United Nations: Afghanistan Surpasses Syria in Migration

United Nations: Afghanistan Surpasses Syria in Migration

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that more than 1.6 million Afghan citizens have fled to Iran and Pakistan since 2021 for “safety and protection.”

According to the report, these two neighboring countries are hosting over eight million Afghan citizens.

The UN agency states that Afghan citizens have become the largest refugee population globally this year, surpassing Syrian refugees.

The report highlights that in the first half of 2024, more than 156,000 Afghan citizens returned to their country from Pakistan.

It also mentions that Pakistan is hosting around 1.3 million Afghan refugees and over 1.5 million other Afghan citizens with various statuses.

The United Nations noted that Pakistan’s hosting of refugees in 2023 faced challenges due to the government’s implementation of the “forced repatriation of undocumented foreign nationals” plan. Pakistan aimed to return over one million foreign nationals without valid documents to their home countries.

The report states: “The forced repatriation of undocumented foreign nationals led to the return of approximately 647,000 Afghan citizens, most of whom lacked proper documentation, to Afghanistan by the end of June 2024 due to pressure and fear of arrest.”

The report also mentions that Iran is currently the world’s largest host of refugees, accommodating at least 3.8 million refugees and refugee-like individuals.

According to the report, this figure includes more than one million people who entered the country since 2021. Meanwhile, Afghan migrants in host countries have continuously expressed concerns about mistreatment by host governments and the challenges they face.