19 updates found
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01 Apr 2004

Afghanistan + 2 others
Lubbers: Stability remains key to Afghan refugee returns

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
BERLIN - UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers today hailed the return of more than 3 million Afghans over the past two years, but warned that only continued attention to security and reconstruction needs would ensure that many others still outside the country will follow.
Speaking to governments at an international conference on Afghanistan's reconstruction, Lubbers said the millions of refugee returns were a sign of confidence by Afghans in their government and the stability that has been re-established in many areas of the country since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
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01 Apr 2004

Afghanistan + 2 others
More security needed to sustain Afghan returns, says Lubbers

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
BERLIN, April 1 (UNHCR) - UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers has called for improved security and the expanded deployment of international forces to stabilise Afghanistan as key elements of refugee return and reconstruction in the country.
Addressing governments gathered in Berlin on Thursday for an international meeting on Afghanistan's reconstruction, High Commissioner Lubbers hailed the return of more than 3 million Afghans in the last two years as a sign of confidence in the Kabul government. This year alone, more than 65,000 Afghan refugees have gone home from Iran
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01 Apr 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Afghanistan: Refugees still reluctant to return

Report
— Institute for War and Peace Reporting
More than a million displaced people still prefer life in Pakistan's makeshift camps to the uncertain security situation back home
By Abubaker Saddique in Peshawar (ARR No. 113, 01-Apr-04)

For 70-year-old Afghan refugee Ghulam Ghous, leaving his two-room mud house in a refugee camp south of Peshawar is still unthinkable.

"There is no security, there is no work and our house in Afghanistan lies in ruins," he said, explaining why he is unwilling to return to his homeland after nearly15 years in neighbouring Pakistan.

Ghous left his village close to the Afghan

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30 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Afghanistan-Pakistan: Tripartite refugee commission meets

Report
— IRIN
ISLAMABAD, 30 March (IRIN) - A three-way commission, mandated to oversee the repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland, held its fourth meeting in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday. A spokesman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called the meeting "successful".
The Tripartite Commission was created in March 2003, after an agreement was signed between the government of Pakistan, the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan and UNHCR, which governs the repatriation process for Afghan refugees opting to return home
IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

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26 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Afghanistan/Pakistan: tripartite meeting on Monday

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Kris Janowski - to whom quoted text may be attributed - at the press briefing, on 26 March 2004, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR will meet on Monday in Islamabad for the regular review of the repatriation of Afghans living in Pakistan. The parties to the March 2003 tripartite agreement on repatriation will discuss a broad range of issues, including our 2004 voluntary repatriation programmed and ongoing work to
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25 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 2 others
Over 40,000 Afghan refugees back home over three weeks: UN

Report
— Xinhua
KABUL, Mar 25, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Over 40,000 Afghan refugees have returned home from the neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran since the refugees repatriation program was launched earlier this month, a United Nations spokesman said Thursday.
"Since March 3, more than 13,000 refugees from Pakistan and 8, 200 from Iran have been repatriated under a UNHCR-assisted repatriation program," Mohammed Nader Farhad of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told reporters here.

Another 25,000 refugees have returned

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23 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Pakistan: Shalman refugee camp officially closed last weekend

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Kris Janowski - to whom quoted text may be attributed - at the press briefing, on 23 March 2004, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Last weekend, we officially closed Shalman refugee camp in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province after the repatriation of the last residents on Sunday. In all, nearly 9,000 people were relocated - some back to Afghanistan and some to another camp in Pakistan. It marks the successful start to a programme that will see the number of camps shrink
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19 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 25 others
WFP Emergency Report No. 12 of 2004

Report
— World Food Programme
This report includes:
(A) Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe: (1) Afghanistan, (2) Iran, (3) Pakistan, (4) Russian Federation, (5) Serbia and Montenegro

(B) East and Central Africa: (1) Burundi, (2) Eritrea, (3) Ethiopia, (4) Kenya, (5) Republic of Congo, (6) Sudan, (7) Uganda

(C) West Africa: (1) Chad, (2) Liberia

(D) Southern Africa: (1) Regional, (2) Angola , (3) Lesotho, (4) Madagascar, (5) Malawi, (6) Mozambique, (7) Swaziland, (8) Zambia, (9) Zimbabwe

(E) Asia: (1) DPR Korea

(F) Latin America and the Caribbean:

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17 Mar 2004

Pakistan + 1 other
Afghanistan: UNHCR repatriation programme extended to Quetta

Report
— IRIN
ISLAMABAD, 17 March (IRIN) - A repatriations process run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR) to enable Afghan refugees in Pakistan to return to their homeland, has been expanded to include the south-western city of Quetta, according to an agency official.
"UNHCR resumed its repatriation operations in Quetta on Tuesday. About 31 families, comprising 174 individuals, were sent to Afghanistan on Tuesday after they underwent validation tests at the Iris Verification Centre (IVC) in Quetta," Asif Shahzad, a
IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

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16 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
UNHCR expands Afghan return programme in Pakistan

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 16 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency has expanded its Afghan voluntary repatriation operation, enabling Afghan refugees in southern Pakistan to join some 7,000 of their countrymen who have already crossed back in the north in the first weeks of assisted repatriation this year.
UNHCR resumed its operations in Quetta, south-western Pakistan, on Monday, after a two-week delay due to a bloody sectarian attack and the subsequent enforcement of curfews this month.

On Tuesday, 174 Afghan refugees in Balochistan

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11 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
About 2,000 Afghan refugees return home from Pakistan this week

Report
— Xinhua
KABUL, Mar 11, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- About 2,000 Afghan refugees returned home from Pakistan this week following four month long suspension of refugee repatriation due to the killing of a UN Refugee Agency worker last year, a UN spokesman said here on Thursday.

