Iran ready to increase repatriation figures

The Iranian government stands ready to increase this year's planned repatriation figure of 400,000 Afghans if demand necessitates. Since the joint programme between the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Iran's Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA) was launched on 9 April, some 15,000 Afghan refugees have participated in it. "While we have already signed a tripartite [with UNHCR and Afghanistan's interim government] agreement for 400,000 to return this year, we are ready to increase this capacity, and have discussed this with UNHCR accordingly," Rostami Taresi, the newly appointed head of international affairs for BAFIA, told IRIN in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Taresi's comments follow a UNHCR statement on Sunday indicating a possible acceleration of the programme. "We are pleased that so many Afghans, including families, are opting to return home," the UNHCR Chief of Mission in Iran, Philippe Lavanchy, said. "As more and more Afghans are seeking UNHCR's repatriation package, we're now working with BAFIA to accelerate the operation and open additional facilities to cope with demand," he said. Indeed, according to the UNHCR's spokesman in Tehran, Mohammad Nouri, UNHCR remains "flexible" in terms of increasing capacity. He noted, however, that there were financial restrictions on the operation. "If the numbers exceed more than 400,000, we will need further assistance from the international community," he told IRIN. UNHCR has put aside some US $10 million to fund this year's repatriation exercise from Iran. Describing operations as "smooth", Nouri said on average almost 2,000 individuals a day were returning. However, at the busy BAFIA/UNHCR-run Soleimankhani voluntary repatriation centre (VRC) in Tehran, current trends indicate a need to increase capacity soon. "If the numbers continue [to rise], we will need to open a second VRC as soon as possible," he said. He added there was also the possibility of opening additional VRCs in other cities. BAFIA and UNHCR currently operate a total of nine VRCs throughout Iran where Afghan refugees may register for the voluntary repatriation programme. In addition to Soleimankhani in Tehran, centres are located in the cities of Mashhad, Zahedan, Qom, Esfahan, Kerman, Shiraz, Yazd and Arak. Afghans may leave Iran with all their personal possessions, unlimited amounts of Iranian and Afghan money, and up to US $1,000 in other currencies. Meanwhile, UNHCR confirms it hopes to begin sending back Afghans through Iran's southern Milak crossing in the coming days pending an improvement in security around Zaranj, provincial capital of Afghanistan's southwest Nimruz Province. At the moment, returnees participating in the programme pass through the main eastern border crossing at Dogharun in Khorasan Province. An additional exit point along the 900-km-plus frontier should help encourage refugees in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province to sign up for the programme, the agency says. Refugees repatriating under the new programme receive free transport from Iran up to their home provinces in Afghanistan. Before crossing the border, they receive mine-awareness training and hand over their refugee documents to BAFIA staff. UNHCR staff monitor the voluntary nature of the process from start to finish. Once inside Afghanistan, each returnee receives US $10 to pay for onward transport to their home villages, as well as a small assistance package of food and non-food items. A similar repatriation campaign in neighbouring Pakistan between UNHCR and Islamabad has resulted in more than 300,000 going home since the programme's initiation on 1 March.