TRANSCRIPT

I would like, first of all, to clearly convey to you our deep commitment to Afghan refugees, to the protection and support of Afghan refugees in the countries of asylum, namely in Pakistan and Iran, and to the support of their return - their voluntary return - in conditions of full dignity to Afghanistan.

Now, for the sustainability of that return to be possible, our work with the refugees, still staying in Pakistan and Iran, has shown us very clearly that the major concern is not paradoxically security, but it is livelihoods. Their major concern is related to the questions of employment, education, health care and others that are very relevant in the life of a family.

Now because of that, in the meetings we had with President Karzai and with his government, our main message was that we considered very important that in the so-called Kabul agenda, in the development strategy of Afghanistan that will be presented in the London Conference, a major pillar should be the creation of conditions for full integration of returnees in the development process of Afghanistan. This is a crucial objective both to make return possible and also to gain credibility vis-à-vis the countries of asylum - namely Pakistan and Iran.

I would also like to say that we encouraged the Government of Afghanistan to engage into a constructive dialogue with their neighbours about the broader picture. And the broader picture anywhere in the world is today related to the movement of populations for most different reasons.

Of course we are and remain deeply committed to the return of Afghan refugees, but it is very important that the situation of Afghans in Iran and Pakistan – many of them might not return in the short term – should also be discussed in the perspective of granting them the rights that are relevant in a modern life through the labour market in the conditions of livelihoods in every aspect of their life. And this I do believe is a substantial issue for discussion at regional level to the benefit of the Afghan people.

I am at your disposal for any questions you would like to raise.

Questions and Answers

Question: It seems that the reintegration of returns of refugees from Pakistan and Iran is getting slower these days. What is the reason for this slow process?

Mr. Guterres: We have assisted, until now, about 3.5 million returnees coming back, and we have other spontaneous movements, which are more difficult to quantify but it is a very substantial one. In 2005 we have assisted the return of 500,000 returnees and that is a very relevant figure. What is also obvious, when we discuss with refugees still remaining in Pakistan and Iran, is that they have concerns about their future in Afghanistan. And their concerns are related exactly to the questions I’ve raised, their employment, the education of their children, the questions of healthcare, and the problems of development. Now we are not a development agency, we can assist and we are assisting returnees in the early steps of reintegration in shelter, in water supply, in providing conditions for winterization, their tents or building small rooms to allow them to be able to face the winter conditions when they have just returned and it is impossible to settle them immediately. Or even in some areas assisting them in the education of their children, in health care. But there is a limit to the actions we can do. We do not have the resources and we do not have the mandate for that. So it is very important that the development strategy in Afghanistan considers this integration of returnees, returnees that have skills, that have capacities that can be very important for the development of Afghanistan, to be a success. It is very important that the strategy considers this reintegration as a main pillar. And that is our appeal and that is what we believe will help the return of refugees in the next few years gaining a new momentum.

Question: You have already met President Karzai, and now you will be meeting his counterpart ministers in Pakistan and Iran. Though a lot has been done for the return of refugees, and still they are facing many problems here, do you think your visit and meetings will end the problems of those Afghans living in Pakistan and Iran and will it also be an ending point to the reintegration of those Afghans who have already returned?

Mr. Guterres: Well, we will not solve every problem, but I hope that our discussions will go on being meaningful and that we will be able to achieve results. Of course from the Afghan perspective the most relevant question is related to the creation of conditions for reintegration to be a success, and this is basically a development problem. This is no longer a humanitarian problem. The humanitarian problem is to assist the refugees when returning, to provide them support in the early stages of their reintegration. Reintegration itself is a development programme and it must be considered as a priority in a development strategy. And that is a key question, and I must say in talks both with President Karzai and in meetings with ministers, a very clear understanding of these, and I would say more a very clear commitment that these will be included in the development strategies to be submitted to donors. Now when dealing with the development of Pakistan and Iran, our main concerns are different. They relate to the protection of refugees. They relate to the support of refugees and they also relate to the need to guarantee the voluntary character of repatriation – this is a very important aspect of our activity - and also of our understanding that beyond the refugee problem there is a broader question that needs to be addressed by the government as a whole – Pakistani government with the Afghan government, Iranian government with the Afghan government – dealing with the movement of populations over borders that have always been porous. If you look at your border with Pakistan, you have many ethnic similarities on both sides. If you look at your border with Iran, you also witness a similarity in language, and in ethnicity. So it is common that there is movement in both directions. And this needs to be addressed in the broader picture. It’s not only a question of refugees. The well-being of Afghan refugees and non-refugees is what matters. But the support of the communities, both in Afghanistan and in the host countries, is also very important.

