Iran Have Deported 65% of All Recent Afghan Refugees, Says UNHCR

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated in a report that 65 per cent of all Afghan refugees who had recently entered Iran have been deported by the Iranian government.

UNHCR in its latest report on Afghan refugees in Iran, called on Tehran to restart the Census process for the Afghans who have been left out of this programme. The organization added that they had advised Iran not to deport Afghans who have fled the war, but it continues to do so.

The Iranian government had started distributing temporary residence documents to Afghan refugees in April. This process was completed on June 30th and the interior ministry of Iran had announced that the programme will not be extended further.

UNHCR quoted the Iranian government as saying that between 500,000 to 1,000,000 Afghan refugees have entered Iran in 2021. This organization said that the social and economic conditions in Afghanistan has caused Afghans to continue to immigrate to Iran in 2022.

The UNHCR estimates that 274,000 Afghans who recently entered Iran, including those who went to the country in 2021, will remain in Iran till the end of 2022.

UNHCR added that till the end of June, the return of 173 Afghan refugees had been facilitated. “This shows a 75 percent decrease as compared to 706 returnees during the same period in 2021,” said UNHCR.

The organization added that instability and the fragile security situation in Afghanistan have reduced the interest of Afghans to return to their country.