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XI. A LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE

An interim government and a multinational security force are being established in Afghanistan.237 In addition, international donor conferences are being held to raise funds for the reconstruction and development of the country.238 These are all reasons to be hopeful about the future of Afghanistan. However, the fragile peace and nascent government will not take root with financial assistance alone. A basic prerequisite to a better future in Afghanistan is the recognition and protection of human rights. Therefore, initial conferences and agreements, and all future actions by the international community should be designed to protect and promote the human rights of all Afghans. Human rights protections will serve to prevent future flows of refugees and displaced persons. Any attempt at voluntary repatriation and reintegration will falter without such guarantees.

Simply put, protection of human rights is required to address the concerns expressed by ordinary Afghan refugees in this report and others like it. This report has documented some of the past and current abuses suffered by Afghan refugees, and has outlined what they are afraid of should they return home. These past experiences and future fears of Afghan refugees should be addressed as the interim government and refugees themselves plan for return --- otherwise the chronic cycle of forced displacement may continue.

Moving beyond the general need for human rights protections inside Afghanistan, there are other specific issues relevant to refugees requiring immediate attention. Inside Afghanistan, the interim government is establishing a department for refugees, displacement and repatriation. In order to ensure that any repatriation program is in conformity with human rights principles, the new refugee department should be adequately funded and staffed. The key to success in any repatriation is voluntariness. As this report has illustrated, voluntariness requires impartial information about conditions at home, and the absence of push factors. It is incumbent upon UNHCR and the governments of Pakistan and Iran to ensure that these standards are upheld. Other principles of human rights, such as non-discrimination and women's human rights, must be promoted through the involvement of refugees themselves in the repatriation process. All government, U.N. and NGO staff should also be adequately trained in these principles.

Displaced persons and refugees will have specific protection needs during voluntary repatriation or reintegration. The mistreatment and ongoing displacement feared by refugees interviewed for this report can be prevented through human rights monitoring, actual restoration of law and order in the countryside, and through family tracing and reunification programs. In addition, legal mechanisms should be set up to address property disputes that are likely to arise as a result of refugee returns. Throughout all of this, particular attention should be paid to the protection needs of displaced women and children. Refugee women can play a key role in the planning and implementation of successful return and reintegration programs. Funding and support for women's programs should be directly channeled to Afghanistan's women's ministry, and also to Afghan women's NGOs. Reintegration programs should also be crafted so that they reach disabled, internally displaced, illiterate, women, children, and rural returnees. Finally, demobilization and reintegration programs must be developed. These should include returning refugees and displaced persons, and be particularly sensitive to the needs of former child soldiers among them.

The conflict-related devastation of many rural areas will limit the ability of returnees to resume farming or access adequate shelter in their villages of origin. Many rural refugees are reluctant to try to rebuild their farms and villages in the lawless and insecure countryside. Landmines are a pervasive problem throughout the country. Tangible security, reconstruction, and mine-clearance programs should be in place to facilitate voluntary returns to such areas. This is particularly important because many of the refugees interviewed for this report were already displaced from the countryside to urban centers before fleeing to Pakistan. Refugees may choose to return only to urban centers (in a reversal of this pattern of displacement) if adequate reconstruction aid is not directed at rural areas. Without such aid, a new, extremely needy group of displaced persons will be scattered throughout already devastated urban areas.

Some of the refugees interviewed for this report described fears of return that are unlikely to disappear even if generalized security conditions improve inside Afghanistan. As a result, support for UNHCR and NGO protection and assistance work in Pakistan, Iran, and other host countries must run a parallel and well-funded course to repatriation. A key component of voluntary repatriation will be the institution of a screening program to identify those with continuing needs for international protection inside Pakistan and Iran. All Afghan refugees who continue to have legitimate fears for their lives or freedom should be identified through screening, and allowed to remain inside host countries until they are able to return voluntarily, under conditions of safety and dignity, and with full respect for their human rights.

237 The parameters for the interim government were discussed and agreed to in Bonn, Germany in the last week of November, 2001. The multinational security force was authorized by the U.N. Security Council in a December 20, 2001 Resolution. See S/RES/1386 (2001).

238 A reconstruction conference on Afghanistan, which gathered senior representatives of the Afghanistan interim government, more than fifty countries, international financial institutions, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations took place in Tokyo, from January 21-22, 2001.

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