DUSHANBE, March 31, Asia-Plus — A training Center for Refugees has been set up on the basis of the NGO Fidokor in Dushanbe under financial support of the UNHCR.
An official opening of the center scheduled for April 2 will be attended by visiting UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres and Tajik officials.
The center is dedicated to make social and legal assistance available to refugees living in Tajikistan. More than 1000 refugees, mainly Afghan citizens, currently live in Tajikistan.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) established its first office in Tajikistan in January 1993, right after the peak of the armed conflict in the country.
UNHCR organized and assisted repatriation of Tajik refugees from Afghanistan. Through the close cooperation with the Tajik Government, UNHCR assisted more than 51,00 Tajik refugees to return to Tajikistan from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan Turkmenistan, etc. The returnees benefited from UNHCR’s repatriation programs, which included water, sanitation and income generating projects. A total amount used by UNHCR for providing assisting to refugees and returnees in Tajikistan is $32.19 million.
Another category of people of concerns to UNHCR in Tajikistan are, which are composed mostly of Afghan citizens. At present, the total number of Afghan refugees in Tajikistan, recognized as refugees by the Tajik Government in accordance with Refugees Convention and the national refugee legislation, is more than 1,000.
