The plight of Afghans on World Refugee Day

The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution naming 20 June as World Refugee Day, the first-ever official commemoration of refugees globally. The goal is to enhance the collective efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), NGOs and other concerned groups to draw attention to the plight of the estimated 12 million refugees in the world today. The plight of the 3.6 million Afghan refugees, representing the world’s largest single refugee population, is particularly significant. Yusuf Hassan, UNHCR regional spokesman for southwestern and Central Asia, shared with IRIN his thoughts on the numerous difficulties facing them. Peace was the main concern of Afghans in their hope of returning home, he said. QUESTION: How serious is the Afghan refugee crisis today? ANSWER: Afghanistan is the largest producer of refugees. It has produced more refugees than any other country for the 22nd year running. They have held the unenviable record of being the single largest refugee population in the world. There are two million of them in Pakistan, another 1.5 million in Iran, and thousands of others scattered in the other neighbouring Central Asian republics, India, Russia, as well as many other places in the world. In total, there are nearly four million Afghan refugees. This is by far the largest refugee caseload anywhere in the world. Q: What are the regional implications of this crisis? A: The implications are enormous. First of all, they create considerable burdens on the neighbouring countries of Iran and Pakistan. They have put a lot of pressure on the limited resources of those countries, and have represented a considerable challenge to the international community in trying to meet their needs. Given the fact it is the longest-staying refugee population, enormous resources have been spent on assisting them over the years. It is becoming increasingly frustrating for people who are looking after refugees, because there appears to be no solution to the long-running Afghan conflict. Q: What is the most significant challenge facing UNHCR regarding Afghan refugees? A: First, it is the changing approach towards Afghan refugees in the neighbouring countries, particularly in Iran and Pakistan. Refugees from Afghanistan were welcomed and supported generously by those countries. But in recent years, we have seen a radical change in how those refugees are being perceived. There is a growing asylum fatigue, in which countries have said we can no longer cope with this particular problem. It is becoming difficult for Afghans to seek asylum elsewhere. One of the biggest challenges facing us is how to meet our mandate of protecting refugees, of protecting people who deserve protection in the neighbouring countries and elsewhere. For example, although we have a large number of Afghan refugees who have been in the neighbouring countries for many years, the conditions in their country have not changed significantly to allow large-scale repatriation. The conflict continues in many parts of Afghanistan. The drought, which has been the worst in living memory, continues to displace people. And yet we are under constant pressure to repatriate those who are already in exile. At the same time, we are seeing the very disturbing development in which all the neighbouring countries have sealed their borders. Afghanistan is a landlocked country. It is unprecedented that the entire region has turned its back on the Afghan people and no longer allows people who are fleeing persecution, because of violence, because they fear for their lives, to seek asylum in those countries. I think, as far as our mandate is concerned, this is the biggest challenge facing us. The second one is of course the growing inability on our part to support these refugees because of dwindling international assistance. We are not getting enough money to meet the needs of so large a refugee population. Asylum fatigue, combined with a lack of international support, is increasingly making our work very difficult in this region. Q: How has UNHCR’s strategy changed since the recent visit of Ruud Lubbers [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees appointed 1 January 2001]? A: Things have changed since we established a presence in this region. For example, when we were establishing a presence here, the situation in Afghanistan was clear-cut. It was a country that was occupied by another country. It was a country that was at war. Therefore there was a lot of support and assistance coming in. The issues were very clear-cut because people were fleeing from a war of occupation. Since then, Afghanistan has gone through several phases. One was the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the new administration of the Mujahidin taking over, followed by the beginning of the civil war. Now the situation has moved to another phase, which is the Taliban, which has taken almost 95 percent of Afghan territory fighting against the [opposition] Northern Alliance. Therefore we have had several kinds of refugees coming into the neighbouring countries. I think there has been a general feeling for a new approach, a new way of dealing with this problem. And the High Commissioner proposed ways and means of dealing with this particular new situation and finding solutions that could satisfy the needs of the host countries, as well as meet our mandate to continue to protect those who deserve protection. In that two-pronged approach, which is to help people to go back to areas where they can go back to, areas that are safe to go back to, areas where they can be assisted to develop some kind of sustainable livelihood. At the same time, to engage the neighbouring countries in finding a solution, by giving protection to those people who are fleeing afresh from Afghanistan. This is what he [Lubbers] presented to the leaders of the neighbouring countries. Q: In recent months, it was reported that UNHCR would become more engaged with internally displaced people [IDPs] within Afghanistan, outside UNHCR’s original