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Delivery-date: Fri, 14 Oct 2022 08:12:02 -0400
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Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2022 12:11:20 +0000 (UTC)
From: INSO_AFG_MOBILE2_SA <sa.mobile2@afg.ngosafety.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Message-ID: <tLTL1VyjSj6WhCAjwf4VMA@geopod-ismtpd-1-1>
Subject: INSO REPORT =?UTF-8?B?4oCTIEFGRyDigJM=?= ZABUL: The Detention Of NGO
 Staff Highlights The Inefficiency Of Formal Channels For The Interaction
 Between NGOs And The IEA
To: "Dr. Sayed Musa Musawy" <musawy@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: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, Zabul Province, Qa=
lat City, All Areas</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;">
								NGO Staff Detention								</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;">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;">
								05/10/2022 10:00								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">INFORMAT=
ION</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;">On 05 October, unidentified IEA=
 forces arrived at a distribution site of an NGO, arrested one of the natio=
nal staff, and transported him to an undisclosed location.<br /><br /></div=
>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">One day later, the NGO management succe=
eded in identifying the intervening forces as belonging to the GDI via an i=
nformal network of local stakeholders. At the provincial GDI headquarters, =
the NGO representative was not allowed to see the detained staff and was no=
t told why he was arrested. GDI forces also came once again to the same dis=
tribution site on 06 October, inspecting the computers of the present NGO s=
taff. They appeared to have been looking for female names and photos in the=
 beneficiary lists.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">The NGO reported the issue to the Depar=
tment of Economy (DoE), who then escalated it to the office of the provinci=
al governor. The latter noted that the arrest was not conducted in an accep=
table manner, particularly as the GDI members entered the site with their w=
eapons. He promised to address the issue with the GDI and discover why the =
staff was detained.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">On 08 October, the NGO once again appro=
ached the GDI, learning that the staff was accused of possessing photos of =
female beneficiaries, of transporting them between Qalat and Kandahar citie=
s, and of having phone conversations with them. The GDI therefore suspected=
 him to be in an immoral relationship with at least one of the female benef=
iciaries. The NGO representative demanded again the staff&rsquo;s release w=
hile the investigation was ongoing. The GDI responded that because the NGO =
brought the issue to the attention of other IEA departments, they cannot ma=
ke such unilateral decisions any longer. The GDI member also threatened to =
close the NGO.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">One day later, when the NGO management =
again discussed the detention with the provincial governor, he stated that =
he considered the accusations serious enough to warrant an investigation. N=
onetheless, he again said he would informally advocate for the person&rsquo=
;s release.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">On 10 October, the DoE and other inform=
al stakeholders informed the NGO representative that the detainee was trans=
ferred from the GDI to the provincial IEA police compound. The police allow=
ed him to see the detained staff, who appeared to have been beaten in the p=
ast days. At the time of writing, despite multiple informal assurances from=
 various IEA members that the staff would be released, he remained in custo=
dy.</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;">ANALYSIS=
</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;">The repeated need to rely on in=
formal networks to obtain information about the detainee and the failure of=
 the provincial authorities to secure his release highlighted the high degr=
ee of independence with which the GDI operates in Zabul. The NGO&rsquo;s si=
tuation was more complex and time-consuming because relevant actors such as=
 the DoE or the provincial governor&rsquo;s office were not initially fully=
 aware of the situation, and even then were unable to convince the GDI to r=
elease the detained staff, despite repeated promises to advocate to that en=
d.<br /><br />The incident further demonstrated that even unverified suspic=
ions reported to the GDI were likely to lead to arrests and physical harm o=
f NGO employees, particularly when the allegations pertain to potentially s=
ensitive matters. Regardless of whether the detention was justified, the GD=
I failed to respect the presumption of innocence and assaulted the detainee=
. Considering that in the Southern Region disgruntled employees and residen=
ts not selected for aid occasionally report false accusations to the author=
ities to damage the reputation of NGOs, similar incidents can affect any NG=
O staff, not only those found guilty of having committed a crime.<br /><br =
/></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">The GDI's investigation also has potent=
ial implications for the NGO's acceptance in the community. During the inve=
stigation, GDI members demanded access to the beneficiary lists, entered th=
e site with weapons during distribution, and inspected staff computers. The=
 NGO was unable to prevent the GDI members from reading the beneficiary lis=
ts or to persuade them to leave their weapons outside, which may damage the=
 community's trust in the NGO regarding its ability to ensure the safety of=
 beneficiaries at the distribution site. Additionally, the GDI's allegation=
s were likely to generate rumours about the NGO and its approach to female =
beneficiaries.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">Overall, in 2022, Qalat City has seen f=
ive NGO incidents, four of which involved the GDI or police not using forma=
l mechanisms when engaging with NGOs. In two instances in May and June, the=
 GDI attempted to obtain sensitive information directly from NGOs without c=
oordinating with the DoE. In a more recent incident recorded on 21 Septembe=
r, a joint survey team of several NGOs accompanied by a representative of t=
he Department of Refugees and Repatriations (DoRR) was stopped and assaulte=
d by IEA police members whose commander was not included in the beneficiary=
 list. Zabul has seen an uptick in NGO incidents caused by the IEA througho=
ut September and October, and as the reasons for the slight increase were u=
nclear, it remained to be seen in the upcoming weeks whether it was a coinc=
idence or a change of approach of one of the IEA&rsquo;s provincial departm=
ents.</div>								</div>
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lor:#15274B;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 12.5px 0 0;">ADVICE</=
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;">It is recommended that NGOs and=
 bodies coordinating humanitarian aid continue to advocate for better coord=
ination between the DoE and other IEA departments.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">To the extent possible, NGOs should inf=
ormally monitor the dissatisfaction of persons who applied for employment b=
ut were refused, and regularly discuss with community elders the levels of =
acceptance of the NGO&rsquo;s activity to minimise the risk of malign rumou=
rs reaching the IEA and leading to similar investigations.<br /><br /></div=
>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">It is recommended that NGOs report inci=
dents of the IEA&rsquo;s pressure or interference with NGO activities to bo=
dies coordinating humanitarian response as well as INSO.<br /><br /></div>
<div style=3D"text-align: justify;">Maintaining a wide informal network of =
local stakeholders and authorities is advised both to allow for deconflicti=
on when necessary and to obtain information in case formal mechanisms fail =
in a similar manner to the above.</div>								</div>
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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%;  ">
								<div style=3D"margin: 12.5px 25px; padding: 0 0 12.5px 0; border-bo=
ttom:1px solid #C1C2C4;">
								SA Mobile, Marek Baron<br /><br /><a href=3D"mailto:sa.mobile2@afg.=
ngosafety.org">sa.mobile2@afg.ngosafety.org</a>								</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/SOUTH/R/14102022/#001								</div>
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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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