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Delivery-date: Fri, 08 Jul 2022 08:26:03 -0400
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Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2022 12:25:22 +0000 (UTC)
From: INSO_AFG_CENTRAL_SA <sa.central@afg.ngosafety.org>
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Message-ID: <turbsQ2OTWeJpSmdVO9SAA@geopod-ismtpd-1-2>
Subject: INSO REPORT =?UTF-8?B?4oCTIEFGRyDigJM=?= KABUL: Harassment Of NGO
 Staff Members At Passport Department
To: Mohammad Arif Tabesh <dr.tabesh@jack.ngo>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN' 'http://www.w3.org=
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enter><table width=3D"580" style=3D" width: 580px;  border:1px solid #C1C2C=
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				This report is for the exclusive use of INSO partners and must not be s=
hared outside your organisation			</td>
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									<div><span style=3D"font-size:24.0pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 0=
; padding: 0; font-family:'Arial', sans-serif; color:#5376b6">&nbsp;&nbsp;R=
EPORT</span></div>
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; padding: 0; font-family:'Arial', sans-serif; color:#182748">&nbsp;&nbsp;&=
nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ATTENTION RECOMMENDED</span></div>
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								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">LOCATION=
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								<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">Afghanistan, Kabul Province, Ka=
bul City, PD 6, <a href=3D"https://goo.gl/maps/n43XPLMnvThJpFNBA">Passport =
Department</a> Area</div>								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INCIDENT=
 TYPE</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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								Harassment Of NGO Staff Members								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">DATE & T=
IME</div>
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								27/06/2022 11:00								</div>
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								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INFORMAT=
ION</div>
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<p>Over the course of June 2022, INSO received reports of multiple separate=
 incidents of staff members from different NGOs being harassed, threatened,=
 or assaulted at the Kabul City Passport Department.<br /><br />Around 15 J=
une, IEA members deployed at one of the entrance checkpoints into the Passp=
ort Department harassed and physically assaulted an NGO national staff memb=
er seeking to apply for a passport. The staff member&rsquo;s personal phone=
 was damaged during the incident, following which they fled the scene.<br /=
><br />On 27 June, two NGO staff members, an Afghan national and a foreign =
national, travelled to the Passport Department. At five different points du=
ring the visit, IEA members harassed the staff members within the general v=
icinity of the department, ranging from aggressive demands for employment w=
ith the NGO or transport to the country of origin of the expatriate to over=
t threats of violence, should the individuals return to the Passport Depart=
ment. In several of these incidents that occurred during the course of the =
visit, IEA members made explicit negative references to the home country of=
 the foreign national and its previous engagement as IMF in Afghanistan, as=
 well as their physical appearance.<br /><br />During a subsequent visit of=
 a national staff member and a second foreign national staff member from th=
e same organisation on the following day, IEA members repeated requests to =
be relocated to the expatriate&rsquo;s country of origin and criticised the=
 national staff member for working with foreigners. When attempting to ente=
r the Passport Department itself, IEA members aggressively shoved and pushe=
d both staff members into a separate queue, without causing injuries.<br />=
<br />Since the IEA takeover on 15 August 2021, IEA forces authored 18 inci=
dents at six different provinicial Passport Departments within Central Regi=
on, eight of which took place in Kabul. Incidents included the arrest of 10=
 IEA members and clerks for soliciting bribes and embezzlement of funds, as=
 well as the arrests of former two ANSF members on unclear charges and thre=
e individuals accused of attempting to jump the queue. IEA members deployed=
 to the area were also involved in violent incidents, such as on 09 Novembe=
r, when an IEA member physically assaulted a former ANSF member at the Kabu=
l Passport Department under unclear circumstances.</p>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ANALYSIS=
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<p style=3D"text-align: justify;">The incidents showcase a continued, wides=
pread lack of basic discipline and professionalism among IEA forces, includ=
ing those deployed at central government facilities within the capital. Whi=
le the personal background of the involved IEA members could not be determi=
