Supporting refugee management in Pakistan

Context

After more than four decades of displacement, Pakistan continues to host approximately 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees.

The Solution Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) is the comprehensive regional response framework, developed by the Islamic Republics of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan with support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  in 2012. The Support Platform for the SSAR, launched at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum, reaffirmed its commitment to SSAR’s objectives. These are to create conditions conducive to facilitating voluntary repatriation, to build Afghan refugee capital in host countries to enable sustainable reintegration and provide enhanced support for host communities, preserving protection space.

The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), in particular the Chief Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CCAR), and its provincial subsidiaries, is charged with the challenging task of implementing the SSAR.

Objective

Support in refugee-related matters at both federal and provincial level in Pakistan is ensuring peaceful coexistence between Afghan refugees and host communities.

Approach

The Refugee Management Support Programme (RMSP) carries out the following activities in Pakistan:

• Stabilisation projects in the refugee-hosting areas of Baluchistan and Sindh: supporting public institutions in delivering services to Afghan refugees and host communities, including access to economic opportunities focusing on women. Providing digital skills as well as on-the-job training opportunities to educated Afghan refugee youth through DAFI Plus, a complementary initiative to Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund (DAFI).
• Urban refugee programme for refugee and host communities: providing social services and opportunities for interaction in Urban Cohesion Hubs, including cultural events, health consultations, literacy and skills classes, legal referrals, a safe space for street children, support to persons with disabilities and community initiative funds.
• In past commissions, RMSP provided advisory services to CCAR at federal and provincial levels as well as cross-border coordination on voluntary repatriation. Furthermore, RMSP implemented integrated water resource management as well as livelihood and youth empowerment measures.

Last update: August 2022