The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation reported today that 500 thousand Afghan refugees have repatriated since the beginning of 2017.
The figure announced in a conference on International Migrants Day, attended by the country’s Chief Executive, Abdullah Abdullah and the Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi.
Around 5.6 Million Afghan refugees are said to live in the neighboring countries like Pakistan, Iran and also in some European countries under sever and worsening situations.
Among the 500 thousand repatriated Afghan refugees, 700 of them have been reportedly forced to return back to the country.
“The problems of the repatriated refugees will be addressed through the support of international community and specifically with the help of European Union,” said Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi, the Minister of Refugees and Repatriation.
Balkhi added that the European Union (EU) has considered “80 million Euro in aid for 2017 and 124 million Euro for the next phase to address the problems of Afghan refugees”.
According to Balkhi, the efforts are underway to prevent the forced repatriation and deportation of Afghan refugees.
Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s Chief Executive also expressed concerns over the situation of Afghan refugees and said that addressing the challenges of refugees is the top priority of NUG.
“There are too many challenges in the world. However, the International Community has maintained its focus on Afghanistan in terms of migration issue,” he further noted in the conference.
Toby Lanzer, the UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan also declared support for the betterment of Afghan refugees.
“We support Afghan government and will help those who have repatriated. The repatriated refugees should have equal access and opportunities. They have to own shelters and their children should go to school,” Added Mr. Lanzer.
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