ICVA condemns government’s refugee repatriation drive

On Thursday, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), a Swiss-based umbrella organisation of NGOs, strongly criticised Pakistan’s drive to repatriate thousands of Afghans, saying it would only worsen their plight. Returning civilians to a conflict situation would only compound the problem, ICVA said. “The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worse than ever, and the international community should strongly condemn Pakistan against its desire to return them,” ICVA humanitarian officer Manisha Thomas in Geneva told IRIN. “This is a quick-fix solution holding no long-term benefit,” she added. In a recent ICVA report entitled “Moving Afghans from Bad to Worse”, issued following the head of UNHCR’s recent trip to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers argued that a new approach was needed to deal with the Afghan issue, and it appears that the refugee agency may be taking on internally displaced people (IDPs) in Afghanistan. Currently, the agency and the Pakistan government are negotiating the final draft of an agreement to begin screening Afghans at the makeshift refugee camp in Jalozai in the North-West Frontier Province. The move is an effort to separate those in need of protection from those who are not considered genuine refugees. Afghans found not to be in need of protection would be returned to Afghanistan by the Pakistani authorities. While it was necessary to screen those whom Pakistan wanted to repatriate, to ensure that asylum seekers were granted protection, the ICVA report warned that many Afghans who returned would be likely come under the UNHCR’s mandate once back in Afghanistan. With continued fighting leading to massive displacement, Manisha Thomas described the intended repatriations as a “futile attempt at a durable solution”. In fact, given how long and porous the Afghan-Pakistani border was, returnees would be most likely to return to Pakistan later on. Such a solution to an ongoing and unresolved problem would do little to improve the lives of the Afghans, she explained. The report criticised the Pakistan government for its support of the Taliban, whose policies had caused many Afghans to flee the country and who must therefore share responsibility for the current crisis. Pressure from Islamabad to create displacement camps just across the border to relieve pressure on Pakistan’s public system was more an act of internal political appeasement than a genuine effort to improve the situation for Afghans, it added. As for the UNHCR, “they should be condemning Pakistan, not helping them”, Thomas argued. “In a way, their current stance is only facilitating a greater problem with long-term ramifications.” She added that if UNHCR became more pro-active with regard to IDPs in Afghanistan, this could greatly compromise its role in assuring people’s right to seek asylum in other countries. Moreover, the question of how the agency would be able to ensure protection of IDPs remains open. The UNHCR has refused to provide protection or assistance to 10,000 Afghans on the Tajik border, partly based on the argument that combatants among them should be separated. Without a host government to separate combatants from civilians, the UNHCR would face severe challenges in ensuring the protection of displaced populations within Afghanistan. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries would regard this as an excuse to keep their borders officially closed and not to grant asylum to those who need it. Thomas warned it would only be a matter of time before Pakistan’s repatriation exercise prompted Iran to demand the same screening and repatriation of thousands of Afghans. Peter Kessler, UNHCR spokesman in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, said not the whole of Afghanistan was at war, and that there were in fact some places which were actually safe. “Not all areas are affected by drought and fighting, but the situation is certainly of grave concern to us - particularly with regard to human rights.” Regarding repatriation, he pointed out that just last week, in the southwestern city of Quetta, there were protests by Afghan refugees demanding that UNHCR start its own repatriation programme. “UNHCR must protect those who cannot go back for human rights reasons and refugee protection reasons, as well as those who cannot re-establish themselves within Afghanistan,” Kessler said. “We are trying to keep the window for asylum open as long as possible, but how far the Pakistani government will allow us [to do so] remains to be seen,” he added.