Migration Governance: The Evolution of Concepts and Institutional Framework in Afghanistan

With a rapid increase in displacement threatening to overwhelm Afghanistan’s public services, migration management became a key priority for the Afghan Government and its international partners. While migration and displacement have been standard features of Afghan society and state formation over the past decades, the scope and complexity of the recent displacement wave presents a new risk to stability and development of the country. Beginning in 2015, an estimated 250,000 Afghans left the country, contributing in part to the migration and refugee crisis in Europe. Of this population, a significant percentage is expected to be rejected and returned to Afghanistan. This coincides with the return of Afghans from Pakistan reaching record levels, resulting in over 600,000 returnees recorded for 2016. Internal displacement, as well, is at an all-time high with an estimated one million Afghans displaced within the country. A comprehensive response to the migration crisis is urgently needed to mitigate its effects in a volatile phase of state-building in Afghanistan.