UNHCR briefs German official on Afghans in Pakistan

Amidst the buzz of the upcoming G-8 summit, officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have briefed German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the UN News Service reported last week.

Last Wednesday, Steinmeier traveled to the UNHCR voluntary repatriation office in Peshawar, Pakistan, and received briefings concerning the worsening refugee crisis. Kilian Kleinschmidt, UNHCR’s assistant representative, advised Steinmeier.

“Pakistan is home to the world’s largest refugee situation, the largest assisted repatriation in modern history and the largest registration of refugees ever conducted,” Kleinschmidt said. “More than 1 million Afghans have been processed by UNHCR through this voluntary repatriation centre in the last six years, which makes it the largest repatriation centre in the world.”

Within the context of the upcoming G-8 Summit, Steinmeier emphasized the role that the international community could play in managing the massive migration between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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