*EPF111 06/10/2002
Text: More than One Million Afghan Refugees Return Home
(U.N. refugee agency appeals for more international assistance) (770)

The number of Afghan refugees returning to their homeland has passed one million, a trend that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says is a vote of confidence for the country's capability to rebound from more than two decades of war.

UNHCR reported June 9 that more than 900,000 refugees had gone home with assistance offered by UNHCR and the Afghan Interim administration. More than 200,000 have returned spontaneously from their exile in Pakistan and Iran.

Afghanistan has long had the world's largest refugee population of four million.

UNHCR estimates that 40 percent of the refugees will return to homes destroyed or damaged in the fighting.

Without an infusion of new funds, UNHCR reports that it may have to reduce or stop some assistance to the many refugees yet to return.

Following is the text of the UNHCR press release:

(begin text)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

9 Jun 2002

Nearly a million Afghans come home

Kabul -- In a growing sign of confidence in the future of their homeland, a record number of Afghans have returned home since January. With the number of returnees surpassing the 1.1 million mark this week, the current homeward movement of Afghans is already one of the biggest and swiftest voluntary repatriation program ever undertaken by the UN refugee agency.

A total of 920,000 Afghans have repatriated home under the Afghan Interim Administration and UNHCR facilitated program since 1 March. The overwhelming majority some 845,000 coming back from Pakistan, while more than 64,000 have returned from Iran and over 9,000 from the Central Asian states.

In addition, an estimated 200,000 Afghans have spontaneously returned from Pakistan and Iran since the appointment of the Afghan interim government in December.

Inside Afghanistan, over 165,000 internally displaced persons have been assisted to return home, while many more have gone back on their own.

The returnees receive a transport allowance, a UNHCR aid package of plastic sheets, blankets, jerry cans and soap and wheat from the World Food Program.

The Interim Administration and UNHCR had initially planned to assist the return of 400,000 refugees from Pakistan -- by yesterday we had exceed that figure by 445,000. UNHCR increased its working figure for projected returns this year to/in Afghanistan from 1.2 million to 2 million.

Although a record number of Afghan refugees have made the journey back home so far, they still constitute only about 25 per cent of the estimated 4 million Afghan refugees forced to flee their country by nearly a quarter century of conflict and instability.

Since 1980 Afghans have held the unenviable record of been the single largest refugee population in the world.

The refugees are returning to a fragile country devastated by years of war and drought. Food stocks are low due to the four-year drought, exacerbated by Afghanistan's long-time economic collapse. Afghans returning to the south under the assisted return program currently receive no wheat, while in other areas they get only one-third of the planned food ration; these people do get vouchers so they may later collect their wheat.

Without fresh contributions, the UN refugee agency will run-out of funding by the end of July. UNHCR requires $271 million through year-end, but has so far received only $180 million. UNHCR's relief effort is entering its most costly phase, with expenses running $20 million a month. The agency operates nearly 30 offices throughout Afghanistan, with more than 500 national and international staff.

Some 40 per cent of the refugees and IDPs will find their homes destroyed or damaged. They will need assistance in the re-building of their homes. UNHCR plans to fund 96,000 basic shelter kits this year, which will benefit 500,000 of the neediest returnees, with partners already identifying needy families to receive the first 30,000 kits.

Due to the unexpected scale of the voluntary returns, and the fact that UNHCR has had to take on new functions, field staff are reviewing 2002 planning and budget figures. If fresh contributions do not arrive, UNHCR will have to consider some very hard choices, including possibly reducing or even halting assistance to future returnees.

The international community must fulfill its commitments to aid Afghanistan and meet the needs of the Interim Authority. Widespread and festering poverty and the continuing aid gap cannot be permitted. Without a smooth transition from relief to development, the lack of employment, food, shelter and basic services could see Afghanistan again suffer displacement and insecurity. For further information please contact Yusuf Hassan 0046 7300 44594 or 93 70 276 009

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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