Iran coerces Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan in violation of international agreements; areas of return insecure

          
          Iran Coerces Afghan Reftigees to Return to Afghanistan in Violafion of tnt ,. http://p1 'siciarisforhuniairig l ls.org/ library/2002-08-08.lt
          PHR Home> PHR Library
          My PHR/ Log In
          WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO
          PHR
          Physicians for
          Human Rights
          PHR LIBRARY
          Search by:
          Document Type
          Issue
          Country
          L!9J
          Keyword Search :
          key word R3O
          PHR e-newsletter
          Subscribe now
          Get PHR news
          releases by email
          Subscribe now
          PHR CAMPAIGNS
          DONATE GET INVOLVED RESOURCES PRESS STUDENTS SEARCH
          Printer Friendly
          Send to a friend
          PHR Library
          August 8, 2002
          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
          Iran Coerces Afghan Refugees to Return to Afghanistan
          in Violation of International Agreements; Areas of
          Return Insecure
          Media Contacts:
          Nathaniel Raymond
          info phrusa.org
          Tel: (617) 301-4200
          In vioLation of internationaL agreements, Afghan refugees Living in Iran
          have been toLd this week that they must Leave the country by August
          20 or they wiLL be forced to Leave, according to dozens of interviews
          conducted with returnees on the Afghan/Iran border crossing at IsLam
          QaLa by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The Tripartite Agreement,
          signed in ApriL 2002, by the governments of Iran and Afghanistan and
          the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), states
          that aLL repatriation must be voLuntary.
          The Boston- based group aLso Learned that some Afghan chiLdren Living
          in Iran were not being aLLowed to register for schooL in the faLL, aLso in
          vioLation of internationaL agreements ratified or acceded to by Iran
          such as the Convention on the Rights of the ChiLd and the 1951
          Convention ReLating to the Status of Refugees.
          According to sources on the Afghan/Iran border, over the past severaL
          weeks there has been a substantiaL increase in the numbers of peopLe
          crossing the border (thousands of famiLies). Coerced or forced
          repatriation of Large numbers of refugees to an unstabLe humanitarian
          situation wiLL have significant consequences. Returning Afghan
          refugees wiLL LikeLy end up in InternaLLy DispLaced Persons (IDP) camps
          and overwheLm the Limited resources of food, water, and sheLter in
          Afghanistan and the aLready devastated heaLth system, the medicaL
          group said. Furthermore, the security situation, particuLarLy in the
          North and the West, documented by PHR and others, has been
          unstabLe. In May 2002, a PHR survey of internaLLy dispLaced Afghans
          from the Shaidayee Camp in Herat study showed a shocking
          prevaLence of attacks against ethnic Pashtuns and ongoing deprivation
          of basic needs.
          “The refugees are being forced into a revoLving door that may
          ø 7 ' Health
          -, . I Act j p
          Campa g
          1 of 3
          03/08 2010 13:36
        

          
          Iran Coerces Afghan Reftigees to Return to Afghanistan in Violafion of tnt ,, http://p1 'siciarisforhuniarrig l ls.org/ library/2002-08-08 , lt
          uLtimateLy Lead them back into refugee status in Iran or eLsewhere,
          said Dr. Lynn Amowitz, PHR Senior MedicaL Researcher, currentLy in
          Afghanistan.
          On August 5, a message to the refugees to Leave Afghanistan was
          broadcast in Iran on state-run TV and radio and printed in newspapers.
          I was forced to Leave by the Iranian authority. If I did not choose to
          Leave, they said that we wouLd be removed by force. Twenty-five days
          ago, we were aLL coLLected into the mosque at the headquarters of the
          poLice. The chief of foreign affairs, toLd us that we must Leave and
          that our chiLdren couLd not be registered in the schooLs for the next
          term, said a 35-year-oLd Afghan maLe Living in Bandarabus, Iran for six
          years, originaLLy from KabuL.
          The Tripartite Agreement was signed in Geneva in ApriL 2002 by the
          governments of Iran, Afghanistan and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
          It Lays down the main LegaL and operationaL framework for the
          voLuntary return of Afghan refugees in Iran. ArticLe 5 of the Agreement
          states: The Parties hereby reaffirm that the repatriation of Afghan
          refugees and dispLaced persons in Iran shaLL take pLace at their freeLy
          expressed wish based on their knowLedge of the conditions reLating to
          voLuntary repatriation and the situation in intended pLaces to return.
          The VoLuntary character of the repatriation shaLL be fuLLy respected.
          According to the Convention ReLating to the Status of Refugees (1951),
          no contracting state shaLL expeL or return refouLer a refugee in any
          manner whatsoever to the frontiers or territories where his Life or
          freedom wouLd be threatened on account of his race, reLigion,
          nationaLity, membership of a particuLar sociaL group.
          ALso, the Convention states that the contracting states shaLL accord
          to refugees the same treatment as is accorded to nationaLs with
          respect to eLementary education. Iran acceded to the Convention on
          JuLy 28, 1976. ArticLe 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the ChiLd
          caLLs on state parties to recognize the right of the chiLd to education
          and make primary education compuLsory and avaiLabLe free to aLL.
          Iran ratified the CRC on JuLy 13 1994.
          Physicians for Human Rights caLLs on the Government of Iran to take
          immediate action to ensure the termination of aLL invoLuntary
          repatriation practices and to respect the provisions of the
          internationaL human rights Law and agreements to which it is bound.
          Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) mobilizes the health professions to
          advance the health and dignity of all people by protecting human
          rights. As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban
          Landmines, PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
          Date posted: February 22, 2007
          Last updated: May 27, 2010
          2 of 3 03/08 2010 13:36
        

          
          Iran Coerces Afghan Reftigees to Return to Afghanistan in Violafion of tnt ,. http://p1 'siciarisforhuniairig l ls.org/ library/2002-08-08. lt
          A TO TOP OF PAGE
          About PHR I Donate I Action Center I Investigations I Forensic Program I Asylum Program
          Press I Students I Library I Contact PHR I Privacy Policy I 0 RSS Feeds
          © Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) 2009
          Physicians for Human Rights, 2 Arrow Street, Suite 301, Cambridge, MA 02138 I Tel 617.301.4200 I Fax 617.301.4250
          3 of 3 03/08 2010 13:36