(20,600). The largest number of refugee departures was reported by Uganda (61,800), Pakistan
(51,300), the United Republic of Tanzania (30,600), and Zambia (19,300).
Afghanistan continued to be the main country of return with 57,600 registered returns during the year.
The 2009 levels were the lowest since the start of large-scale refugee return in 2002. During the first
year alone, some two million Afghans returned on a voluntary basis. Overall, more than 5.3 million
Afghan refugees – or roughly one-fifth of Afghanistan’s population – have returned home since 2002.
Unfortunately, some people who recently returned to Afghanistan were unable to go back to their
villages of origin due to insecurity and/or a lack of land, shelter, basic services or job opportunities.
February 2009 marked the return of the 300,000th Sudanese refugee from exile since the end of the
civil war and the start of UNHCR’s repatriation operation in Southern Sudan in December 2005. Of the
300,000 who returned during this period, over 180,000 received assistance from UNHCR to return,
while tens of thousands went back independently. During 2009, UNHCR and the Southern Sudanese
administration continued joint efforts to provide basic facilities such as wells, health centres and
schools for returnees, while returnees worked on rebuilding their lives, constructing houses and
cultivating land.
Resettlement
Resettlement is not only an international
responsibility-sharing mechanism and a key element
in comprehensive solution strategies, but it is also a
vital protection tool. It aims to provide protection to
refugees who cannot go home or who are unwilling
to do so because they will face continued
persecution, and whose life, liberty, safety, health or
other fundamental human rights are at risk in their
country of asylum.
Fig 7
UNHCR-assisted resettlement
departures of refugees | 2000-2009
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
The challenges faced by States and UNHCR to
0
bridge the gap in resettlement delivery are
'00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09
formidable: even more so in the current global
economic and financial climate. UNHCR has been
working closely with States to enlarge the pool of resettlement places to respond to these challenges.
In the last three years, UNHCR has submitted more individuals for resettlement annually than the
UNHCR/ R. BRUNNERT
An Iraqi boy arriving under
UNHCR’s resettlement
programme in Germany.
2009 Global Trends 11