“CVP since 2015 has been a host entity within the scope of relocation and resettlement programs for refugees, therefore, we have had a capacity that has been made available to the Portuguese authorities in this regard and, given these developments in the political context and the crisis in Afghanistan, we also wanted to strengthen our capacity and that is why we launched this appeal to our network”, said to Lusa Joana Rodrigues, coordinator of responses for refugees at CVP.

The reception may not be done at the local Red Cross facilities, explained the official, adding that the procedure most used today is to resort to the local rental market to find available accommodation.

But partnerships with local organisations and municipalities are other alternatives explored by the CVP delegations.

The appeal to the network was launched on 20 August by CVP, said the newspaper Expresso, reporting a letter signed by the institution's president, Francisco George.

"The internal appeal was launched on 20 August, as availability arises, we will communicate to the ACM and the Secretary of State for Migration", said Joana Rodrigues to Lusa, referring that this is an initiative of the institution, which does not result from any express request to that effect by the Government.

Currently, the CVP has about 100 refugees in the process of integrating and the last receptions carried out by the CVP have had a majority of Afghan citizens, and a significant number of unaccompanied minors, said Joana Rodrigues.

On 18 August, the minister of Internal Affairs said that Portugal hopes to receive refugees from Afghanistan “as soon as possible”, confirming that the country is expected to host around 50 people who have cooperated with the services of the European Union.

The final number of Afghan refugees that Portugal will receive is not yet certain, and there is no set date for their arrival either, explained Eduardo Cabrita in statements to Lusa, at the end of the ministerial meeting of the European Union's Integrated Political Response Mechanism the Crisis Situations (IPCR), which took place in the afternoon by videoconference.

"The priority, at this time, is to support the departure from Afghanistan of people who worked with the representations, in this case, the European Union (EU)", said Eduardo Cabrita, reiterating that Portugal will support this effort and that, in a first phase, the country is expected to host around 50 people.

On the possibility of Portugal receiving Afghan refugees who are not in this situation, Eduardo Cabrita acknowledged the particularly fragile position of women and others involved in the promotion of human rights in Afghanistan, but stressed that there cannot be “disordered migration flows”.