Source: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
Date: 17 Oct 2002

Press Briefing by Eric Laroche UNICEF Representative for Afghanistan 17 Oct 2002

Good morning everybody. I think it is the first time I am coming here so I am delighted to meet you.

The reason why I am here is because I think UNICEF now has to denounce the acts of violence against women and children in Afghanistan. We do believe in an Afghanistan which is fit for children and we work everyday to make sure that the government, local authorities and central authorities will be able to make an Afghanistan fit for children.

Children by definition are vulnerable, they are innocent and they are dependant. The role of UNICEF is to make sure that we protect their rights. Children have the right to education, they have the right to play, they have the right for hope, they have the right for joy, they have the right to grow, and they have the right to learn. What we are seeing in recent weeks is precisely a violation of all these rights because a child that goes to school - a girl that goes to school and sees her school being burnt down is deprived of her rights. I think we have a commitment to protect their rights. There is no peace in the future unless you have children educated in this country and I think everyone recognizes that and I think I would like you as reporters to not report but mediate and I am going to tell you why.

In the past weeks we have seen two days ago another explosion in a school in Kandahar. But, as you know two, three days ago it was in Wardak where schools were burnt down. A few weeks ago it was in Sar-i-Pul - a school was burnt down. You have many examples like this where even schools have been receiving rockets in the past. That cannot continue. One question is: Is there any pattern behind that? We don't think there is any pattern. The question that is often raised is: Do you think it is a resurgence of Taliban? We don't think it is a resurgence of Taliban but we think it is time for you to help people react against these acts of violence. How can you help people? To mediate and mediating is not to report the - let's say the sexiness of the news - but to help the community defend their own children.

An example, in Kandahar, the Director of Education has made publicly a statement asking for children to go back to school. In Sar-i-Pul, the community has organised themselves to emphasize in all corners of the village the importance of education in spite of the fact that the schools were burnt down. I think that this is very important because unless people understand that school is key to peace there will be no peace in the future in Afghanistan. Unless your children in Afghanistan are educated there will be no peace, there will be no growth, the will be no economic development. So it is timely for you to play your role of mediator and not only reporters.

Obviously, UNICEF regrets all this. We are ready to help at the community level, at the local level, at the central level, the government, to make sure that children's education, children's schools are going to be protected.

I was here during the time of the Taliban. I was pushing very much the education of girls during the time of the Taliban. We were all dreaming to see children back in school. I must say that the dream has come true. I mean it is a reality. If you go in the cities all over Afghanistan, if you go in any village all over Afghanistan, you see children going back to school. If you would have been here - some of you were obviously here - some years ago, you couldn't see that at all. We were never expecting that 3 million children would come back to school. We would never expect that 30 percent of these children are girls. Even in Kabul, 45 percent of all children going to school every day are girls. Most of the schools that have been burnt down recently were girl's schools. So, I think that it is very important that we continue giving hope to children. If you would have talked to a child, any Afghan, two years ago or even 1½ years ago, what struck me was the lack of hope. We are restoring hope.

Reconstruction is about putting hope back onto the agenda. I think we are just getting there. The reason why I decided yesterday to come here is to ask you to help us restoring hope for reconstruction in Afghanistan. Children are very curious, they are full of hope, they are very joyful and I think we need to keep these children being so in the future.

The government has started reconstructing. There is no reconstruction in Afghanistan unless children are educated again. As I said at the beginning we would like you to help us making sure that children are going to go and learn in a safe environment.

Thank you.

Questions and Answers

Q: How many of these schools have been burnt down? We haven't heard so much about it.

Chulho Hyun: As was shared with you a few weeks ago, there was - just to make clear - two school tents in Sar-i-Pul towards the end of last month. There was also an initial report that we shared just today about the explosion in Kandahar at one school. In Wardak, we are just hearing initial reports and investigating and waiting for the investigations of local authorities in Wardak Province of one school.

Q cont: So the report is about [inaudible]?

Chulho Hyun: That is right.

Q: In Wardak the school was burnt?

Chulho Hyun: No, we are waiting to hear details from on the ground whether the extent of the damage - we have heard both that the school was destroyed, that the school was burnt - but I think that it is premature to confirm to what extent the school was damaged.

Q: Do you have figures on the number of people injured and killed?

Chulho Hyun: No, the only figure that we shared with you today, following the report out of Kandahar city, was that one male teacher was slightly injured, but his injuries were not major. In fact he was able to return to work today or yesterday.

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