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UNHCR and Islamic Development Bank sign three agreements on Afghanistan

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UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) have signed three agreements aimed at bolstering access to education, health-care services, and livelihood opportunities in Afghanistan.

The agreements were signed at the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, by the Special Advisor to the President of the Islamic Development Bank and Coordinator of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund, Muhammad Jamal Al-Saati, and UNHCR’s Senior Advisor and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Representative, Khaled Khalifa, UNHCR said in a statement.

Through these agreements, UNHCR will implement several projects to support education programmes, such as building 16 integrated schools for boys and girls, and creating information and inquiry points to enhance and ensure access to education for more than 30,000 school-age children. In addition, it will improve and expand the health-care service network in more than 34 regions by establishing eight health-care centres, benefiting more than half a million people from returnee, displaced and host communities. The agreements will also allow for the implementation of programmes to enhance vocational skills and facilitate livelihood opportunities through traditional crafts, such as beekeeping and wool spinning, according to the statement.

 "The decades-long conflict in Afghanistan has had a devastating impact on all aspects of people’s lives, leaving more than two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population in urgent need of assistance,” Khaled Khalifa said. “With this generous contribution from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Fund for Development – through AHTF – UNHCR will be able to provide critical services in several vital sectors, including health, education, and livelihoods. We are grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and AHTF for this much-needed support.” 

Approximately 28.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, according to UN.

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Human traffickers should be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison: IEA leader

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The Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree instructing the Ministry of Interior Affairs to prevent human trafficking and to arrest and refer culprits to military courts.

The decree containing six articles says that that military courts should sentence human traffickers to one year in prison for the first time, two years if repeated for the second time and three years if repeated for the third time.

The ministries of Hajj, information, telecommunications, borders, propagation of virtue, as well as religious scholars are asked to inform the public about the dangers and adverse consequences of travelling through smuggling routes.

The decree comes as the rate of migration has increased following the political change in Afghanistan in 2021.

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Eight Afghan migrants die as boat capsizes off Greek island

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Eight Afghan migrants died after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized off Greece's eastern island of Rhodes on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Greek authorities said that the capsizing was the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel.

A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, Greece's coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.

Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.

Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.

The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.

Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.

 

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Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires meets with IEA deputy foreign minister

Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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The Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Per Albert Ilsaas, on Saturday met with IEA’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, in Kabul.

Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In addition to focusing on bilateral political, humanitarian, and other pertinent issues, the two sides expressed hope that continued engagement would lead to constructive solutions to related issues.

This comes two weeks after the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi expressed disappointment regarding the decision by the Norwegian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.

Balkhi said in a post on X that such decisions should not be linked with internal affairs of other countries.

“Diplomatic engagement is most effective when it fosters mutual understanding and respect, even amidst differing viewpoints,” he stated.

“Access to consular services is a fundamental right of all nationals. We strongly urge all parties to prioritize this principle in the spirit of international cooperation,” he added.

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