CONCLUSIONS OF THE 30th TRIPARTITE COMMISSION MEETING

CONCLUSIONS OF THE 30th TRIPARTITE COMMISSION MEETING

BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLICS OF AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN AND UNHCR

Islamabad,  Pakistan

18 June 20 1 9

UNHCR hosted and chaired the 30th Tripartite Commission Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan on 18 June 2019. The  meeting  was  attended   by the delegations of the  Islamic  Republics of Afghanistan and  Pakistan  and representatives of  the  Office  of  the  United   Nations   High  Commissioner  for  Refugees  (UNHCR)  in Afghanistan  and Pakistan. The Governments of the Islamic Republics of Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed their appreciation to UNHCR  for hosting the meeting.

The  three   parties   committed  to  extend   the  existing   Tripartite   Agreement Governing the  Voluntary Repatriation   of  Afghan   Citizens   Living  i n  Pakistan,  pending   approval   by  the  Federal  Cabinet of  the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

All three Parties to the Tripartite Agreement:

6. Recalled that  2019   marks  the  fortieth  year  since  the  beginning   of  large-scale Afghan   refugee displacement and  appreciated  the  hospitality  of  the  Islamic  Republic  of  Pakistan  in  providing continued  protection  to Afghan  refugees  for four decades;
7. Reaffirmed their commitment to uphold the principle of voluntary repatriation. in safety and dignity. under the Tripartite Agreement; and urged enhanced efforts  to create an environment conducive to voluntary  return and sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan, and to continue supporting the host communities in  Pakistan,  within  the  framework of  the  Solutions Strategy for  Afghan  Refugees (SSAR);
8. Expressed concern  at  the  decrease   in  the  voluntary   repatriation grant  provided  to  the  Afghan refugees, and encouraged the international community to increase the cash grant to its previous  level (approx.  USD 400 per individual);
9. Appreciated the progress achieved by the Government of the Islamic Republic  of Afghanistan in the development of  the  DiREC  Policy  Framework   and  Action  Plan;  the  decision   to  implement the Comprehensive Refugee Response  Framework  (CRRF) which reaffirms the commitment to include refugee returnees in the National  Priority Programs, particularly the Citizen’s Charter; as well as the enactment of  the  Presidential   Decree  on  Land  Allocation; called  for  continued   support   for the implementation of these  initiatives;  and requested that  progress  of these initiatives is shared  with Afghan  refugees in Pakistan, including  through  an awareness raising  program.  in order  to enable them to make an informed decision to voluntarily  return, with the facilitation  of and in coordination with the host Government;
10. Welcomed the efforts of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, UNHCR and other partners to  promote  targeted  development interventions in fifteen  ..Priority Areas  of  Return  and Reintegration” (PARRs)  and  called  on  the  international community and  development actors  to support   this  important   initiative   with  a  view  to  enhancing  absorption capacity and   enabling sustainable  reintegration of  returning   refugees   through   a  whole-of-community approach,  in  a tangible and  predictable  manner, in line with the commitments enshrined in the Global Compact on Refugees  and  agreed  to share  periodic  updates  on  the  progress  in  the  implementation  of  this initiative;
11. Expressed appreciation to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pak istan for the progressive implementation of  the Comprehensive  Po l icy on  Voluntary  Repatriation and  Management of Afghan Refugees, based on the spirit of humanitarianism and brotherhood, including the decision of the Prime Minister to enable Afghan refugees to open bank accounts which will greatly facilitate their stay. businesses. financial position and inclusion into the formal economy and adherence to the global  financial discipline during their temporary stay in Pakistan;
12. Advocated for the extension of the validity of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards beyond 30 June pending the approval by the Federal Cabinet of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ; and underlined the importance of the PoR card as a foundational  protection tool  for registered  Afghan refugees’ temporary stay. pending their voluntary return to Afghanistan;
13. Reaffirmed their support for comprehensive. predictable and sustainable responses to cross-border population movements; and called for the timely issuance of machine readable passports. by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan;
14. Underscored the importance of supporting and facilitating education, healthcare, shelter, energy and livelihood opportunities for Afghan refugees and their host communities, particularly women and youth. in the refugee-hosting areas in Pakistan and the areas of high return in Afghanistan:
15. Highlighted that 2019  marks the  I 0111  anniversary  of  the Refugee Affected  and  Hosting Areas (RAHA) Program that has provided assistance to more than 12.4 million beneficiaries,  including Afghan refugees and their Pakistani host communities. and expressed serious concern over the decreased donor funding of the Program:
16. Committed to seeking reinvigorated support for solutions  i n Afghanistan, and for refugees while temporarily staying in Pakistan. as well as their host communities, through joint resource mobilization efforts. and explore the opportunities offered by the Global Compact on Refugees, the Global Refugee Forum and the international conference. to be convened by the Government of the Islam i c Republ ic  of Pakistan in August 2019, to solicit greater and more equitable burden- and responsibility-sharing by the international community, that would culminate in full and voluntary return of all Afghan refugees to their home country.
17. Agreed to explore the possibility of constituting a technical committee that would report to the Tripartite Commission on the progress and challenges in the implementation of the past Tripartite
18. Conclusions. The   Parties  agreed   that   the  31 51    meeting  of  the Tripartite Commission   will  be  hosted   by  the Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 2020.

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