U N I T E D  N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
AFGHANISTAN: Repatriation pace outstripping funds - UNHCR
9 May 2002


ISLAMABAD, 9 May (IRIN) - With the number of Afghans repatriating from
neighbouring countries now standing at well over half a million, UNHCR is
increasingly concerned that operating funds will soon run out - something
which could seriously derail a critical component of Afghanistan's
reconstruction process.

"We are seriously concerned about the funding situation," Melita Sunjic, a
spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on
Thursday. "Given the pace and momentum in which Afghans are returning to
their homeland, I'm afraid we will no longer be able to sustain this," she
warned.

UNHCR plans to assist over a million Afghans on their return journey home
this year, and has already scored a phenomenal success in doing so. The
agency announced on Wednesday that in addition to the 500,000 refugees
already home from Pakistan, Iran, and the Central Asian states, more than
150,000 internally displaced people had returned to their villages. This
amounts to more than 650,000 returnees, over 54 percent of the UN refugee
agency's goal for 2002.

But despite these impressive numbers, donor countries have reacted
sluggishly to what could become a critical impasse unless further
assistance is forthcoming.

"The fact that so many Afghans have chosen to return is a development
everyone wanted from the very beginning. It's a vote of confidence,"
Sunjic said. "This is why we cannot understand why the donors are not
acting faster."

Of the US $271 million UNHCR needs over the period ending December 2002,
only $171 million has been received. And with current monthly operational
costs of more than $20 million, those funds will soon be exhausted.

Commenting on the situation in New York, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Ruud Lubbers on Wednesday warned that more must be done inside the war-
and drought-ravaged country.

"Many Afghans are returning home with next to nothing," Lubbers said.
"Donors must ensure that the massive repatriation under way is sustainable
for the long term. That means that rehabilitation and development aid must
reach rural towns and villages immediately."

Meanwhile, pressure is building on the Afghanistan Interim Authority and
humanitarian agencies to meet the expectations of war-weary Afghan people.

"It is urgent that the Afghan interim authority is supported and that
development projects get underway so that the Afghan people see that the
central government is delivering services and that donor aid is trickling
down," Lubbers said.

"The returnees - both refugees and those internally displaced - cannot
wait for ideal conditions to take hold - something that donors seem to be
waiting for. We do not have that luxury. Aid agencies need resources now,"
said Filippo Grandi, the UNHCR chief of mission in Afghanistan.

UNHCR is currently spending $23.5 million to purchase beams and other
shelter material for distribution to returnees who need to rebuild their
homes. Afghans already receive plastic tarpaulins or tents on return, but
many people across the country need to reconstruct their homes,
particularly the more than half a million refugees who have been away for
a long time.

Currently UNHCR is funding various projects throughout Afghanistan to
provide protection and assist the reintegration of the planned 1.25
million returnees this year, as well as to assist some three million
Afghans in neighbouring states.

At this critical juncture of Afghanistan's reconstruction process, the
question now is whether the necessary funds will be available.


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002


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