UNHCR announces winter
break for Afghan voluntary repatriation
03 December, 2005
ISLAMABAD, 3 December
(UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) announced on Friday it will
suspend the voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan from 20
December 2005 until 01 March 2006, after a busy season that saw some
441,000 being assisted to return to their homeland, the highest annual
return since 2002.
UNHCR temporarily suspends voluntary repatriation of Afghans from
Pakistan during winter every year as the number of Afghans willing to
repatriate during the season goes down significantly.
A similar suspension of the voluntary repatriation programme was
implemented during the last three years of the programme. UNHCR staff,
who usually use this period for training and preparations for the
following year’s activities, will help the agency in its earthquake
relief efforts.
In the four years of the voluntary repatriation programme, UNHCR has
assisted more than 2.7 million Afghans to repatriate from Pakistan under
the present Tripartite Agreement.
UNHCR assistance for Afghans returning from Pakistan will resume on 01
March 2006, 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 December 2006.
Under the programme, UNHCR offers Afghans who wish to go home a package
of travel assistance, varying from $4 to $36 per person depending on the
distance travelled, 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.
A census conducted by the government of Pakistan and UNHCR in
February-March 2005 counted 3.043 million Afghans in Pakistan, out of
which around a million were living in camps. With the departure of some
441,000 Afghans from Pakistan since the census, there are about 2.6
million Afghans in Pakistan as of December 2005.
Media Contact: Ms. Vivian Tan, Mobile: 0300 500 1133
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