No Kabul return in sight for UN staff

No Kabul return in sight for UN staff

It is now nearly three weeks since Al Jazeera broke the news of the departure of many of the UN's international staff from Afghanistan.
 
At the time, we were told it was only a temporary withdrawal, while the UN constructed new secure accommodation units. 
 
It followed a Taliban attack on October 28 on a guesthouse in the centre of Kabul, which killed five UN staff living there.
 
Many UN workers had been living in private houses, and guesthouses spread across the Afghan capital.

A security review was launched, and following a visit to Kabul by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, the order to withdraw as many as 800 UN staff was given.
 
This was the UN statement at the time:
 
"The United Nations is taking additional steps to reduce risks to its national and international staff serving in Afghanistan.
 
"Although details of the new measures can not be made public, it is expected that they will involve short-term relocations for some staff while additional security is being put in place."
 
However, three weeks on, the departure does not look so temporary.
 
A small core of international UN staff remain at their posts in the Afghan capital. However, many others have been relocated to a hotel in Dubai, 1,688 miles away from Kabul.
 
I am told that the construction work for the new secure accommodation blocks has not even started yet. It may be many months before the UN starts increasing its numbers again.
 
UN workers in both Kabul and Dubai have told me morale is now at rock bottom. Many staff are not planning to renew their contracts, others have already resigned.

Some remain traumatised about the attack last month. Others believe they cannot do their jobs from afar, and even if they are allowed to return eventually, they do not want to live in military-style barracks.