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"Hallelujah": Myanmar refugees can now prove their identity in Thailand
12 Apr 2007 A US$1 million UNHCR programme provides Thai government identification cards to refugees in nine camps; the UN refugee agency hopes it's just the first step towards relaxing rules that have kept 140,000 refugees locked up for nearly two decades. -
Afghan returnees from Pakistan cross 3 million mark
10 Apr 2007 Three million Afghans have returned from Pakistan, but more than two million remain, a protracted situation that can only be resolved with continued international support. -
More than 18,000 Afghans return home from Pakistan since start of March
23 Mar 2007 With the recent completion of the registration of Afghans in Pakistan, the government has reiterated that unregistered Afghans will be subject to national laws. More than 18,000 have so far opted for assisted repatriation during the grace period of March 1 to April 15. -
Iraqi boy, far from home, gets a chance for a taller future
20 Mar 2007 Thanks to international pharmaceuticals company Pfizer, an Iraqi boy under the temporary protection of UNHCR in Bangkok now has a chance to overcome his hormone deficiency and begin growing normally. -
Q&A: Afghan journalist pushes boundaries through airwaves
16 Mar 2007 Farishta Sheikhani is a young Afghan journalist seeking to break traditional boundaries of nationality and gender through her work in Pakistan. She works as a journalist with the Internews agency and as a disc jockey at Radio Buraq, the first Pakistani FM station to conduct programmes for the Afghan community in their own language. -
At the crossroads in Pakistan, first Afghans lead the way home
2 Mar 2007 The UN refugee agency has resumed its voluntary return operation for the sixth year, but it is not business as usual. Among other factors, a recently-concluded registration of Afghan citizens in Pakistan has changed the equation for the Afghan population. -
Top UNHCR official outlines options for camp closure in Pakistan
21 Feb 2007 On her first visit to Pakistan as head of UNHCR's Asia-Pacific Bureau, Janet Lim urged Afghans in the soon-to-be-closed Katchagari camp to accept the government decision and assured them the refugee agency would try its best to provide options through voluntary repatriation and relocation within Pakistan. -
Pakistan, Afghanistan finalise camp closure plans
7 Feb 2007 Four Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan's border provinces will be closed this year as part of bilateral plans to manage the Afghan population in Pakistan. The decision was reached at the 12th Tripartite Commission meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. -
Pakistan registers 2 million Afghans, exercise nears completion
2 Feb 2007 More than 80 percent of the estimated 2.4 million Afghans in Pakistan have been registered in a government campaign that has made every effort to accommodate a protracted and complex population.