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 Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs > Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration > Where We Work
Afghanistan


June 10, 2009

Date: 09/16/2007 Location: Afghanistan Description: In 2007, best-selling author of The Kite Runner Khaled Hossaini returned to Afghanistan and met with refugees who had returned home. Hossaini is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Here he flies kites with children whose families have returned to their homes in Balkh province. © UNHCR Image
Where do you work in the region?

Over five million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan since 2002. The flow has slowed down in the past two years, but hundreds of thousands still return every year. In 2008, more than 278,000 Afghans returned. Many of those returning have settled in and around Kabul and in the provinces in east-central Afghanistan rather than returning to their areas of origin. Some returnees are again leaving for neighboring countries in what has been labeled “reverse migration” due to insecurity, a lack of housing, transport or basic services, and few opportunities for work. There are close to three million Afghan refugees: 1.7 million are in Pakistan and approximately 900,000 are in Iran.

What are the major challenges for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region?

The internal situation in Afghanistan remains fragile. Illegal militias and the Taliban continue to attack government forces and civilians -- creating an atmosphere of instability, particularly in the southeast of the country. Years of violence and instability have destroyed homes, schools, clinics, markets, and roads. Returning refugees, many of them from outside Afghanistan, often find it difficult to reintegrate.

Iran expelled more than 408,000 undocumented Afghan economic migrants in 2008, adding to over a million expelled in prior years. The returns of these illegal economic migrants have increased the burden on the Afghan government and relief organizations. Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), agreed to close two refugee camps in Pakistan in 2007 and 2008. Refugees were given the choice of returning to Afghanistan or relocating within Pakistan.

In March 2009, Pakistan and UNHCR announced that the Government of Pakistan would extend the period of stay for Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration cards through 2012. UNHCR will continue to pursue assistance strategies for refugees repatriating to Afghanistan. The Bureau supports several non-governmental organizations that help returnees adapt to life back in Afghanistan, including projects in primary education, maternal and child healthcare, prevention of rape and sexual assault, and vocational training.

How much Bureau funding went to projects in the region in fiscal year 2007 (October 2007–September 30, 2008)?

Since October 1, 2001, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) has programmed over $500 million for humanitarian assistance to Afghan and Pakistani refugees, conflict victims, and internally displaced persons, including $51 million between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008.

Where are Refugee Coordinators based? Which countries do they cover?

There is a Regional Refugee Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He or she is responsible for Afghanistan and Iran. He or she has two locally-employed staff members attached to her office in Kabul.

Another Refugee Coordinator is based at U.S. Embassy Islamabad. He or she is responsible for Afghan refugees and programs in Pakistan. He or she has one locally-employed staff member attached to her office. Both coordinate closely on assistance to refugees returning to Afghanistan.

Which international organization and non-governmental organization partners are active in your region?

11/19/08 -- U.S. Support to Afghan Refugees and Returnees

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