An inauguration ceremony was held on 10 August at the Ministry of
Repatriation and Refugees (MoRR) in Kabul for the newly completed
Temporary Accommodation for Afghan nationals returning home.
Participants included the MoRR Minister, the Deputy British
Ambassador and the IOM Mission in Kabul.

The reception centre was built and designed by an IOM team at
the request of the Government of Afghanistan, and funded by the UK
Government. The centre will tentatively host up to 76 returnees at
any one time.

The Temporary Accommodation consists of a two-level building
with bedrooms, shower facilities, toilets facilities, laundry
facilities, separate male and female dining facilities, a TV room,
storage facility, and a reception/office facility. The project is
fully operational and complete with furniture and sleeping
sets.

More than two decades of instability compelled Afghan people to
flee the country mostly to neighboring Pakistan and Iran in search
of peace and security. At the height of the population exodus in
80s, there were as many as 8 million Afghan refugees in different
parts of the world. Many of the Afghan nationals abroad have
concerns about returning home in the near future. Access to shelter
remains a major obstacle to return.

The Centre will provide shelter and immediate protection to
returnees in need of assistance, increasing the Government's
capacity to manage return migration of its nationals,
effectively.

IOM programmes also provide emergency relief to vulnerable
displaced families, facilitate long-term return and reintegration
to and within Afghanistan and stabilize migrant communities for
sustainable development.

In Afghanistan, IOM works closely with government counterparts,
in line with the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS),
focusing on technical cooperation and capacity building. Since its
inception in 2002, IOM's design and construction team has
established a strong international reputation for its technical
capabilities.

For further information, please contact:

Bogdan Danila

IOM Kabul

Tel + 93 (0) 700 224 863

E-mail: "mailto:bdanila@iom.int">bdanila@iom.int 

or

Ahmad Shah Haied

Tel +93 (0) 700 185 961

E-mail: "mailto:ahaied@iom.int">ahaied@iom.int