The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has allocated 10 million US dollars in cash assistance for Afghan refugees returning to their homeland.
Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi met with UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva and a delegation accompanying her on Monday, the Presidential Palace wrote on its X handle.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva said the growing number of Afghan refugees returning from Iran was a matter of serious concern, stressing the urgent need for international support and cooperation.
She warned that if the current trend continued, addressing the challenges faced by the returnees would become increasingly difficult.
“Despite financial constraints in the humanitarian sector, UN’s support to Afghans—particularly refugees—will continue,” she said. “UN officials have also held several meetings with neighbouring countries on the non-expulsion of Afghan refugees and we hope for positive outcomes.”
Meanwhile, Arafat Jamal, UNHCR representative in Afghanistan, praised Afghan communities for welcoming returnees with open arms despite prevailing economic hardships, describing it as a commendable act.
He said that $10 million in cash assistance had been allocated to support returning refugees.
He assured efforts were underway to mobilise additional funding for this purpose.
For his part, Hanafi underlined the urgent need for enhanced assistance to returnees and called on all relevant international organisations to fulfill their responsibilities towards supporting Afghan refugees and ensuring their rights were protected.
Earlier, deputy premier Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi said that nearly half a million Afghan migrants had returned from Iran in June alone.
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