ReliefWeb

Highlights

245,405 total returns from Iran and Pakistan since 01 Jan 2019

233,619 total returns from Iran

11,786 total returns from Pakistan

9,936 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran with 8% of returnees from Iran (799 individuals) assisted

562 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan with 83% of returnees from Pakistan (467 individuals) assisted

Return from Iran

According to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR), a total of 9,936 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Iran through the Milak (Nimroz) and Herat (Islam Qala) border crossings between 30 June to 06 July 2019, a 5% increase from the previous week (9,466). 4,093 returned voluntarily and 5,843 were deported. This brings the total number of undocumented returnees from Iran since 01 January 2019 to 233,619 persons. IOM provided post-arrival humanitarian assistance to 799 (8%) undocumented Afghans deported from Iran at its Transit Centers in Nimroz and Herat, including 79 Unaccompanied Migrant Children, 56 Medical Cases, 66 members of Single Parent Families, 20 Physically Disabled persons, 19 Unaccompanied Elderly, 8 Single Females and 403 members of deported families.

Protection Assistance for Returnees

The Protection Unit completed case management assessments for 125 Persons with Specific Needs (PSN) cases in Ghor, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Sare Pul, Herat, Takhar, Balkh and Kabul, provinces including 45 Unaccompanied Migrant Children, 33 Female-headed Households, 19 Medical Cases, 3 At Risk Elderly persons, 2 Drug Persons with Substance Abuse issues, 2 Single Females and 1 Person with a disability. In addition 15 Female-headed Households received protection assistance in Ghor province.

Situation Overview

In 2019, IOM is projecting a return of over 570,000 returnees from Iran linked to ongoing economic challenges and a minimum of 50,000 returns from Pakistan, a figure that has already been endorsed by the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The remaining undocumented and Afghan Citizenship Card holding caseloads of more than 1,000,000 people may also face deportation from Pakistan in 2019. On 27 June, ACCs were extended until 31 October 2019 by the Government of Pakistan.

Return from Pakistan

According to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR), a total of 562 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Pakistan through the Turkham (Nangarhar) and Spin Boldak (Kandahar) border crossings from 30 June to 06 July 2019. Of these returnees, 532 were spontaneous returnees and 30 were deportees. This number marks a 12% increase compared to the last week (504). The total number of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan since 01 January 2019 is now 11,786 persons. IOM provided post-arrival assistance to 83% of undocumented returnees from Pakistan (467 individuals) over the past week