ned, it is assessed as likely that they have had only limited prior interac=
tions with NGOs and foreign nationals, contributing to their suspicions and=
 hostility. As such, the incidents also highlight the need for more in-dept=
h training and sensitisation of rank-and-file IEA members with regards to p=
olicing in general and interactions with humanitarian workers in particular=
.<br /><br />The reported hostile interactions appear to have largely been =
prompted by personal animosities towards foreign nationals as well as natio=
nal staff members associated with foreign organisations. Although determini=
ng the extent of such hostile attitudes are difficult to accurately estimat=
e, continuous anecdotal reports of similar statements and confrontational i=
nteractions in other contexts in Kabul, such as at checkpoints, suggest tha=
t they are widespread, particularly among younger IEA members who have only=
 recently been transferred to a major population centre such as Kabul. Comb=
ined with the frequent need to visit the facility for various administrativ=
e services, the likelihood of NGO staff being exposed to similar maltreatme=
nt at some point during their official business at government institutions =
is therefore currently assessed as high.<br /><br />While the type and inte=
nsity of the reported abuse and harassment varied significantly, the furthe=
r escalation of any of the indicated incidents into more high-impact violen=
ce remains a distinct possibility. While more senior IEA officials interven=
ed in some of the abovementioned cases and reprimanded the involved individ=
uals, in the absence of more disciplined senior personnel, hostile IEA memb=
ers may feel emboldened enough to cause more significant harm to NGO staff.=
<br /><br />The absence of an effective internal disciplinary mechanism abl=
e to effectively sanction individual IEA members engaging in such hostile b=
ehaviour further exacerbates this situation. Raised complaints from NGO sta=
ff or other civilians are currently unlikely to be processed efficiently or=
 lead to meaningful repercussions for offenders, due to untransparent inter=
nal hierarchies, with overlapping authorities, and informal power structure=
s within the security apparatus.<br /><br />In addition to these opaque str=
uctures that exacerbate the enforcement of sanctions, authorities have also=
 demonstrated a low intent to prosecute IEA members involved in violent inc=
idents. The fact that IEA members have arrested 28 individuals since Novemb=
er 2021 at Passport Departments in Central Region on corruption and bribery=
 charges, while no arrests related to harassment of civilians have been rec=
orded thus far despite recurring reports from NGOs and civilians, serves to=
 illustrates this point. This low probability of sanctions, in turn, furthe=
r facilitates abuses of power and harassment against NGO staff on an indivi=
dual level.</p>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ADVICE</=
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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<p>When confronted with any form of harassment or threats from security per=
sonnel, NGO staff members should try to remain calm, avoid engaging the ind=
ividuals in a dispute or argument, and attempt to verbally de-escalate the =
situation as best as possible. <br /><br />If an issued threat of violence =
is assessed to be credible, NGO staff should immediately vacate the area an=
d postpone any official business in the area to a later date. If deemed saf=
e to do, staff may consider moving towards a different group of nearby IEA =
members to seek protection.<br /><br />NGOs are advised to share contact in=
formation for local IEA security officials as well as authorities responsib=
le for NGO affairs with staff members. NGOs are advised to establish specif=
ic lines of communication to be used in the event of related incidents occu=
rring.<br /><br />NGOs are advised to share any incidents of harassment or =
impairment of operations by IEA members with INSO, ACBAR and OCHA, in order=
 to identify existing hotspots for related issues and assist in their advoc=
acy efforts towards the authorities.</p>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ISSUED B=
Y</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">SA Central, Dennis Ikas<br /><b=
r /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;"><a href=3D"mailto:sa.central@afg.ngosaf=
ety.org">sa.central@afg.ngosafety.org</a></div>								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INSO SER=
IAL #</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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								AFGHANISTAN/CENTRAL/R/08072022/#001								</div>
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				INSO exists to provide dedicated security services to the NGO community=
. As a free service, INSO and its donors or partners, accept no liability w=
hatsoever for claims as may result from the provision or utilisation of the=
se free services. Whilst every effort is made to the verify data, INSO cann=
ot guarantee the accuracy of information provided. Reproduction of INSO inf=
ormation is prohibited.									<br>
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