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UNHCR suspending Afghan repatriation until March

December 20, 2004

IISLAMABAD, 20 Dec (UNHCR) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced on Monday it will suspend the voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan from 27 December until March 1, 2005, after a successful season in which some 383,000 have been assisted to return to their homeland.

The decision to end repatriation for two months after a final day of operations on 26 December reflected the falling numbers of refugees who wish to return to Afghanistan during the harsh winter months. Only 126 individuals went through UNHCR repatriation facilities on Sunday, raising the total since the start of the season last March to 382,781 Afghans. A similar suspension of the voluntary repatriation programme was implemented during the first two years of the programme, with staff using the gap to train for the following year's activities. In addition, UNHCR staff this January and February will be assisting in preparations for a proposed government census of all Afghans in Pakistan.

Afghan refugee women leaving Attock for Afghanistan © UNHCR/ J. Redden

In the three years of the programme, UNHCR has assisted 2,290,950 Afghans to repatriate from Pakistan. A further 779,000 have returned to Afghanistan from Iran with UNHCR assistance and 321,000 on their own. The combined total of more than three million people who were helped over three years makes it the largest voluntary assisted return programme in the 53-year history of UNHCR.

UNHCR assistance for Afghans returning from Pakistan will resume on 1 March, launching the final year of the voluntary repatriation programme. The Tripartite Agreement between UNHCR and the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which governs the repatriation programme, expires in March 2006.
Under the programme, UNHCR offers Afghans who wish to go home a package of travel assistance, varying from $8 to $30 per person depending on the distance traveled, and a cash payment of $12 per person to help them re-establish in Afghanistan. The benefits are paid on arrival in Afghanistan.

All those over the age of six who are repatriating with UNHCR assistance go through an iris recognition test that ensures no one receives the return help more than once. Younger people cannot be tested properly, so other verification checks are made by UNHCR staff.

UNHCR estimates there are about a million Afghans living in refugee camps in Pakistan, some of them dating back 25 years. A substantial, but unknown number of Afghans also live in Pakistani cities. The proposed census would provide updated information on the number and background of Afghans living in Pakistan.