DUBAI, 17 June 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: UN says rule of law a top priority AFGHANISTAN: Police casualties high due to lack of training, equipment AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian room for manoeuvre diminishing – ICRC AFGHANISTAN-TAJIKISTAN: Some Afghan refugees said under pressure to leave Dushanbe AFGHANISTAN: UN urges ceasefire for polio immunisation drive ASIA: Opening eyes of migrants to dangers of big cities' embrace NEPAL: Impoverished rural women prone to exploitation in towns NEPAL: UN begins new round of checks on Maoist combatants, weaponry PAKISTAN: Government welcomes code of conduct for NGOs in quake-affected Bagh PAKISTAN: UNHCR ready for Afghan camp closures SRI LANKA: Rebuilding livelihoods in tsunami-hit, war-torn Vaharai

AFGHANISTAN: UN says rule of law a top priority

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Afghanistan (SRSG), Tom Koenigs, on Monday called on the government of President Hamid Karzai and the international community to intensify their efforts to end "lawlessness" in the war-ravaged country.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72663

AFGHANISTAN: Police casualties high due to lack of training, equipment

Under-equipped and poorly trained Afghan police are paying a high price in their fight against an intensifying armed insurgency. In the last three months alone, over 210 police officers have been killed and 330 wounded, according to Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior (MoI).

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72685

AFGHANISTAN: Humanitarian room for manoeuvre diminishing – ICRC

Delivering humanitarian aid and monitoring the situation of civilians in Afghanistan has become increasingly difficult, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told IRIN in Kabul. According to the ICRC, the hardening of views among the warring parties and the intensification of the conflict have reduced the space in which humanitarian workers can operate.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72728

AFGHANISTAN-TAJIKISTAN: Some Afghan refugees said under pressure to leave Dushanbe

Afghan refugees living in Tajikistan are calling on the Tajik government and international organisations to protect them after reported pressure on Afghans in Dushanbe to move to their places of registration outside the capital.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72762

AFGHANISTAN: UN urges ceasefire for polio immunisation drive

The UN has called upon all sides of the conflict between insurgents and government and international forces in the south, east and southeast of Afghanistan to cease fighting for a three-day polio immunisation drive beginning on 17 June.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72769

ASIA: Opening eyes of migrants to dangers of big cities' embrace

With ever greater numbers of people on the move in search of jobs and opportunities in the Mekong River region, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has unveiled a series animated videos to inform and warn migrant workers about the risk of HIV/AIDS.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=727013

NEPAL: Impoverished rural women prone to exploitation in towns

Maili Buda, 35, is having an increasingly difficult life since her husband was killed in Khalanga village, northwest of the capital, during a clash between the Maoist rebels and government security forces nearly six years ago. Peace has been restored in the country but many Nepalese women like Buda remain impoverished, say local aid workers.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72678

NEPAL: UN begins new round of checks on Maoist combatants, weaponry

The UN has on 14 June begun a further series of checks and verification procedures in order to register and gather data on former Maoist rebel army personnel and their weapons, said senior UN officials in Nepal.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72727

PAKISTAN: Government welcomes code of conduct for NGOs in quake-affected Bagh

The Pakistani government has welcomed the adoption of a pre-existing international code of conduct for NGOs working in disaster relief between a community group in quake-affected Bagh District and the government's district reconstruction unit (DRU), following localised tensions earlier this year.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72695

PAKISTAN: UNHCR ready for Afghan camp closures

Plans are in place to help thousands of Afghan refugees living in two Pakistan camps, due to close this week, to relocate, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72730

SRI LANKA: Rebuilding livelihoods in tsunami-hit, war-torn Vaharai

At the beginning of this year, most of Vaharai's population fled the fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government forces which retook it in an all-out assault. When more than 14,000 of those who had been displaced returned in March they found not just homes damaged and destroyed but their livelihoods crippled as well.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72681

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