Iran calls for international help to facilitate voluntary return of Afghan refugees

Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri in a meeting with Head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres called on the international community to help Tehran with facilitating the voluntary repatriation of Afghan nationals to their homeland. “We expect the international community to fulfill its duties and help improve the conditions of refugees and have a more active presence in organizing their conditions and their return to their country,” Jahangiri said. The Iranian first vice president pointed to the presence of a large number of foreign refugees, including Afghans and Iraqis, in Iran, and said, “Iran is a country that despite receiving the least international aid and also due to the problems of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and sanctions, it has hosted a largest number of refugees, which has imposed a heavy burden on the Islamic Republic.” Guterres, for his part, thanked Iran for providing shelter for the Afghan and Iraqi refugees, and said, “The UNHCR will do its best to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of the refugees and it will attract the attention of the international community to its duties in this regard.” Guterres arrived in Tehran on Monday to discuss the latest conditions of the Afghan refugees residing in Iran. Iran has been a generous host for more than 2 million Afghan refugees for two decades, with little help from the international community. Tehran has called on the international community to strengthen support for Iran for hosting the Afghan refugees and provide repatriation support for the refugees. Voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees from Iran has slowed in recent years in the face of poor security and economic conditions in Afghanistan, which Tehran blames on the US-led invasion of the country in 2001. The office of the UNHCR was established by the UN General Assembly in 1950. According to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. UNHCR first opened an office in Iran in 1984 and expanded its presence with the massive influx of Iraqi refugees following the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the start of Afghans' mass return movement to Afghanistan in 1992. Today UNHCR has its Central office representation in Tehran, plus three sub offices in Mashhad, Kerman and Ahwaz.