Efforts under way to close refugee camps in tribal North Waziristan

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has started preparations to assist Afghans living in camps in the North Waziristan agency of Pakistan's western tribal belt. The camps are set to close by 30 June. "Since the UNHCR cannot operate in the tribal area, the cases of the refugees wishing to avail themselves of the assistance package of the refugee agency would be processed through our office in Bannu district of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that borders North Waziristan agency," Jack Redden, a UNHCR spokesman, told IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday. The Pakistani government cited security concerns when it announced in May that it would close more than a dozen camps housing about 30,000 Afghans in the tribal North Waziristan agency. Islamabad intends to close down gradually all refugee camps inside the western tribal belt, composed of seven agencies bordering Afghanistan, which were established more than two decades ago to house Afghans fleeing unrest in their homeland following the Soviet invasion. The Afghans living in the camps in North Waziristan have been informed about the options that either they may choose to be repatriated to Afghanistan or to relocate to other areas. "By 1 July there will be no camps in North Waziristan," Jehangir Khan, head of the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR), told IRIN. "However, no time frame has been decided so far for the closure of other camps located in the western tribal region," Khan added. The camps in South Waziristan agency were closed in June 2004 as the Pakistani security forces were conducting operations against the alleged Islamic militants in the area. According to UNHCR, the heads of the Afghan families living in camps inside North Waziristan, wishing to take advantage of the assistance package offered by the UN refugee agency, would have to travel to Bannu, located some 40 km away in order to register. "After getting the registration form, the Afghan families will have to undergo a mandatory iris scanning test at Khost [capital of the Afghan province of Khost] inside Afghanistan," Redden said, adding that iris verification was a requirement for every Afghan over the age of six wishing to receive the UNHCR repatriation assistance package. The unique iris-recognition technology was introduced by UNHCR in September 2002 to ensure that assistance was given only to deserving Afghan refugees. The process detects anyone who has previously been through the procedure and may try to claim a return assistance package for a second time. Iris verification works by taking an image of the iris and storing it under an index number but without recording the person's name, gender, age or destination. The UNHCR standard repatriation assistance package includes a travel grant of US $3 to $30 per person depending on the distance to the destination in Afghanistan and another $12 per person to help them re-establish themselves in Afghanistan. The Afghan voluntary repatriation programme of UNHCR is governed by the tripartite agreement between the UN refugee agency and the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It runs until March 2006. Islamabad hosts over three million Afghans living in UNHCR-administered camps, urban and rural settlements across the country. The UN refugee agency has assisted some 2.4 million refugees to return from Pakistan to Afghanistan. This figure includes more than 100,000 Afghans that have gone home this year since the repatriation assistance programme resumed in March 2005 following a winter break.