Afghan refugees' return figures down to 60,000 in first 10 months

The UN refugee agency said on Saturday that the number of Afghan refugees returning home has dropped substantially this year, with some 60,000 repatriating from overseas in the first 10 months compared to more than 100,000 over the same period in 2010. The returnees included 43,000 from Pakistan, about 17,000 from Iran and less than 100 from other countries, the UNHCR said in a statement in its website on Saturday. The return figure for Pakistan was 59 per cent lower than last year, but returns from Iran rose from 7,500 a year earlier. UNHCR halts its repatriation programme from Pakistan during the winter. The lack of livelihood opportunities, and shelter and insecurity are the most frequently cited reasons for not returning. Most Afghan refugees in Pakistan live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces and originate from insecure, undeveloped areas of Afghanistan. Pakistan is currently home to 1.7 million Afghan refugees, many of whom have lived in exile for more than a quarter of a century. Half these people were born outside Afghanistan and do not own property there. The reason for the increase in voluntary assisted returns from Iran appears to be due to economic pressures and the discontinuation of subsidies on basic goods and services by the Iranian government, said the UNHRC. In total, 5.7 million Afghan refugees have returned alone or with assistance from Pakistan and Iran, representing nearly a quarter of Afghanistan's population. Despite security problems in parts of the country and economic needs, Afghan refugees are still returning in significant numbers. The government and its partners are working to ensure sustainable reintegration. But initial findings of a survey launched recently by UNHCR and Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation indicated that around 40 per cent of the returned Afghans have not yet fully reintegrated into their original communities. Afghanistan's capacity to absorb additional returns is limited. Some families who returned this year will need additional support to make it through the winter. Many others don't have land, shelter, schools and health care. These families need job opportunities to become self-sufficient. Nearly three million registered Afghan refugees remain in exile in the region today, including the 1.7 million in Pakistan and one million in Iran. UNHCR is calling for international support to help returnees settle back in their homeland. The refugee agency, with the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, is developing a multi-year (2012-2014) solutions strategy for Afghan refugees. This will be presented for endorsement by the international community at a conference in early 2012.