Overview

• UNHCR closed its encashment and support centers on September 9 after national female UN staff were barred from UN compounds, halting cash distributions, biometric registration, and protection screening.
• UNHCR reports roughly 2.6 million Afghans have returned from neighboring countries since January 2025, with many not returning by choice.
• Pakistan’s repatriation plan has driven sharp spikes in crossings, with more than 554,000 returns since April, including 143,000 in August and nearly 100,000 in the first week of September.
• UNHCR warns it cannot sustain life-saving assistance without fresh funding and has updated a regional appeal to $258.6 million.
• Afghan authorities rejected conditioning aid on allowing women to work, while UN officials pressed for women’s employment and urged protection-sensitive, voluntary returns, including for people arriving in earthquake-affected areas.