Afghanistan 2002
06/12/2002

In February 2002, the Government of Pakistan, believing that the conditions in Afghanistan were peaceful enough so as not to produce more refugees, closed its borders to asylum seekers. Since that point, between 20,000 to 40,000 refugees have crowded into a barren area in the “no man’s land” between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Government of Pakistan has refused to allow even genuine asylum seekers to enter into its territory and, until recently, has prohibited agencies from providing assistance to the people massed at the border. In response, UNHCR, the Afghan Interim Authority, and the Government of Pakistan have developed a plan to create community-based settlements in Kandahar province to which the asylum seekers can be relocated. UNHCR and NGOs indicated that they believed 40% to 60% of the people in the waiting area would eventually be willing to relocate to these settlements because about half of them are actually searching for assistance rather than fleeing persecution. UNHCR is planning on having the first movement on June 23, although most agree that this date is too optimistic—especially given UNHCR’s resource and capacity constraints inside Afghanistan. Asylum seekers who are unable to return to Afghanistan for security reasons will then be relocated to a camp near Quetta.