Attachments
KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES
3.25M Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) by conflict within Afghanistan as of 31 December 2022
32,410 conflict induced IDPs between 10 April to 13 Sep. 2022 (ongoing verification)
5.2M Refugees and asylum-seekers from Afghanistan in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2022
1.6M Afghan new arrivals to neighbouring Countries since August 2021
52,160 Refugees and asylum-seekers in Afghanistan as of 31 December 2022
1,600 IDP returnees recorded in 2023
5,836 Refugee returns to Afghanistan in 2023
HIGHLIGHTS
-
On 20 June, UNHCR operations in the region hosted various events to celebrate World Refugee Day. This year’s theme – “Hope away from Home” – focused on solutions for refugees, the power of inclusion, and importance of compassion towards those forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or natural disasters. In Afghanistan, UNHCR worked closely with partners to host art exhibitions, poetry recitals, and various games across several regions, including Gardez, Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharīf, Bamiyan and Kund. In Iran’s Fars and Khorasan Razavi provinces and Semnan refugee settlement, UNHCR, together with the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants’ Affairs of the Ministry of Interior, organized handicraft bazaars and live music performances by Afghan refugees. In Pakistan, exhibitions showcasing Afghan art, music, literature and food were held in Peshawar and Quetta. In Turkmenistan, UNHCR delivered a guest lecture to students from the International University for Humanities and Development, the Turkmen State University, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Institute of International Relations in Ashgabat on international protection and the needs of people forced to flee. In Tajikistan, UNHCR jointly commemorated World Refugee Day as well as the operation’s 30th anniversary with a fashion show by refugee designers, an art exhibition and live music performances. In Bangkok, UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific launched a campaign called “Straight From My Art”— a movement aimed at spotlighting, mobilizing and empowering refugee artists to tell their stories. The Bureau also screened a short video produced by the EU and UNHCR Iran about art’s transformative impact on a young Afghan refugee in Iran.
-
During the reporting period, UNHCR published its latest Regional Trends report. This report provides key statistical trends and official statistics on refugees, people in refugee-like situations, asylum-seekers, stateless people, internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees or others of concern to UNHCR in the Asia and the Pacific region. By the end of 2022, there were 14.3 million people who were forcibly displaced, stateless, returnees or others of concern – a 26 per cent increase from 2021. The region hosts 13 per cent of the global total population UNHCR protects and/or assists (14.3 million out of 112.6 million). The release of the Regional Trends report follows the publication of UNHCR’s flagship Global Trends report in June.
-
UNHCR officially completed its cash assistance programme in Pakistan targeting over 1 million registered Afghan refugees who were impacted by the prolonged difficult economic situation in the aftermath of last year’s devastating floods. $17.8 million was disbursed via one-off cash grants of up to PKR 25,000 (approximately $100) to 250,000 Afghan refugee households. Cash transfers are crucial tools which provide much-needed assistance in contexts of insecurity and fragility and other complex and protracted situations. UNHCR in the Asia and the Pacific region is working to expand the use and quality of cash-based interventions to better support protection and solution outcomes – in line with UNHCR’s Policy on CBIs (2022 – 2026).