Pakistan

Working environment

• Security challenges continued to shape the protection and operational environment in Pakistan in 2015 following the implementation of restrictive counter-terrorism policies.
• High return rates in the early months of 2015 can be attributed to positive developments in Afghanistan, as well as difficult circumstances for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the prevailing uncertainty regarding the continued validity of their Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. However, the number of returns slowed considerably during the latter part of 2015 due to the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
• Access to persons of concern was hindered in 2015 due to delays in securing permission to visit refugee and IDP-hosting areas. 

Population trends

• The registered Afghan refugee population increased from 1,504,912 to 1,554,910 in 2015 due to the growing number of children born in exile.
• At the end of 2015, the total IDP population stood at 1,146,108 families, with 676,638 individuals having returned home. 

Achievements and impact  

• In 2015, UNHCR implemented 62 projects through the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative, which improved the living conditions for close to one million individuals, including 226,190 Afghan refugees across various sectors such as education, health, water and sanitation and livelihoods; 50 per cent of persons of concern who graduated from the RAHA livelihoods training initiatives are now employed.
• UNHCR also provided assistance to 112,773 returning IDP families and continued to support families who remain displaced, including in three IDP camps through targeted assistance in the form of core relief items, tents and winterization kits, as well as grievance desks and protection monitoring. 
• 2015 was also marked by important policy agreements aimed at strengthening the protection and solutions space in Pakistan.
• The Government of Pakistan presented the draft Comprehensive Strategy on Voluntary Repatriation and Management of Afghan Nationals Beyond 2015, which recommended the extension of PoR cards and the Tripartite Agreement until the end of 2017. 
• In addition, both Afghan and Pakistani governments agreed to document Afghans following the issuance of travel documents by the Government of Afghanistan.
• The Solution Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) was extended to support voluntary repatriation, sustainable reintegration and assistance for host countries, with emphasis placed on youth empowerment.
• The high-level segment on the Afghan refugee situation during the Executive Committee in October 2015 provided an important platform to garner support from the international community to implement durable solutions for Afghan refugees in the region.

Unmet needs

• Due to funding constraints, UNHCR was unable to reach all urban areas with large concentrations of refugees. 
• Additional resources were required to support outreach initiatives for child protection and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response activities.
• Many schools in the refugee villages remained inadequate and lack of teacher trainings continued to compromise access to quality education.
• UNHCR’s health strategy was undermined by limited funding for capacity-building and training activities for health workers.
• Funding shortfalls also hampered the implementation of UNHCR’s livelihoods/skills training programme.

Working environment

Pakistan hosts almost 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees – still the largest protracted refugee population globally. Since 2002, UNHCR has facilitated the return of 3.8 million registered Afghans from Pakistan.

Efforts to address the needs of Afghan refugees and their host communities, and to advance durable solutions, are undertaken within the framework of the regional Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR), the tripartite agreement on voluntary repatriation, and the Government of Pakistan’s national policy on Afghan refugees.

To complement UNHCR and partners’ international support, the Government of Pakistan has extended Afghan refugees’ Proof of Registration (PoR) cards until the end of 2015, issued birth certi­ cates for 800,000 Afghan refugee children, provided land for several refugee villages, and given refugees access to public schools and health clinics.

In August 2014, there were 714,548 registered internally displaced people (IDPs) in need of humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing security operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The North Waziristan emergency has further displaced approximately 500,000 people.

The operating environment for humanitarian actors in Pakistan remains volatile, with fragile security, as well as access, social and economic challenges likely to affect humanitarian operations. In order to improve outreach to populations of concern and to build local capacity, UNHCR works closely with local partners and government counterparts.

Needs and strategies

UNHCR’s activities in Pakistan take place within a complex context, facing serious challenges as a result of the frequency of conflict and emergencies.

In 2015, UNHCR will support the Government in the implementation of the regional SSAR through the country-specifi­c portfolio of projects developed in 2014, advance efforts to mobilize resources for prioritized activities, and assist in implementing the national policy on Afghan refugees, achieving the potential for durable solutions (voluntary repatriation and resettlement). Through the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiative, which is an integral component of the in-country implementation of the SSAR, UNHCR will enhance asylum space and support both host communities and refugees.

Resettlement will be used strategically to protect refugees at risk. From UNHCR’s perspective, increased resettlement is also important to preserve asylum space in Pakistan.

The organization will continue promoting a favourable protection environment for Afghan refugees. It will advocate Pakistan’s accession to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its adoption of national refugee legislation drafted in 2013.
UNHCR will also advocate the extension of Afghan refugees’ legal status and corresponding PoR cards beyond December 2015.

For asylum-seekers and individually-recognized refugees, UNHCR will continue to conduct registration and mandate refugee status determination, to ensure access to asylum in the absence of government procedures, and to support resettlement.
A fi­ve-year transition strategy will gradually consolidate and prioritize UNHCR’s assistance to the most vulnerable Afghan refugees in coordination with the Government through various models of health-service delivery. Support for IDPs includes maintaining IDP camps and protecting their rights including by supporting the Government’s registration processes, legal aid/civil documentation support, and monitoring. UNHCR will encourage the Government to adopt an IDP policy that conforms to international standards. UNHCR will continue to lead humanitarian efforts focused on protection, shelter and camp coordination/camp management during the complex emergency as part of a UN inter-agency response.

Based on a statelessness study conducted in 2014, UNHCR will, with relevant government counterparts, identify possible solutions and ensure that concerned populations can exercise their basic human rights and access services.