November 16, 2002	Saturday	Ramazan 10, 1423

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UNITED NATIONS, Nov 15: Pakistan on Wednesday sought assistance from the international community to help it facilitate millions of Afghan refugees and said that “it should not relent in its support of Afghanistan during the current critical phase of transition.”

Addressing the UN Social and Humanitarian Issues Committee, which met to consider the report of the UNCHR, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram said that the contributions made by Pakistan towards the care and protection of the Afghan refugees needed to be acknowledged and treated at par with the contributions from donor countries.

“The impact of the Afghan refugee presence on Pakistan has been multi-dimensional i.e. demographic, economic, financial, ecological and social. Pakistan’s hope that the international community would share this burden equitably has remained unfulfilled” he added.

He observed that “for countries which have hosted large caseloads of refugees for extended periods, voluntary refugee repatriation is often the only viable and durable solution.”

“Given their own underdevelopment and narrow employment opportunities, host developing countries should not be expected to accept local integration of large numbers of refugees.”

He noted that “Ironically, those who prescribe local integration to developing host countries, mostly represent richer countries with larger capacities for refugee integration and, indeed, a demand for the low-wage manpower which migrants and refugees can provide. Apart from accepting larger numbers of refugees for settlement, these more affluent countries can also play a pivotal role, by promoting durable solutions, enlarging their refugee programmes, and supporting peacemaking and reconstruction in the ‘countries of origin.’

Akram said while the “refugees can contribute to the economies of host countries, but only if the enabling conditions to do so exist in these countries”, the developing host countries should be given adequate development assistance to create economic and employment opportunities for their own citizens as well as for refugees if their immediate repatriation is not possible.

He pointed out that “presently, developing host countries, like Pakistan, are coping with the care and sustenance of millions of refugees from their own limited resources, eroding their ability to look after their own poor people”.