mandate. Has that happened? A: The High Commissioner on his visit proposed that UNHCR would increase its monitoring activities. It would also provide assistance to more of the returnee population, as well as to internally displaced people, particularly in the eastern provinces neighbouring Pakistan. These are proposals that are in discussion, and I think the High Commissioner would like to see more involvement on the part of UNHCR in assisting IDPs, in collaboration with the other UN agencies and NGOs that are already working inside Afghanistan. Hopefully, we will be able to see some results of these discussions in the not so distant future. Q: Ruud Lubbers said the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees would begin in June of this year. There are some 800,000 IDPs currently in Afghanistan. How realistic is this strategy? A: Repatriation has always been one of our objectives, and we have always conceded that repatriation is one of the best solutions. But of course not many people have returned back in recent years because of the conditions in Afghanistan. The High Commissioner had added one qualification to his statement of helping as many people to go back as possible, with the fact that we wouldn’t be returning people to areas of conflict. We would also not be helping people to return to areas seriously affected by the drought; but we would increase our assistance to the returnees, again with the assistance of other UN agencies and NGOs. But this of course is dependent on the conditions in Afghanistan. If the conditions improve, we would see more people wanting to go back. But if the conditions deteriorate, then it will be difficult to see any significant returns. Q: With regard to Afghan refugees, discussions between UNHCR and the Pakistani authorities have often been tense, most recently on the issue of the makeshift refugee camp at Jalozai, where some 80,000 are currently living in decrepit living conditions. What is the current status of negotiations? A: Well, we have had some intensive discussions with the government of Pakistan. There has been a huge volume of high-ranking UN people coming to Pakistan, underscoring the UN’s commitment. The Secretary-General was here, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, was here, the High Commissioner has also engaged them, and recently we have also had a visit by our Director of International Protection, Erika Feller. All these people have been coming here to address this issue. The UN is very much aware of the enormous burden that Pakistan and Iran have had to carry over so many years, which is why they have prioritised this particular region. In our discussions with Pakistan, we have made some significant advances in reaching an acceptable solution to the problem of newly arrived Afghans in Jalozai. We have agreed to establish a joint screening mechanism, in which all the people in Jalozai would be interviewed and screened. Those who are in need of protection would be moved to the New Shamshatoo [a refugee camp near the western city of Peshawar], while those screened out would be returned back home. Secondly, we have also discussed other issues related to the protection of refugees in Pakistan. I think, to a certain extent, we have a general understanding of how to deal with this new challenge that is facing Pakistan, which would allow us to continue to provide protection and assistance to those Afghans who are not able to return back to their country now, because of the conflict. Q: So you are satisfied with the state of negotiations? A: We have an agreed understanding on the screening proposal [in Jalozai], but we are awaiting a response from the government. As soon as that agreement has been signed, we will start the screening process, which will continue for up to two months. The government has actually indicated a starting date of 21 June, but I don’t think that is a practical date. Q: What is your take on the Pakistani government position? Do you support any of their views? If so, which ones? A: We agree that Pakistan has been left with a huge burden as far as the refugees are concerned. They have hosted the largest group of refugees for the longest period, and there is a lot of sympathy for what they have had to cope with for the past 22 years. But we certainly disagree on how they have taken to approach this particular problem. We would like Afghans who are fleeing due to fear of persecution, because of violence, to be allowed to stay in Pakistan. We would also like to collaborate with them to continue to assist those who are already here until such a time when they are able to go back home. But, for example, we have, however, expressed our concern about the deportations [of Afghans living in Pakistan]. Q: How would you describe conditions facing Afghan refugees living in Pakistan today? A: I would say that Afghan refugees are facing their most difficult time in exile. I don’t think there has ever been such a time. Previously they had been fleeing from a country that had been devastated by war. The added problem of drought and famine has displaced more people. As a result, the situation looks very bleak. Firstly, because of the pressure for them to return back home to the neighbouring countries. Pakistan is a good example of a country that says: We can no longer cope with any new arrivals and we would like the ones that have been here to go back. We believe they [the refugees] are caught between a rock and a hard place. They cannot go back in significant numbers because their country is devastated. More people than any other time have been displaced by the conflict and the drought. Many of the places they are going back to lack the economic sustenance to give them employment and livelihood. Conditions are becoming very difficult in the host country Pakistan, firstly because of socioeconomic problems. Pakistan has got its own problems, and the current economic problems in Pakistan are impacting on the refugees. There is no employment for them - many of the self-employed people are out of business. And because of this