No delay expected in repatriation from Iran

Despite an apparent delay in the Afghan interim government's signing of a tripartite agreement between Tehran, Kabul and the United Nations, no postponement is expected in a planned repatriation programme to assist hundreds of thousands of Afghans return to their homeland from Iran this year. "The agreement will hopefully be signed in early April," UNHCR spokesman in Iran, Mohammad Nouri told IRIN from the capital Tehran on Tuesday. "We anticipate the programme will begin without delay. UNHCR, in cooperation with the government of Iran, are making all the necessary preparations for its kick off on 9 April," he explained. His comments came amid speculation that the programme would be delayed because part of agreement is not acceptable to the Afghan government. While Kabul has not publically stated the reasons behind their hesitation, there is speculation they are concerned over the actual number of people who might make the journey. "A large influx - ill prepared for - would certainly have an impact," one aid worker told IRIN. But Gholamreza Mashhadi, head of international relations for the Iranian Bureau for Foreigners and Illegal Aliens (BAFIA) in Tehran told IRIN Afghan authorities had accepted the agreement, but had some additional concerns that would be raised in Geneva when the agreement is signed there. "We are very serious about this programme and plan its implementation very soon," he added. "I'm sure the signing will take place very soon," he concurred. Emphasising the voluntary nature of the programme, Nouri noted a massive information campaign had already begun throughout the country so that Afghans were fully aware of the programme and the facilities being provided. The agency hopes to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of up to 400,000 Afghans in Iran this year alone. "The number could be more or less this figure depending on factors inside the country," Nouri said. Similar to the UNHCR repatriation programme that began in neighbouring Pakistan on 1 March, Afghans returning from Iran would register at one of nine registration centres located throughout the country, including the provincial capital cities of Tehran, Mashhad, Zahedan, Isfahan, Shiraz, Yaz, Qom, Kerman and Arak. Once on the scheme, people would be de-registered from the official government listing and return their identity documents before proceeding to one of two border crossings at Dogharun in northeastern Khorasan province and Milak in southeastern Sistan Baluchestan. Upon their arrival at the two corresponding transit centres, located in the western Afghan province of Herat and the southern province of Nimroz, arrivals would be given a small cash grant of US $10 per person, 150 kg of wheat flour per family provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), as well as some additional non-food related items, before proceeding to their place of origin. Asked why the cash grant was less than that being given in the UNHCR repatriation programme from Pakistan, Nouri noted transportation costs of the returnees from where they live in Iran to the border crossings were being paid for by UNHCR. In the Pakistan programme, participants paid for the trip themselves, he explained. Upon arrival at UNHCR encashment centres from Pakistan, families with less than five members receive US $20 per person to offset travel expenses, while families of five or more receive US $100 for the whole family. And as for a possible increase in the number of transit centres being established inside Afghanistan, Nouri said: "If the demand to return exceeds the capacity of these two centres, the Iranian government may be flexible in establishing other exit points." Meanwhile, UNHCR confirmed that over 45,000 Afghans this year had spontaneously returned [unassisted] back to their country through the Dogharun and Milak border crossings, noting a slight drop in numbers just prior to the Nowrouz holiday on 21 March and the traditional Iranian New Year period. "Many people didn't want to go back during the holiday or were anticipating the start of the repatriation programme on 9 March and wanted to benefit from the assistance package being offered," Nouri explained. The United Nations estimates there are 2.3 million Afghan refugees in Iran today, making it along with Pakistan, the largest host country to Afghans fleeing the twin scourges of war and drought. Fearing a major new influx after 11 September, Tehran sealed its 900 km border with Afghanistan and proposed establishing a series of displaced persons camps inside Afghan territory where assistance could be provided instead. While no definite date has been given, the Mahkaki and Mile 46 displaced persons camps in Nimroz province, administered by the Iranian Red Crescent Society and the only such camps ever established, were expected to remain open until the second half of April.