Unaccompanied Afghan children: on the move again?
“I failed but still I want to go abroad. I need to get [to] my destination because here in Afghanistan there is no work or education.” (Amini, aged 17, Nangarhar) Many Afghan minors who previously left Afghanistan for the West…
2014 and beyond: implications for displacement
It is still unclear at the time of writing whether there will be an international military presence after 2014, and the diplomatic atmosphere has long been marked by uncertainty and strained relations between the government and troop-contributing nations. These are,…
Continuing conflict, continuing displacement in southern Afghanistan
Thousands of families from Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and a number of other provinces in southern Afghanistan have reportedly recently returned to their home districts from the cities where they had sought refuge for months and even years. However, the conditions…
Stateless in Afghanistan
A group of people in eastern Afghanistan – known to the authorities and others as Bangriwala or Vangawala in this area – have reported recently been forcibly relocated because of their lack of identity documents. These people lead a nomadic…
An IDP Policy for Afghanistan: from draft to reality
On 25 November 2013, the Government of Afghanistan approved a National IDP Policy[1] which had been nearly two years in the making. In the context of some 500,000 Afghans internally displaced as a result of conflict, with perhaps a further…
Anchoring return: the role of the Solutions Strategy
Afghan refugees long constituted the world’s largest refugee population and one of the most protracted situations in the world. They have also been the subject of the largest repatriation ever undertaken – which is still ongoing. Since 2002 more than…
Enhancing security of land tenure for IDPs
Rapid urbanisation trends in Afghanistan mirror their global counterparts. IDPs in Afghanistan are also increasingly taking refuge in cities whether on a short- or longer-term basis in search of security, greater access to public services, livelihood opportunities and kinship networks…
Reframing solutions for Afghan refugees
Afghans continue today to represent the world’s largest protracted refugee situation, with Pakistan and Iran still hosting some 2.5 million Afghan registered refugees, with equivalent numbers of unregistered refugees also expected to be present in both host countries. Some 75%…