"After a slow start last week due to the Shia holiday, the numbers have increased steadily with 1,690 people crossing back in trucks and buses between Sunday and Tuesday of this week," Mohammed Nader Farhad, UNHCR spokesman said.

Most of them are arriving through Torkham

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11 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Press briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, UNAMA Spokesman 11 Mar 2004

Report
— UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
TALKING POINTS
Registration Teams at Kabul University this Saturday

As of yesterday, 1,392,321 Afghans have now registered to vote in the eight regional centers. This includes 1,008,439 men and 383,882 women or 72 percent men to 28 percent women. This shows a consistent, gradual increase in the number of women who are registering. [For example, at the start of voter registration in December, women comprised 16 percent of the number of Afghans registering to vote. In January, that figure increased to 22 percent and it is now at 28 percent.]

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11 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Pakistan: Situation nutritionnelle inquiétante pour des populations de la province de Sindh

Report
— Action Contre la Faim
En juillet 2003, le Pakistan était touché par d'importantes inondations, détériorant un peu plus les conditions de vie déjà précaires de certaines populations. Depuis, des évaluations menées par Action contre la Faim ont révélé d'inquiétants taux de malnutrition.

En juillet 2003, les provinces du Baloutchistan et de Sindh ont été fortement touchées par des inondations. Le district de Badin (Sindh), le plus touché, a vu 75% de ses villages affectés par la catastrophe : de nombreuses familles ont perdu tout ou partie de leur
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09 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
UNHCR resume repatriation from Pakistan to Afghanistan

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond - to whom quoted text may be attributed - at the press briefing, on 9 March 2004, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR today began relocating refugees from a remote camp near the Khyber Pass that is slated for closure this month under a plan to help all residents of the two-year-old Shalman Camp return to Afghanistan or move to another refugee camp. The convoy of 402 refugees snaked its way through the mountains towards Kotkai Camp, in a more hospitable region further north. The relocation comes two days after
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09 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Pakistan: Focus on renewed repatriation of Afghan refugees

Report
— IRIN
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
PESHAWAR, 9 March (IRIN) - Aalim Gul, an old Afghan refugee, peered short-sightedly through his thick spectacles at the rows of trucks and smaller passenger vehicles that stood parked just to a side of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) repatriation centre on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) that borders Afghanistan.

"I'm very happy to return to my country," Gul told IRIN in Pushto. A young refugee who spoke Urdu

IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

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05 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 31 others
WFP Emergency Report No. 10 of 2004

Report
— World Food Programme


This report includes:
(A) Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe: (1) Afghanistan, (2) Iran, (3) Morocco, (4) Pakistan, (5) Russian Federation

(B) East and Central Africa: (1) Burundi, (2) D.R. Congo, (3) Djibouti, (4) Eritrea, (5) Rwanda, (6) Sudan, (7) Tanzania, (8) Uganda

(C) West Africa: (1) Chad, (2) Cote d'Ivoire, (3) Liberia, (4) Mauritania

(D) Southern Africa: (1) Regional, (2) Angola , (3) Lesotho , (4) Madagascar, (5) Malawi, (6) Mozambique, (7) Namibia, (8) Swaziland, (9) Zambia, (10) Zimbabwe

(E) Asia: (1) DPR Korea, (2) Timor Leste

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04 Mar 2004

Pakistan
CWS situation report: Pakistan earthquakes update 4 Mar 2004

Report
— Church World Service
SITUATION: As reported in an earlier situation report (Feb. 19), an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale hit Pakistan's North-West Frontier province February 14, and a subsequent aftershock of 5.5 hit the same area. The quakes were centered in the districts of Mansehra and Battagram (also spelled Batgram). At least 24 people were killed in the disaster and more than 40 were injured. Two further quakes of mild intensity jolted Mansehra and surrounding areas again on February 15. Some 400 houses were completely destroyed and hundreds partially damaged.
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03 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
UNHCR opens Afghan repatriation season

Report
— UN High Commissioner for Refugees
KABUL, March 3 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency has resumed assisting refugees who want to return from Pakistan to Afghanistan, restarting the voluntary repatriation programme that was interrupted after the murder of a staff member last November.
In the first assisted return movement from Pakistan this year, 65 Afghan refugees left the Peshawar area on Wednesday after undergoing iris recognition tests to ensure that they were not claiming repatriation assistance for the second time. They then crossed the Khyber Pass and proceeded towards an encashment centre in Afghanistan where they
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01 Mar 2004

Afghanistan + 1 other
Pakistan: UNHCR to resume repatriations to Afghanistan from Tuesday

Report
— IRIN
ISLAMABAD, 1 March (IRIN) - The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is set to resume on Tuesday a repatriation process for Afghan refugees in Pakistan that was suspended last November following the murder of a UNHCR employee in Afghanistan.
"The repatriation will resume tomorrow," UNHCR spokesman Jack Redden told IRIN in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday. Refugees would be assisted in their effort to return from repatriation centres across Pakistan, he added.

"The repatriation is under way from

IRIN:

A selection of IRIN reports are posted on ReliefWeb. Find more IRIN news and analysis at http://www.irinnews.org

Une sélection d'articles d'IRIN sont publiés sur ReliefWeb. Trouvez d'autres articles et analyses d'IRIN sur http://www.irinnews.org

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. Refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use.

Cet article ne reflète pas nécessairement les vues des Nations Unies. Voir IRIN droits d'auteur pour les conditions d'utilisation.

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