growing anti-Afghan sentiment, they feel they have overstayed their welcome, and therefore are facing difficulties every day. Recently, with some of the policies of the government of the country’s North-West Frontier Province, there has been arbitrary detention and deportation of Afghans. Many Afghans now live in a state of fear, because they don’t know what is going to happen to them. In some situations, the police have been given carte-blanche to arrest and detain people randomly in the street. Many people - many with documents - are picked up and detained. So the situation is really bad. Q: While Pakistan has received the bulk of Afghan refugees, the situation in Iran is equally problematic. Can you update us on what is happening there? A: Well, again, Iran feels exactly like Pakistan does. Iran has in fact been saying for a long time now that we can no longer host Afghan refugees. The situation in their country has changed. We don’t believe that many people that are fleeing are doing so because they feel persecuted and, as a result of that, we have reached an agreement with the government of Iran last year to allow a screening process in which several thousand Afghans were allowed to stay in the country. But at the same time many other Afghans were considered not to be refugees and have been asked to leave. Conditions in Iran, also because of socioeconomic problems and because of security concerns, are such that Iran would not want to host any more new refugees. As a result of that, many refugees are turned back from the border, and there has been a large number of deportations this year. Q: How many people have been forcibly returned? A: Nearly 40,000 Afghans have been forcibly returned in the last five months. Q: What are conditions like for the Afghan refugees living there? A: On the whole, Afghans have had quite a hospitable stay in Iran. They have been allowed freedom of movement. Those who are registered and accepted as refugees also have been able to get employment. Some of them stay in camps assisted by the Iranians. The Iranians have been very generous. They have received very little assistance from the international community. And, until very recently, Iran has taken very good care of Afghan refugees. But again, there is a growing xenophobia, a growing anti-Afghan feeling. There is a concern that unless this is addressed properly, it’s going to be really bad for Afghan refugees in Iran as well. Q: Some 10,000 Afghans remain stranded on the Pyandzh river on the border, between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. What is UNHCR’s position regarding this population? A: They are certainly people of concern to UNHCR stranded in that area. UNHCR has provided assistance to them. It has sent a number of missions down there, but has stopped providing assistance, because these people are mixed with armed elements, and it is our policy not to continue to support people who are mixed with armed elements until the two can be separated. We have asked that the civilians be separated from the armed elements so that we can help the civilians that are stranded there. However, they have opted not to do that, and therefore we haven’t been able to provide much assistance or input into that. Q: Do you see them as IDPs or refugees? A: Well, some of them are said to be in fact on Tajik territory and therefore qualify to be refugees. But the majority of them are IDPs. We have been negotiating with the Tajik authorities to allow them onto Tajik territory, but until such a time that there is a separation between the civilians and the armed elements, there is very little that the international community can do, other than provide them with assistance. There are a number of NGOs and other people who are providing them with assistance. Q: What is your personal prognosis on Afghanistan? A: Given the fact that the 22-year conflict has devastated much of the country and displaced large numbers of people, resulting in the world’s largest refugee population, it really is a tragedy. This has now been exacerbated by the long-running drought that has affected large sections of the country, as well as large numbers of people. Afghanistan now has arguably the world’s largest displaced population. Nearly 400,000 have fled into the neighbouring countries. It looks very gloomy, I would say. Much of what is happening has impact on the most vulnerable sections of the population - women and children. Most of the people you see in the refugee camps, people who have fled to Jalozai in Pakistan, are women and children. It is really heart-wrenching to see the suffering of these people, and I think everyone is frustrated by the lack of any opportunity for a political settlement. I don’t think we will be able to do anything significant regarding internal displacement and the problems of Afghan refugees until such a time that there is a political settlement in their country. Only then can we find a more durable solution, which is to assist them to return to their home country, where they can participate in the process of reconciliation and reconstruction. But until such a time, we will just be left to agonise over this very sad chapter of Afghanistan. Q: As the UN commemorates international refugee day, what is the most important thing that needs to be known about the plight of Afghans? A: If I limit myself to the Afghan refugee population, what needs to be known about them is their need for peace, a need for a solution to the problems that led to their displacement. And while they are in exile, I think to provide them with the necessary assistance and protection. If you ask any Afghan what they want, they will usually not say food or shelter. They will tell you they want peace. Peace is the desire they have that would allow them to go back to their country. I have never seen any people that love their country as much as the Afghans do. They have such a strong desire to return home. If the world can do something for them, it is to double their efforts to find a solution to the problems that have led to their displacement.