The international community should understand how relevant it is to support the host communities to make sure refugees are properly integrated. But we are not only discussing problems, but discussing people. So it is not enough to be in the capitals, you need to go to the fields and today we had very meaningful discussions with the governor of Jalalabad, after visiting refugee settlements and villages. And a crucial cooperation established is for us to help create the conditions for people that recently came from the Fata area [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] in Pakistan to be able to go through the winter, and at the same time before spring, for them to be allotted with the plots necessary for their settlement. So we are working together with the government of Afghanistan, with NGOs, to provide assistance in these difficult moments of early arrival for effective future integration. And that needs to not only be discussed with the government but at the local level with relevant partners, both national and international.

Question: Most of the Afghans living in Iran are having difficulties with government officials - they are not allowed to work, they are facing pressures over education, and even in some cases many who have not been documented cannot be assisted through UNHCR to come to Afghanistan. Do you think that in your meeting with Iranian officials you will raise that and how effective will it be?

Mr. Guterres: I hope to give a good contribution to help solve this problem. In fact it’s not the first time we discuss them with the government of Iran. It is necessary to notice that the government of Iran already announced its intention to issue 200,000 working permits to Afghan workers in Iran, but of course the conditions are still complex and need to be refined in order to make sure that this corresponds to a main way of the presence of Afghan workers in Iran. We are not only dealing with typical refugees but we are also dealing in other circumstances with movements of population that go beyond that and that is why I truly believe that it is important also for the two governments [Afghan and Iranian] to engage in a constructive dialogue about their bilateral elections on those issues. And I know that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan is in Iran and I hope this will be one of the issues to be discussed and from our side we will do our best to create the conditions for meaningful dialogue to have good results for the well being of the Afghan people because that is our main concern – the well being of the Afghan people. In many circumstances it means early returns, and effective integration into Afghan society, in other circumstances it means that during their stay in a foreign country they have all the proper conditions – education, welfare, employment, and other conditions for a dignified life.

Question: How many refugees are there believed to be in Pakistan and Iran, and how long will it take for them to come back?

Mr. Guterres: There was a census made in Pakistan that revealed the presence of almost three million Afghans, but not all of concern to UNHCR as it was recognized by the Pakistani government itself, which means that they are not all refugees. But we have obviously probably more than two million refugees in Pakistan, and probably nearly 1 million or less in Iran. So it is still a relevant problem that needs to be dealt with adequately. What we have agreed with the Pakistani government is a process of registration and we will appeal together, with the government of Pakistan for support of donor countries, to make sure that all Afghans living in Pakistan, are properly registered and receive adequate documents. And this is a key question. Many people believe that registration is against the protection of people, it is exactly the opposite. Registration is a key element of protection. To have a document is absolutely essential to have the rights that citizenship is referred to. Now after this registration it is also agreed, between UNHCR and the Pakistani government, that documents allowing temporary residents will be issued. And they will be issued for a period of three years after they are given and to be renewable as well. What this means is that we are deeply committed to assist in the return of refugees and very strongly urging the Afghan government to consider that as a main pillar in its development strategy. But at the same time we understand there is a broader problem which is related to the movement of populations in areas where that movement has always existed.

Question: Last year some of the refugees who came from Iran and Pakistan died as a result of the cold winter. The government could not protect them from the cold. Is it part of the mandate of UNHCR to assist them from the cold weather. Can you make it a little bit clear how UNHCR will be assisting returnees this winter?

Mr. Guterres: We are actively working in cooperation with the Afghan authorities and many returnees came recently and I would say that we have two basic strategies to face that problem. One is to find shelter for families, and in many circumstances we have been successful in doing that, and to find families that are willing to accept them for a certain period of time. The second strategy we are effectively implementing is to work with the communities of returnees to have a winterization programme, that means namely because many of the people will need to have tents and shelter, in the short term to provide them with one dry room. This means each family should have a room which allows them to be protected from the cold, rain and snow. This programme is being effectively implemented in many parts of the country and in very close cooperation with local authorities. And I hope that after this period we will be able to include all returnees without shelter in the programs of distribution of plots that the government of Afghanistan has developed. We have just discussed that in a key area which corresponds to the governor of Jalalabad. And I think there is now a clear commitment that all returnees will have before winter a plot to be adequately settled. And I hope that we will be able to address all remaining problems of winterization with a very deep commitment of our staff that has been working day and night together with our implementing partners to make sure it effectively works.

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