VANCOUVER, CANADA – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in South Asia says that it requires $620 million to protect and support Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan.
In a statement posted on X today, April 5, the agency noted that the budget, part of 2024-2025 Regional Refugee Response Plan, will assist 4.8 million Afghan refugees and 2.5 million members of their host communities in 2024.
The UNHCR in its report added that the situation in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries will be challenging in 2024.
The agency further stated that the human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly regarding the rights of women, girls, and religious and ethnic minorities, remains dire.
According to the agency, approximately 23.7 million people (more than half of Afghanistan’s population) require urgent humanitarian assistance to survive.
The UNHCR emphasized that destructive natural disasters, the crisis of climate change, and deadly earthquakes in Afghanistan, as well as the 2022 floods and earthquakes in Pakistan and Iran, have exacerbated the situation.
In its report, the UNHCR stated that Iran and Pakistan host approximately 7.7 million Afghan citizens, of which about 1.6 million have entered these countries since 2021.
According to UNHCR, amidst a challenging economic environment, escalating insecurity, and shifting protection dynamics, Pakistan grapples with persistent difficulties in providing adequate support and protection to Afghan refugees and other Afghan residents.
UNHCR says that Iran struggles in providing Afghan nationals, including undocumented individuals, with access to education and healthcare. Nevertheless, the scarcity of job prospects and worsening poverty, compounded by the dual effects of soaring inflation and sanctions, drive demand for assistance.
“Recognising the plight of Afghan refugees and those in refugee-like situations, including women and girls without documentation and unaccompanied and separated children, regardless of documentation status, there is a pressing need for sustainable solutions and comprehensive support system.”
UNHCR requests this fund while the Pakistani government is preparing to repatriate around 1.7 million Afghans. More than half a million were forcibly deported back to Afghanistan in 2023.
Pakistan recently announced that it was going to start the second phase of deportation of Afghans soon with plans to return an estimated one million individuals after April 15, 2024.
According to Pakistani media reports, holders of ‘Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC)’ will be expelled in this phase. The Pakistani federal government was set to provide a list of cardholders to Punjab authorities who would then share it with law enforcement agencies for deportation before March 25, 2024.
At the same time, Iran had deported approximately 345,000 Afghans by early November 2023.
Over the last three months of 2023, approximately 850,000 undocumented Afghan nationals have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan.
