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Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2022 11:30:14 +0000 (UTC)
From: INSO_AFG_CENTRAL_SA <sa.central@afg.ngosafety.org>
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Message-ID: <crcOje0FRp-RL_9cKAOHzA@geopod-ismtpd-4-2>
Subject: INSO UPDATE: REPORT =?UTF-8?B?4oCTIEFGRyDigJM=?= KABUL: Harassment Of
 NGO Staff Members At Passport Department
To: Rohullah Azimi <rohullah.azimi@jack.ngo>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN' 'http://www.w3.org=
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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:15.0pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 0=
; padding: 0; font-family:'Arial', sans-serif; color:#182748">&nbsp;&nbsp;&=
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									UPDATE: 									</span></div>
									<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>
									<div><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 0=
; padding: 0; font-family:'Arial', sans-serif; color:#182748">&nbsp;&nbsp;&=
nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ATTENTION RECOMMENDED</span></div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">LOCATION=
</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;">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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3.52%; border:none; font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; co=
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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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								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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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  ">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								27/06/2022 11:00								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  background: #dcdcde;">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">UPDATED =
INFORMATION</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  background: #dc=
dcde;">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								<div style=3D"text-align: justify;"><strong>As of 21 July, 1600 hrs=
:</strong> Following the repeated incidents, INSO conducted a meeting with =
senior officials at the Passport Department to discuss concerns and possibl=
e solutions going forward.<br /><br />During the discussion, IEA officials =
confirmed that the incidents were most likely the result of a lack of famil=
iarity of rank-and-file members stationed at the department premises with f=
oreign nationals and NGO staff in general.&nbsp; IEA officials further sign=
alled their continued support for foreign NGO staff members who are in poss=
ession of legal visas and work permits.<br /><br />In order to avoid simila=
r issues during future visits, IEA officials advised that prior to official=
 visits to the Passport Department to process foreign staff members' visa d=
ocumentation, NGOs should inform a relevant point of contact within the Min=
istry of Interior. Once informed of an upcoming visit, Ministry officials w=
ill liaise directly with officials at the Passport Department to offer supp=
ort and facilitate access accordingly.&nbsp;<br /><br />IEA officials also =
reiterated that foreign nationals themselves are not required to visit the =
Passport Department in person and that a national counterpart carrying the =
necessary documents will be able to conduct any visa-related business on th=
eir behalf, thereby avoiding any potential issues posed by language barrier=
s.<br /><br />As stated during the discussion, the above process is intende=
d solely for the purpose of facilitating official visits to the Passport De=
partment related to visa documents for foreign NGO personnel, rather than p=
ersonal matters of national NGO staff members.</div>								</div>
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3.52%; border:none; font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; co=
lor:#15274B;  background: #dcdcde;">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">UPDATED =
ADVICE</div>
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2.0pt; font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif; line-height:115%;  background: #dc=
dcde;">
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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">NGOs are advised to contact rel=
evant officials at the Ministry of Interior prior to visiting the Passport =
Department for support and facilitation using established contact details: =
+93 78 502 2883 / +93 77 713 8910<br /><br />NGOs should further review int=
ernal protocols with regards to the requirement to send foreign staff membe=
rs to the Passport Department for visa issuance or renewal.<br /><br />NGOs=
 are encourage to continue sharing any incidents of harassment or impairmen=
t of operations by IEA members with INSO, ACBAR and OCHA, in order to ident=
ify existing hotspots for related issues and assist in their advocacy effor=
ts towards the authorities.</div>								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INITIAL =
REPORT</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;">
<p style=3D"text-align: justify;"><strong>As of 08 July, 1700 hrs:</strong>=
 Over the course of June 2022, INSO received reports of multiple separate i=
ncidents of staff members from different NGOs being harassed, threatened, o=
r assaulted at the Kabul City Passport Department.<br /><br />Around 15 Jun=
e, IEA members deployed at one of the entrance checkpoints into the Passpor=
t Department harassed and physically assaulted an NGO national staff member=
 seeking to apply for a passport. The staff member&rsquo;s personal phone w=
as 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 na=
tional, travelled to the Passport Department. At five different points duri=
ng the visit, IEA members harassed the staff members within the general vic=
inity of the department, ranging from aggressive demands for employment wit=
h the NGO or transport to the country of origin of the expatriate to overt =
threats of violence, should the individuals return to the Passport Departme=
nt. In several of these incidents that occurred during the course of the vi=
sit, IEA members made explicit negative references to the home country of t=
he foreign national and its previous engagement as IMF in Afghanistan, as w=
ell as their physical appearance.<br /><br />During a subsequent visit of a=
 national staff member and a second foreign national staff member from the =
same organisation on the following day, IEA members repeated requests to be=
 relocated to the expatriate&rsquo;s country of origin and criticised the n=
ational staff member for working with foreigners. When attempting to enter =
the Passport Department itself, IEA members aggressively shoved and pushed =
both staff members into a separate queue, without causing injuries.<br /><b=
r />Since the IEA takeover on 15 August 2021, IEA forces authored 18 incide=
nts at six different provinicial Passport Departments within Central Region=
, eight of which took place in Kabul. Incidents included the arrest of 10 I=
EA members and clerks for soliciting bribes and embezzlement of funds, as w=
ell as the arrests of former two ANSF members on unclear charges and three =
individuals accused of attempting to jump the queue. IEA members deployed t=
o the area were also involved in violent incidents, such as on 09 November,=
 when an IEA member physically assaulted a former ANSF member at the Kabul =
Passport Department under unclear circumstances.<br /><br />When confronted=
 with any form of harassment or threats from security personnel, NGO staff =
members should try to remain calm, avoid engaging the individuals in a disp=
ute 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 c=
redible, NGO staff should immediately vacate the area and postpone any offi=
cial business in the area to a later date. If deemed safe to do, staff may =
consider moving towards a different group of nearby IEA members to seek pro=
tection.<br /><br />NGOs are advised to share contact information for local=
 IEA security officials as well as authorities responsible for NGO affairs =
with staff members. NGOs are advised to establish specific lines of communi=
cation to be used in the event of related incidents occurring.<br /><br />N=
GOs are advised to share any incidents of harassment or impairment of opera=
tions by IEA members with INSO, ACBAR and OCHA, in order to identify existi=
ng hotspots for related issues and assist in their advocacy 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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ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								AFGHANISTAN/CENTRAL/R/08072022/#001-U1								</div>
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76b6; padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; height:63px; font-size:7.5pt; font-family:'A=
rial', sans-serif; color:white; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;=
">
				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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