The Australian Council for International Development is an independent national association of Australian non-
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media release
Australian Council for International Development
11 April 2010
Release 2010 -1
AFGHANISTAN MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN ASIA
SITUATION FOR CIVILIANS TO GET WORSE IN NEXT 6 MONTHS
Afghanistan is the most dangerous place for civilians in Asia and the situation is due to get worse in
the coming six months according to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the
peak Council for Australian not- for- profit aid and development organizations. The situation for
civilians in Afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating as the conflict escalates. There is widespread
insecurity, political instability and social and economic problems. People will continue to flee violence.
The Australian Government must continue to assess individual cases of persecution on their merits.
ACFID Executive Director Marc Purcell said:
“Afghanistan is the most dangerous place for civilians in Asia, and one of the top three most
dangerous places in the world, and we expect the situation for civilians is going to get worse in the
coming six months. Afghanistan has the world’s longest running major armed conflict, which is
expanding across the country.
There are over 1,817,913 refugees from Afghanistan according to UNHCR, and an estimated 274,000
Internally Displaced People across the country. Violence is growing and it is inevitable that refugee
flows will increase this year as the war escalates.
“The Government’s decision to suspend processing of asylum seekers from Afghanistan flies in the
face of overwhelming evidence that the situation is deteriorating rapidly and people’s lives are at
grave risk.
“The Government must continue to assess individual cases of persecution on their merits. The
Government needs to show resolve against fear mongering and retain the 2008 reforms it made to
protect the rights of people fleeing persecution.
“Afghanistan is the only complex humanitarian emergency in the world where all major aid donors,
including Australia, are also belligerents. Afghans in the southern provinces, including Uruzgan where
Australian forces are based, and where fighting is fiercest are severely affected. The spread of
fighting and the relative lack of aid to the North and East of the country is fuelling instability.
“Last year, at least 5,978 civilians were killed or injured in Afghanistan according to the UN Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan. There were a total of 2,412 civilian deaths between 1 January and 31
December 2009, an increase of 14 percent on the 2,118 civilian deaths recorded in 2008.
“Afghanistan has some of the world’s worst social indicators: the highest infant mortality rate; the
second highest maternal mortality rate; and is the only country in the world where women have lower
life expectancy than men. The UN’s Children’s agency warned late last year: ’Afghanistan today is
without doubt the most dangerous place to be born’,” Mr Purcell said.
For further information: Marc Purcell 0450 961 561
NEWS 
