AIHRC concerned at refugees’ situation

KABUL and Iran.

Speaking at a gathering on International Refugees Day at the AIHRC Headquarters in Kabul, Mahmoodi said Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran had been deprived of basic human rights.

He said a majority of the Afghans lived in abject poverty and had been struggling for legal social rights. The government had been unable to resolve problems being faced by Afghan refugees in foreign countries, he lamented.

He said the Ministry of Refugee had failed to raise refugees’ related issues with the host countries in an effective way. The rights official said more than 500,000 people had been displaced by the conflict in Afghanistan.

Calling the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) another challenge for the government, he said most of the IDPs were in urgent need of food, drinking water, shelter and employment.

Acting Refugee Minister Fazal Ahmad Azimi said millions of Afghans had left the country over the last three decades due to the conflict, political, social and economic problems.

He said the Afghan government, in collaboration with the international community, had been trying to protect refugees’ rights and help them honorably return home. 

A message from First Lady Bibi Gul was also read out at the gathering. Bibi Gul said Afghan refugees had been living under tough conditions abroad after they were forced to leave their country by the war and despotic regimes.

She urged the youth to play an effective role in the country’s development and refrain from seeking illegal refuge in foreign countries.

Second Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohammad Mohaqiq said problems facing Afghan refugees abroad could not be addressed during the past 13 years.

He said the incumbent government would resolve issues that resulted in immigration such as poverty, insecurity and lack of homes.

He asked the government to prepare a plan ensuring the dignified return of Afghan refugees and seeking the international community’s help in this regard.

nh/ma