UNHCR High Commissioner Barham Salih to Visit Kabul Soon to Assess Returnees’ Needs
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan has announced that Barham Salih, the UNHCR High Commissioner, will travel to Kabul in the near future. The primary purpose of this visit is to assess the situation of returnees and evaluate their needs.
According to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, Arafat Jamal raised this issue during a meeting with Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the acting head of the ministry. He stated that in addition to assessing the situation of returnees, efforts have begun to secure additional funding to support them.
The UNHCR representative also noted that the agency has established two carpet-weaving factories in the cities of Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, aimed at creating employment opportunities for hundreds of returnees. This initiative comes amid widespread shortages of job opportunities, shelter, and basic services faced by many returnees in various parts of the country, who remain in need of sustainable support programs.
During the same meeting, the acting minister of refugees expressed appreciation for the UN’s assistance in distributing aid, noting that hundreds of tents donated by the agency have been sent to remote areas. He added that the ministry has also provided the necessary facilities to temporary settlement sites. However, concerns regarding the capacity and transparency of the process addressing returnees’ needs continue to be raised.
Barham Salih, the former president of Iraq, was appointed as UN High Commissioner for Refugees last December, and this will be his first visit to Afghanistan in this role.
