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Roundup: Int'l community reaffirms commitment to seeking lasting solutions for Afghan refugees

Xinhua, October 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The international community on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to seeking lasting solutions for millions of Afghan refugees, in a bid to end one of the longest displacement situations in recorded history.

In a statement issued during the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR's executive committee meeting, member states pledged support to Afghanistan into creating the conditions necessary for its refugees to repatriate and reintegrate in their own country.

"To ignore Afghanistan would be dangerous, regardless of the urgency and scale of other new crises," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.

According to UNHCR, some 2.6 million Afghans have been seeking refuge around the world, the vast majority in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

More than 1.5 million Afghan refugees are in Pakistan while government figures show that some 950,000 Afghans are registered as refugees in Iran, many of them second or third generation refugees who have never lived in Afghanistan.

The High Commissioner acknowledged that the path ahead would be challenging, especially in light of the intensifying instability in Afghanistan, most recently in Kunduz, that has displaced some 120,0000 people, as well as the increasing number of Afghans making their way to Europe.

UNHCR estimates that Afghans account for up to 14 percent of those who arrived by boat in Europe this year.

The main framework for solutions for the Afghan refugee problem is a strategy that would support voluntary repatriation, sustainable reintegration and provide assistance to host countries.

According to UNHCR, almost 54,000 refugees have returned to Afghanistan so far this year, joining millions of others who have returned home since 2002.

In Afghanistan, one in every five inhabitants is a former Afghan refugee. UNHCR estimates that between 100,000 and 150,000 registered Afghans could voluntarily return from Pakistan and Iran during the course of 2016. Endit