WRITTEN QUESTION E-0073/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(23 January 2003)

Subject: The impossibility and undesirability of rapid return of refugees to Afghanistan, where there is no employment or housing for them

1. Is the Commission aware that the Afghan Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, Enayatullah Nazari, is travelling around the world advising fellow citizens who have fled from Afghanistan not to return there for the time being, for the following reasons: After 23 years of war, our country is destroyed, the economy is paralysed, health services and agriculture are seriously damaged, there are more than six million landmines in the ground, living conditions are impossible, there is no housing or employment, and the government has only been in office for ten months and cannot possibly solve all these problems?

2. Can the Commission confirm the minister's statement that some of the two million refugees who have returned to Afghanistan have already fled again because the country is in no state to receive them and that the lives of these people who have become refugees again are now endangered?

3. Is the minister right to say that even highly qualified refugees should stay away for the time being because they will be needed only when it is possible to start work on reconstruction with financial aid from the international community?

4. What is the EU doing to ensure that Afghan refugees do not return on their own initiative to areas which are currently regarded as safe but where there is no employment or housing and where an increase in the population would further increase the problems faced by the Afghan Government?

5. What will the Commission do to enable Afghan refugees to continue for the time being to reside in EU Member States and to abandon the previous idea that 1500 refugees per month should depart to a country which cannot receive them?

Source: De Volkskrant (Dutch newspaper), 17 December 2002.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2003)

1. The Commission is aware of the fact that Minister Nazari recently visited European capitals to discuss refugee and repatriation issues with Member States and that during this tour he also spoke to the press and Afghan communities. The Commission fully shares Minister Nazari's concern that returns should be sustainable and by no means should jeopardise the ongoing reconstruction efforts of Afghanistan. The Commission is strongly committed to the reconstruction and recovery of Afghanistan. Since September 2001, it has been one of the largest contributors to the reconstruction effort. In 2002, development assistance will be over EUR 205 million. In addition, the Commission will finance humanitarian support of about EUR 73 million.

While the Commission shares the widely embraced opinion that the massive return of refugees is to be seen as an indicator of the achievements of the Afghan Interim and Afghan Transitional Authority, it fully realises that the Afghan authorities will need ongoing support to reintegrate refugees and continue positive developments. The Commission is, therefore, also determined to support the sustainability of these returns both through its ongoing humanitarian aid and development assistance. These especially address rural recovery, physical reconstruction, including demining and the provision of a basic healthcare package.

2. The Commission shares the opinion of humanitarian agencies that the conditions in certain parts of Afghanistan are not conducive to sustainable return. Moreover, following the initial euphoria of returning to their homes, many Afghans face the difficult challenge of re-establishing their lives in a country devastated by a quarter century of conflict and years of drought.

The Commission does not believe, however, that temporary movements out of Afghanistan are a sign of the inability of the Afghan authorities to reintegrate the on-going massive return movement. In the past, movements over the Afghan/Pakistani border have historically taken place seasonally.

Humanitarian agencies supported by the Commission, provide for the immediate needs of the returning families. Reconstruction and recovery assistance helps to promote the sustainability of return by providing health, education and employment opportunities.

3. The Commission does not share the view that the Afghan authorities would not be supportive of the return of qualified Afghan nationals. The Community Country Strategy paper for Afghanistan 2004-2006 which has been elaborated in close consultation with the Afghan authorities states the need to give support to the return of qualified nationals. In line with this mutually shared aim to support Afghans that wish to contribute to the reconstruction of their country of origin, the Commission earmarked EUR 3,6 million to support qualified Afghan nationals' positions in the Afghan administration and the private sector. With reconstruction efforts already underway, these individuals can make a significant contribution to the redevelopment and recovery of Afghanistan and their voluntary return should therefore be welcomed.

4. The Commission recalls that the European Convention on Human Rights enshrines the basic human right to return to a country of origin. Therefore, the Commission certainly does not intend to prevent anyone from returning by their own free will. However, the Commission would like to ensure that the decisions of people to return are based on full knowledge of the situation in Afghanistan and therefore in line with what has been agreed to information provision to returnees within the Afghanistan Return Plan will encourage Member States to fully take up their responsibilities in this area. Furthermore, the Commission will certainly not support any initiative at European level that would contribute to returns to area that are unsafe. It should also be noted that providing appropriate, up-to-date information to returnees upon arrival and before proceeding to their intended destination is an important element of the Union plan for the return to Afghanistan that was adopted by the Council on 28 November 2002(1). The information shall include security information and information on the state of reconstruction of the local community as well as adequate counselling regarding risks of mines and unexploded ordinance.

5. The Union plan for the return to Afghanistan has called for an Afghanistan Return Co-ordination Group (ARCG) with participating Member States as members and chaired by the Commission. One of the main terms of reference of this group is to set in motion the part of the return plan which states that the identification of returnees and the pace of return shall take into consideration the best available information of the situation on the ground, the possibilities of matching returns with reconstruction efforts

and the partnership between the Union and the Transitional Government of Afghanistan. According to the return plan returns should be sustainable and by no means should obstruct reconstruction activities. The ARCG would have a role in the assessment of the security situation on the ground, including the reception capacity, and the development of a clear and realistic picture of the possible beneficiaries of the plan. The number of 1 500 returning refugees, was a first and rough estimate. It will be one of the tasks of the ACRG to provide a more precise and realistic number of people that could be returned to Afghanistan.

(1) http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/newmain.asp?lang=1.