U N I T E D  N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network
Afghan repatriation nears 100,000 mark


ISLAMABAD, 15 July (IRIN) - The number of Afghans who have returned to
their homeland from Iran is approaching the 100,000 mark, says the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The
programme envisions the voluntary repatriation of 400,000 Afghan refugees
this year.

"The operation in Iran is well-organised and going smoothly," UNHCR
spokeswoman Laura O'Mahony told IRIN from the Iranian capital, Tehran, on
Monday. "We are not seeing signs of any significant 'revolving door'
syndrome."

According to UNHCR figures, by Saturday 95,635 Afghans - including 13,378
families - had voluntarily returned to Afghanistan since the joint
programme between UNHCR and Tehran began on 9 April. This amounts to
almost a quarter of the expected 400,000 returns this year.

Asked whether she anticipated this figure to be surpassed, O'Mahony
maintained it was unlikely that a Pakistan-type situation was developing.
In a parallel repatriation programme launched on 1 March, with a planned
repatriation figure of 400,000, well over one million Afghans have
returned from Pakistan. "The situation and profile of the Afghan refugee
communities in the two countries is quite different, so comparisons are
academic. The planning figure for the first year of the voluntary
programme is and remains 400,000," she said.

As part of the assistance package, returnees from both countries are
provided with food and non-food items, as well as a small cash grant. In
Iran, transportation is provided to the two border crossings along the
country's 936 km frontier - at Dogharoun in eastern Khorasan province and
Milak in Sistan-Baluchistan.

Regarding the number of returnees, O'Mahony warned away from focusing on
figures, saying: "We are talking about people not numbers - and this
preoccupation with numbers now appears to be having an adverse affect."

Indeed, during the past few weeks, UNHCR has received reports and
indications from several provinces that authorities have begun taking
measures aimed at making life uncomfortable for the Afghan community in
general and, in doing so, "encouraging" them to return. UNHCR is
particularly concerned over reports that Afghan children may not be
allowed to register for the coming school year, for example, and that
access to medical and health services are being curtailed.

"The decision to repatriate through the UNHCR-programme is - and should
remain - a voluntary one," she emphasised.

Implemented jointly by the agency and the Iranian Bureau for Aliens and
Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA), the campaign aims to facilitate the
voluntary, dignified, and safe and orderly return home of Afghan refugees
from Iran. At each of the 10 voluntary repatriation centres (VRC) where
returnees register, there are separate working areas for UNHCR and BAFIA,
allowing agency staff to conduct confidential interviews with all
prospective returnees.

"Verifying that the decision to return is a voluntary one is vital for
UNHCR," said O'Mahony.  Interviewers note returnee details on a voluntary
repatriation form which is signed by the prospective returnee and serves
as proof of the voluntary nature of the repatriation.  Additionally, the
form serves as an identification and travel document upon the person's
return to Afghanistan and proof of his/her entitlement to reintegration
assistance.

Despite precarious conditions inside their homeland, Afghan repatriation
is already the largest and fastest that UNHCR has witnessed since Iraqi
Kurds returned home in 1991. It has surpassed even the massive 1999 return
of refugees to Kosovo. The United Nations estimated at the beginning of
the year that there were some 3.7 million Afghan refugees worldwide,
mainly 2 million in Pakistan and 1.5 million in Iran.


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