UN relocates about 100 personnel from Afghan to Kazakhstan over security concern

The United Nations has moved about 100 of its personnel from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan in view of the iquestsecurity and other constraintsiquest in Kabul and they will return to the country as conditions permit according to the spokesman of the UN chiefThe Taliban took control of Afghanistan on SundayTheir sudden victory which comes as the US withdraws from the country following a 20yearwar has sparked chaos at Kabuls airport from where America and allied nations are trying to safely evacuate thousands of citizens and alliesStephane Dujarric Spokesman for the SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres told reporters on Wednesday that the group of about 100 UN personnel from across the system travelled from Kabul to Almaty where they will continue their work remotelyHe said the UN thanks the Government of Kazakhstan for the offer to host a temporary remote office of the UN Assistance Mission in AfghanistanAs the SecretaryGeneral told the Security Council on August 16th the United Nations presence in Afghanistan will adapt to the security situation Dujarric saidIn light of the security and other constraints in Kabul and other parts of the country at the moment it was decided to move a part of the UN staff out of the country Personnel will return to Afghanistan as conditions permit he saidAlso read India very important in dealing with Afghan crisis says UKGuterres had said that the United Nations presence will adapt to the security situation but had stressed that iquestwe will stay and deliver in support of the Afghan people in their hour of needDujarric added that the UN is committed to staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people in their hour of need The majority of humanitarian personnel remain in Afghanistan providing vital assistance to millions in needHe said the remote presence will provide close support to the UN familys continuing work on the ground in AfghanistanThis is a temporary measure intended to enable the UN to keep delivering assistance to the people of Afghanistan with the minimum of disruption while at the same time reducing risk to UN personnelRamiz Alakbarov Deputy Special Representative Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan said in a statement that the UN in Afghanistan reiterates its commitment to stay and deliver aid to millions of people in need in the countryWhile some UN personnel that are not locationdependents temporarily been relocated the majority of humanitarian personnel are staying to support the humanitarian response in line with the principles of humanity neutrality impartiality and independenceThe humanitarian community iquest both the UN and nongovernmental organisations remain committed to helping people in Afghanistan While the situation is highly complex humanitarian agencies are committed to supporting vulnerable people in Afghanistan who need us more than ever Alakbarov saidDujarric added that the office in Almaty will be staffed by a relatively small number of international personnelThe safety and well being of all our staff national and international is a matter of paramount importance to the UN he saidAgain without disclosing any information that may endanger colleagues I can assure you that a significant amount of work is being undertaken as we speak specifically to safeguard national staff And were continuing to explore every avenue possible to further support national personneliquestHe said Alakbarov has been in touch with senior Taliban officials on the ground in Kabul Im not I dont have any details about any other contacts that have been hadOn why the UN personnel were not relocated earlier Dujarric said iquestthe scenes at the airport were rather chaotic We had to bring in a plane from the outside It took quite a bit of time and of work to coordinate with the parties on the ground parties in the air and others to ensure that this relocation could go smoothlyDiscussions with the Kazakh authorities to whom we are extremely grateful were ongoing They were finalised And I cant underscore our thanks to our friends in Almaty for having allowed us to open up this satellite office A relocation is exactly that it is a relocation he saidThe Almaty office has been set up to host about 100 international staff people who dont need to be on location to do their work It is a way of lightening the footprint for obvious obvious reasons so it is a relocation They will go backwhen we feel the situation allows itI can tell you we are doing our utmost to safeguard our national staff and their dependents whether thats having those who will stay in the country or those who may come out he saidThe big difference between working for the United Nations and a nation is that we are not a nation right We are not a nation that issues visas So there are all sorts of administrative hurdles that have to be negotiated and discussed But the national staff is very much on the forefront of what we are trying to do every day he addedThis story has been sourced from 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