Afghan returnee numbers this year top 276,000 – UN refugee agency

The United Nations refugee agency said today that some 276,700 Afghans returned to their homeland this year through its voluntary repatriation programme, 99 per cent of them coming from neighbouring Pakistan.

The remaining 1 per cent of returnees came from Iran and other countries, Ewen MacLeod, Acting Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan, told a news conference in Kabul.

He attributed this year’s numbers to three main factors: the high prices of food and fuel which have strongly impacted Pakistan’s economy, the closure of the large Jalozai refugee camp in the Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP), and the “changing” security situation in Pakistan, particularly in NWFP, where the majority of Afghan refugees live.

Mr. MacLeod noted that over 5 million people have returned to Afghanistan since 2002, representing a 20 per cent increase in the country’s overall population. Some 4.3 million of them were assisted through UNHCR’s voluntary repatriation programme for Afghan refugees, the world’s largest for the past six years.

“I think it is very clear to everybody that an increase in a population with a refugee return programme of that dimension would represent a very sharp challenge for even a Western industrialized country. We are certainly not aware, in recent history, of any country that has absorbed so many people in such a short time.

”The solidarity demonstrated by the Afghan population in reabsorbing these huge figures is remarkable and without precedent anywhere else,” he added.

He said it is clear that return and reintegration in Afghanistan will become more challenging. The returnees face many difficulties, including lack of job opportunities, shelter and basic services such as health care and education.

“In order to create sufficient employment opportunities the economy has to grow at a quicker pace to absorb more workers in labour markets,” he stated.

Future challenges will be among the issues discussed at an international conference on return and reintegration, organized by the Afghan Government and UNHCR, which will be held in Kabul on 19 November.

UNHCR’s Afghan repatriation programme has now been suspended for the winter and will resume next March. The agency estimates there are still 2.8 million registered Afghans living in Pakistan and Iran.

(UN; 3 november 2008)

Zie ook
Aantal vluchtelingen teruggekeerd naar Afghanistan dit jaar

UN emergency aid funds hands out 30 million dollar to projects in seven countries

The United Nations relief chief announced last week that the world body's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $30 million to support UN agencies conducting vital aid work in seven countries.

Projects in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Iraq, Sri Lanka and Syria will all receive money as a result of the announcement, which marks the second round of allocations this year from CERF for under-funded emergencies.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said funds given by CERF "are often the last source of hope" for people facing crises.

"Millions of people affected by some of the less visible crises around the world often have to endure great deprivation," said Mr. Holmes, who is also the Organization's Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The largest funding recipient will be UN agencies in Chad, where $6.8 million has been granted to help respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation that has resulted from the worsening insecurity and an influx of fresh refugees from the neighbouring Darfur region of Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR).

As many as 500,000 people, mostly in eastern Chad, now depend heavily on outside aid.

Iraq
UN agencies operating in Iraq will receive $5 million, while those working in Syria, which is now home to about 1.5 million increasingly impoverished Iraqi refugees, will be given $4 million from CERF to assist with food, health and other relief programmes.

Afghanistan
UN-backed programmes and projects in Afghanistan are slated to receive $4.6 million.

Sri Lanka
4 million dollar has been set aside for Sri Lanka, $3.6 million for Burundi and $2 million for the DPRK.

The funds go to UN aid agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and then through them to partners in the field, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The grants were selected according to the severity of needs, the availability of funding around the world and security constraints on aid delivery.

CERF was set up by the UN at the end of 2005 to provide a standby pool of funds so that more timely humanitarian assistance can be given when natural disasters, armed conflicts and other crises occur.

One-third of funds generated, from Member States, NGOs, local governments, the private sector and individual donors, are awarded to so-called "neglected crises."

More illegal armed groups disbanded with UN help in Afghanistan

A campaign to disband illegal armed groups has already seen more than 40,000 weapons handed in, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

According to a statement last week of the UN, the drive is already taking place in 70 districts around the country and is to be extended to 12 more districts.

The aim is to eradicate the influence of illegal armed groups to pave the way for the consolidation of peace, the rule of law and prosperity in Afghanistan.

As part of the process, as many as 342 illegal armed groups have been disbanded and 44 development projects are either under way or in the planning stages.

UNDP said today that ex-commanders and government officials could demonstrate their support for peace building efforts in the country by voluntarily surrendering their weapons and by disbanding or severing links with armed groups.

Launched in 2005, the drive has seen 40,571 weapons, as well as 33,079 pieces of boxed and unboxed ammunition, handed over and verified by collection teams in Afghanistan.