2nd SHURA National Steering Committee
24th April 2019, Kabul. The second session of the SHURA National Steering Committee (NSC) was convened in Kabul to discuss progress and challenges of reintegration of internally displaced (IDPs) and returnees, under the chairmanship of H.E. the Minister of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR), Mr. Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi.
The Steering Committee recognized the relevant progress in the implementation of the SHURA programme (Sustainable Human Settlements in Urban Areas to support the Reintegration of Afghanistan). So far, more than 3.5 million Jeribs of state land were inventoried and mapped in twenty-eight (28) provinces. In Herat, the adoption of a master plan in Saadat Township is helping to provide durable housing solution to more than 10,000 families. Four prototype houses are under construction in Saadat township, so beneficiaries can choose one modality for sustainable housing solutions. In Eltefat site (Shakardara district) in Kabul province, work is ongoing on the preparations of a master plan for IDPs and returnees.
The Minister thanked UN-Habitat, donors, and partners for the progress in providing durable solutions to the reintegration process of Afghan displaced and returnees. He then urged the Steering Committee to expedite the construction of the registration center work in Kabul in Herat; activate the provincial consortia for beneficiary selection in Herat and Kabul and start the registration of beneficiary applicants as soon as possible.
The second session of the Steering Committee was hosted in the premises of the EU Delegation in Afghanistan and it was attended by high-level key urban stakeholders, namely the Deputy Minister for Housing, advisers to the President and CEO, representatives from the Deputy Ministry of Municipalities, donors and IOM, UNHRC and Habitat officials.
Funded by the Government of Denmark and the European Union (EU), the Sustainable Human Settlements in Urban Areas to support the Reintegration of Afghanistan programme (also known as SHURA), is an area-based intervention aiming at improving livelihoods of thousands of vulnerable populations affected by the longstanding conflict through access to land and housing.
For more information, contact Mr. Koussay Boulaich UN-Habitat Head of communication in Afghanistan