GENEVA, April 12: Some 223,000 Afghan refugees have returned home since a UN repatriation programme began six weeks ago, but there is concern over whether conditions are in place for them to stay, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.

Ruud Lubbers, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), was scheduled to leave on Friday on an eight-day mission to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to see the project first-hand and stress the need for long-term rehabilitation and development.

“We can help these people get back but we’ve also got to have the basic infrastructure in place once they do get home to ensure that they can stay there and really make a go of it,” spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing.

Lubbers will meet the presidents of Iran and Afghanistan and visit UNHCR projects in eastern Afghanistan.—Reuters