Displaced and separated from their loved ones, more than 29,000 Afghan children have been deported from Iran and Pakistan.
The United Nations (UN) has issued a call for immediate humanitarian aid for Afghanistan's most vulnerable groups, particularly women and children, following a report published by Khaama Press. The report highlights the plight of thousands of Afghan children who have been deported from Iran and Pakistan.
According to the report, more than three million people in Afghanistan are displaced by conflict and instability. In June of this year alone, 80,000 Afghan children were deported from Iran to Afghanistan, of whom nearly 6,700 were unaccompanied.
The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is urging the global community to deliver immediate humanitarian assistance to these vulnerable groups. The organisation has called on donor countries and international partners including the United States, European Union member states, Canada, Japan, and international organizations to take action.
Some of the deported Afghan children have been reunited with their families, while the rest are under care in orphanages. However, many of these children are struggling to reunite with their families who remain outside the country. One child deported from Iran described being told to claim a boy at the border as his son, only to release him once in Afghanistan.
Another child deported from Pakistan misses his parents and plans to live with them upon return. The report does not mention any specific efforts by the High Commission for Refugee Affairs or the Ministries of Labour and Foreign Affairs to reunite deported children with their families or to locate their families.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has worked to locate the families of these children and hand them over to their relatives. However, the report does not specify any new cases of deported Afghan children.
The UN is warning of an urgent need for international aid to address the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan. Winter is approaching, and without urgent resources, millions of Afghans could be pushed deeper into poverty, hunger, and displacement.
The UNHCR is making efforts to bring the children back together with their families. The agency is urging donor governments and international partners to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan's most vulnerable groups, particularly women and children. The UNHCR calls on the global community to act now to prevent further suffering and to ensure a brighter future for these vulnerable Afghans.
