UNHCR hails tripartite agreement on Afghan refugees

The office of the United Nations Office High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has welcomed the signing of a tripartite agreement on the voluntary return of Afghan refugees from Iran. "This agreement reaffirms the commitment of all parties to the principles of voluntary repatriation," Marie-Helene Verney, a spokeswoman for the agency, told IRIN from the Iranian capital, Tehran. Bringing all the parties together in the process provided a solid continuum of what was happening in Iran to what happened when Afghans returned to their homeland, she explained. Monday's agreement, signed between Afghanistan, Iran and the UNHCR, is a continuation of last year's agreement governing a joint programme to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees living in Iran. "It's a two-year agreement in which Iran commits itself to respect the rights of voluntary repatriation," Verney emphasised. Of particular importance is the fact that the document emphasises the voluntary nature of the repatriation, and grants UNHCR free access to refugees both in Iran and upon their return in Afghanistan. In accordance with the agreement, the refugee agency will continue to provide refugees with medical assistance and transportation from voluntary repatriation centres (VRCs) located inside Iran. There are currently 10 VRCs located throughout the country, these being in the cities of Mashhad, Zahedan, Qom, Esfahan, Kerman, Shiraz, Yazd and Arak, as well as two in Tehran. There they are provided with an assistance package, including a small monetary grant to facilitate their return. According to an agency statement issued in Tehran, over 400,000 refugees have chosen to return to Afghanistan in the past 12 months from Iran. The new joint programme will be in force until March 2005, and the three parties aim to repatriate half a million Afghans before the end of March 2004. With schools now on vacation and warm temperatures continuing, Verney remained optimistic about the numbers this year. "We do expect it to pick up in July, especially August," she said. In August of last year alone, over 83,000 Afghans had gone home, she added. Meanwhile, UNHCR teams in Afghanistan will continue running several programmes to help with reintegration, including supplying returnees with shelter-building kits, working tools, and food assistance from the World Food Programme. It is expected that up to 60,000 shelter units and 40,000 wells will be built or rehabilitated this year in cooperation with Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation and Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development. But a two-fold challenge for such a programme remains daunting. "Not only do we need to keep Afghans interested in returning but also the international donor community committed to providing the necessary resources to facilitate their return inside the country," Verney said. "Just sending people back home is not enough. There is still a lot to be done inside Afghanistan," she explained. According to the Iranian government's Bureau for Aliens and Immigrant Affairs, 1.9 million Afghan refugees are still living in Iran, making it, alongside Pakistan, one of the two countries hosting the largest number of Afghan refugees in the world today.