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DEFENDERS
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Khuzistan, Gilan and Mazandaran,
and 3 percent in Alburz, Semnan and
Central provinces.
After the improvement of the
security conditions in Afghanistan,
andthe formation of an internationally
recognised government was formed,
Afghan refugees in other countries such
as Iran were inclined to return to their
country, the first tripartite agreement
between the UNCHR and the Iranian
and Afghan governments was signed in
2002 for the facilitation of the return of
Afghans to their country. According to
this agreement all the signatories were
obliged to provide support services
for the voluntary repatriation of
refugees from Iran to other countries,
and this process still continues today.
But gradually, in view of the failure
in fulfilling the expectations of the
returnees, the trend slowed down to a
point where last year only around 10,000
refugees returned to their country.
From the outset of the voluntary
repatriation of Afghan refugees
till October 2011, according to the
statistics provided by BAFIA, which
is governmental bureau on refugees
affairs, the total number of registered
refugees in the country is 882,659
which includes 840,158 Afghans and
42,501 Iraqis that have returned to their
countries.
Although the conditions of refugees
who have not returned to their country
and have been residing for a long time
(some over 30 years) , there are big
differences from refugees conditions
in other countries, and internationally
defined standards, thus subsequently to
their needs, their basic education and
health requirements have gone further,
and often planning in proportion the new
needs for the secondand thirdgeneration
of these groups of people have been
facilitated in Iran. Furthermore the
imposition of international sanctions
against Iran, the global financial crisis,
and the global economy crisis, have
greatly affected the government's
provision of services in various sectors.
In the years 2011-2014, the lifting of
some government subsidies such as
fuel and some food goods, resulted
in the rise in cost of crucial services.
For example, during 2011 and 12, the
school fees increased by 45 percent
from the previous years, and also from
2012 medical care costs increased by
30 percent. Fuel prices also increased
multiple fold. This sharp increase in
costs greatly affected refugees who are
often more vulnerable than the rest of
the host society. Nevertheless none of
these factors resulted in a huge wave
of Afghan refugees to return to their
countries. Various factors such as
security and better economic conditions
of Iran compared toAfghanistan, access
to various jobs and cultural factors,
which the second and particularly third
generation of refugees have grown up
with, resulted in the continuation of
lack of inclination for return, and they
remained in Iran. Also some of the
individuals that had returned to their