </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: cyan;">Twitter: #howsafeisafg</span></i></span><br />
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The security situation in Afghanistan is quickly deteriorating. Since 2017, the Taliban have held more Afghan territory than at any time since the American invasion in 2001. Attacks against governmental forces, police and civilians are reported more or less daily. This is of special interest for European countries, as several of them host a big number of Afghan asylum seekers, many of whom arrived in 2015.<br />
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The aim of this conference is to improve the understanding of the current situation in Afghanistan, and thus contribute to the migration authorities' assessments of security and risks for returnees.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Specially invited lecturer is Professor <b>William Maley</b>, Professor of Diplomacy at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy, Australia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other confirmed lecturers:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Dr <b>Niamatullah Ibrahimi</b>, Australian National University (via link)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="value"><span lang="EN-GB">Dr <b>Liza Schuster</b>, reader in Sociology, City University
of London </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="value"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dr <b>Anders Fänge</b>, former Country Director of the Swedish
Committee for Afghanistan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mr <b>Abdul Ghafoor</b>, Afghanistan Migrants Advice & Support Org, Kabul (via link)</span><br />
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Ms <b>Vera Meijering</b>, Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University<br />
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Mr <b>Waris Sabah</b>, Department of International Relations and Economic History, Stockholm University<br />
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<a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/lecturers.html" target="_blank">Lecturers</a><br />
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<a href="https://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/pr.html" target="_blank">Program</a><br />
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<a href="http://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/registration.html" target="_blank">Registration</a><br />
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<a href="http://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/background.html" target="_blank">Background</a><br />
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<a href="http://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/venue.html" target="_blank">Practical details</a><br />
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<a href="http://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/collaboration.html" target="_blank">Collaboration</a><br />
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<a href="http://howsafeisafghanistan.blogspot.com/p/contact.html" target="_blank">Contact</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9S7n5KrnKMKlQjt-Ddv7_M9pxLSKRvTkOLBQiytDR1OJ0GpZ6b1-OcZ1VqLYPXQ4FxbEQ5fek6ff_nyATwVFxVVw6JVCkbZKo2fCLzCarGcpJ1RyXrIMJ8kiAPTXy9F2o-pDNFIdvPGo/s1600/Ensamkommande+Katarina+Liliequist+64+kB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="403" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9S7n5KrnKMKlQjt-Ddv7_M9pxLSKRvTkOLBQiytDR1OJ0GpZ6b1-OcZ1VqLYPXQ4FxbEQ5fek6ff_nyATwVFxVVw6JVCkbZKo2fCLzCarGcpJ1RyXrIMJ8kiAPTXy9F2o-pDNFIdvPGo/s200/Ensamkommande+Katarina+Liliequist+64+kB.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://stoppautvisningarna.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stoppa utvisningarna av afghanska ungdomar!</a><br />Stop deportations of Afghan youth!</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuGEDJWHkMU-Cxy_3fW1pWvkaaj5nijYJnrDYbGLtwSzHOgRfstbist_KQ0L80QHyC8O-UqYWBxnowpeoHNS8WjRZu-Av9EZDhDZ5CQ6sFTlUb-5cTMReC4IjUuIVIqd4diZJOOXeat0/s1600/Utrikespolitiska+f%25C3%25B6reningen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuGEDJWHkMU-Cxy_3fW1pWvkaaj5nijYJnrDYbGLtwSzHOgRfstbist_KQ0L80QHyC8O-UqYWBxnowpeoHNS8WjRZu-Av9EZDhDZ5CQ6sFTlUb-5cTMReC4IjUuIVIqd4diZJOOXeat0/s200/Utrikespolitiska+f%25C3%25B6reningen.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Utrikespolitiska föreningen Stockholm<br /><a href="https://www.ufstockholm.com/" target="_blank">Stockholm Association of International Affairs</a> </b></span></td></tr>
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Ingrid Eckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11131938027331644048noreply@blogger.com0Vasagatan 16, Stockholm57.641484672682068 18.2812538.217754172682064 -23.027344 77.065215172682073 59.589844