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Iranians force refugees to return, violating accord: UN agency
Kabul, Aug 11: The UN refugee agency complained today that Iranian authorities are pressuring Afghan refugees to leave their longtime homes in Iran and return to Afghanistan involuntarily.
Kabul, Aug 11: The UN refugee agency complained today that Iranian authorities are pressuring Afghan refugees to leave their longtime homes in Iran and return to Afghanistan involuntarily.
Such induced returns violate an agreement signed by the Iranian and Afghan governments and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in April, said Maki Shinohara, UNHCR spokeswoman in Kabul.
She said the number of Afghan refugees crossing the border from Iran rose from an average of 6,500 weekly in July to 10,000 in the first week of august, and that UNHCR staff in eastern Iran warned that 3,000 were crossing the border on today alone. The UN agency was scrambling to erect additional tents to house the sudden influx.
Some returnees said Iranian authorities had refused to register their children for the new school year, and were informing refugees that if they did not return to Afghanistan immediately they would not be eligible for UN financial and other assistance. This report of a UN deadline is untrue, Shinohara said.
"We have raised several times our concerns inside Iran," she told reporters. "Unfortunately, we are seeing some of the effects of this announcement starting this past week."
The UN agency embarked on a huge repatriation programme for the more than 4 million afghan refugees outside the country's borders in march, three months after a US-led military campaign brought down the Taliban government and generally restored peace to Afghanistan. Bureau Report
She said the number of Afghan refugees crossing the border from Iran rose from an average of 6,500 weekly in July to 10,000 in the first week of august, and that UNHCR staff in eastern Iran warned that 3,000 were crossing the border on today alone. The UN agency was scrambling to erect additional tents to house the sudden influx.
Some returnees said Iranian authorities had refused to register their children for the new school year, and were informing refugees that if they did not return to Afghanistan immediately they would not be eligible for UN financial and other assistance. This report of a UN deadline is untrue, Shinohara said.
"We have raised several times our concerns inside Iran," she told reporters. "Unfortunately, we are seeing some of the effects of this announcement starting this past week."
The UN agency embarked on a huge repatriation programme for the more than 4 million afghan refugees outside the country's borders in march, three months after a US-led military campaign brought down the Taliban government and generally restored peace to Afghanistan. Bureau Report