As
the US and allied forces declare victory over the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the real battle,
that of reconstruction of a country that has been
torn apart by war for over 20years, has just begun
.
Aside
from the German sponsored, UN monitored meeting of
four Afghan groups to decide on the immediate future
of the country that just wrapped last week in Bonn,
world leaders like US President George W. Bush and
UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan have met with increasing
frequency to discuss how to stabilize not only Afghanistan,
but the region.
Many heads of UN organizations
have begun their own
programs in preparation
for what promises to
be a very diverse and
long term project.
One such agency, the
UN Environmental Programme
based in Nairobi, Kenya,
launched a special
post-conflict task
force with the situation
in Afghanistan in mind.
"UNEP stands
ready to carry its
part of the UN's responsibility
for Afghanistan by
assisting in the country's
rehabilitation and
reconstruction," said
Klaus Töpfer,
UNEP's executive director. "We
are ready to be active
in the post-conflictsituation
at the earliest possible
moment following the
first phase of urgent
humanitarian assistance."
Although this is the
first official launch
of the 11-person force,
which will be based
along with several
other UNEP programs
in Chatelaine, in Geneva,
the group had a test
run in the Balkans.
"Following the
positive reactions
from the Balkans countries
and the international
community at large
to our work on the
Kosovo conflict, I
have today the honor
of inaugurating the
Post-Conflict Assessment
Unit," said Töpfer."This
Unit will extendthe
work pioneered in the
Balkans to embrace
other areas of the
world where thenatural
and human environment
has been damaged as
a consequence ofconflict."
In
the Balkan's the
team sent experts
into
the field to collect
laboratory samples
that were then analyzed
to evaluate the damage
the conflict had done
to local soils and
water supplies.The
resulting reports identified
heavily polluted "hot
spots", offered
the first-ever analysis
of depleted uranium
(DU) in a real conflict
situation, determined
the environmental impacts
of refugee influxes,
and proposed solutions
for environmental clean-up.
While the first priority
in Afghanistan will
be meeting the immediate
needs of the population,
and there patriation
of the some four million
refugees, the de-mining
of the country and
restoration of soil
and sanitary water
will be vital elements
to rebuilding the country.
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