Jobs, housing, water are priorities for Afghan returnees – UN-backed survey

Social and economic rights to jobs, housing and safe drinking water – not security -- were named as top priorities by a majority of Afghan returnees in a survey conducted with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"It is a unique report which illustrates to Afghans that human rights are not something far-fetched, but very relevant and tangible in their everyday lives," said Nader Naderi, Commissioner of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), which carried out the survey, published yesterday.

Even though certain parts of the country are still troubled by insecurity, only 4 per cent of respondents cited security as a priority concern.

The study, which covers sources of income, access to shelter, water and sanitation, education and the prevalence of child labour was originally designed to provide an assessment of the Afghan government's ability to protect the social and economic rights of its citizens.

But since just under 75 per cent of the 7,929 interviewees were former refugees and internally displaced people, the findings have also provided a valuable insight into the current circumstances of returnees.

Home and land ownership proved to be widespread, with fewer than 10 per cent of respondents saying they did not own a house or land. But housing and the repair of housing was a key issue, with 40 per cent saying their house had been damaged or destroyed or that they lacked sufficient space.

Half of all interviewees did not have access to safe drinking water, while over a third used a water source that is shared with animals or is considered unhealthy.

Questions about primary education revealed that although people reported it was generally available in their area, more than 40 percent said their children were not attending school, with almost half of all those interviewed saying that at least one child in their family works.

A gender difference also emerged in the reasons as to why children were not sent to school: work was the reason which tended to be given for boys, whereas for girls it was the distance to the school and other concerns.

In regard to health-care, facilities were available to more than 75 percent of respondents but more than a third of those interviewed said they did not use the facilities, mostly for reasons of accessibility.