Main Activities
Repatriation
UNHCR Facilitated Voluntary Repatriation (VolRep) Programme UNHCR continues to facilitate voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees from Pakistan, Iran and other countries in conditions of safety and dignity. The VolRep of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran is taking place under the Tripartite Agreements with the respective Governments and UNHCR. The Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) remains the regional framework for Afghan refugees (Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan).
More than 5.2 million Afghan refugees repatriated with UNHCR assistance since 2002. In 2017, UNHCR facilitated the voluntary return of 58,817 refugees (98% from Pakistan, 2% from Iran and other countries).
- In 2018, the main areas of return are Kabul, followed by Nangarhar (eastern region), Kunduz (northern region), Kandahar (southern region) and Sar-e-Pul (northern region).
Cash Grant
UNHCR provides cash assistance of an average of US$200 per person through its four Encashment Centres.
UNHCR’s repatriation cash grants to refugee returnees is a key protection tool and is intended to prevent, reduce, and respond to immediate protection risks and vulnerabilities upon return to Afghanistan. The cash grant provides returnees with the means to meet their immediate humanitarian needs, as well as transportation costs to their places of origin or destination, providing returnees a sense of dignity and freedom to decide how the grant is to be used according to family priorities in the first phase of post return. According to phone interviewes with returnees (1-6 months after they have passed through the Encashment Centres), the cash grant received from UNHCR lasts between one to three months.