Highlights
315 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan
11,678 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran
718 total returns from Pakistan since 01 Jan 2018
20,759 total returns from Iran since 01 Jan 2018
92% of returnees from Pakistan (290 individuals) assisted
4% of returnees from Iran (427 individuals) assisted
60 Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) from Iran among those assisted, 0 from Pakistan
88 Medical Cases (MC) from Iran among those assisted, 0 from Pakistan
Return from Pakistan
A total of 315 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Pakistan through the Turkham (Nangarhar) and Spin Boldak (Kandahar) border crossings from 07—13 Jan 2018, according to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR).
Of the total returnees, 288 were spontaneous returnees and 27 were deported.
This number marks a 30 % decrease compared to the previous week (451). The total number of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan since 01 January 2017 is now 718. IOM provided post-arrival assistance to 92% of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan (290 individuals), including 233 individuals in poor families, 55 individuals in single parent families and 2 special cases . The assistance provided includes meals, accommodation, basic medical screening, Non-Food Items (NFIs), onward transportation cash grants and referral services, as well as support from partners.
Situation Overview
IOM is responding to a substantial increase in the return of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan and Iran. Since 01 January 2018, over 21,477 undocumented Afghans have returned due to diverse push factors, including deteriorating protection space in Pakistan and Iran. This figure represents a 25% decrease in the flow of return than the same period in previous year. Most of those returning have lived outside of Afghanistan for decades, and will need support from the government and humanitarian actors both on arrival and as they seek to reintegrate. As the rate of return is influenced by a number of political, security and other related factors both in Afghanistan and neighboring countries, another surge in returns could occur at any time. The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan together with UN counterparts are presently discussing options to extend Proof of Registration card validity for 1.4m Afghan refugees in Pakistan and to begin the issuance of Afghan Citizenship Cards for more than 700,000 undocumented Afghans. IOM is working to scale up its support to returnees in coordination with the Government of Afghanistan and other humanitarian partners in line with the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).