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Support Afghan reintegration efforts, say ministers, UNHCR
1 Oct 2003 In a panel on the sidelines of the UN refugee agency's annual Executive Committee meeting, ministers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan joined UNHCR in calling for strong support for reintegration assistance to help millions of refugees return home. -
Mobile teams bring repatriation news to rural Afghan refugees
17 Sep 2003 Small teams of staff from the UN refugee agency travel regularly to the more remote areas of Iran to inform Afghan refugees about UNHCR's repatriation programme and conditions in their home areas in Afghanistan. -
Baghdad bombing delays refugees' return, but spirits remain undampened
27 Aug 2003 Iraqi refugees in Iran expecting to start going home in late August have seen their hopes dashed by the bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. But that has not dampened their enthusiasm to go back. -
Lubbers discusses repatriation with Iraqi refugees in Iran
22 Jul 2003 UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers has raised hopes that a first pilot return convoy from Iran to Iraq may be organised in August. However, he warned of the obstacles involved and stressed that returns to Iraq must initially be small and gradual. -
Iranian refugees flee Al Tash camp
8 Jul 2003 Iranian ethnic Kurdish refugees have been fleeing Iraq's Al Tash camp in recent months, escaping growing insecurity and lack of aid. Many are headed for the relative safety of northern Iraq, while others have tried to slip back into Iran across the heavily mined border. -
Iran, Afghanistan and UNHCR sign new agreement on Afghan returns
17 Jun 2003 The joint programme, a continuation of last year's repatriation agreement, stresses the voluntary nature of the return process and grants the UN refugee agency free access to refugees, both in Iran and upon their return to Afghanistan. -
Feature: Iraqi refugees in Iran look homewards with longing
12 Jun 2003 The Islamic Republic of Iran's Khuzestan province hosts half of the country's 200,000 Iraqi refugees, many of whom want to go home now despite the precarious situation in Iraq. Often, it is the younger refugees who are most enthusiastic about return, while the women tend to be more cautious. -
Feature: In Iran, urban refugees debate return to post-Saddam Iraq
28 May 2003 The collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime has generated mixed reactions and questions among Iraqi refugees settled in Iran's cities. Some can't wait to go back to their homeland, while others have found new homes elsewhere. -
Feature: Long-time Iraqi exiles look homewards with anxiety and hope
27 May 2003 They lost everything - their property, family members and homeland - when they were forced to flee Iraq over the last three decades. But many Iraqi refugees in Iran have come to terms with their traumatic past and are looking forward to the journey home.