Situation
The Government of Pakistan announced on 3 October 2023 that all “undocumented” foreign nationals must leave the country by 1 November or confront deportation to their countries of origin. The UN subsequently addressed the particular risk for Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan, presently around 3.7 million persons, noting the Taliban takeover and conditions of human rights abuse in Afghanistan.
Background
Pakistan is a popular destination amongst Afghan nationals who want to flee from human rights violations in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, Afghan nationals have fled to Pakistan, escaping persecution, where they have confronted arrests, detentions, and threats of deportation. Most persons do not hold ‘proof of registration’ which entitles them to stay in Pakistan or they instead possess expired visas.
Pakistan is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and lacks a national asylum system. The Society for Human Rights and Prisoner’s Aid, a UNHCR partner NGO in Pakistan, has come under severe criticism for protracted administration, whereby refugees are compelled to stay in conditions of exile due to long period of processing in asylum applications. On World Refugee Day earlier this year, the 20 June 2023, former members of the Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan highlighted the poor conditions for Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, in conversation with Amnesty International: ‘Our lives in Pakistan are no lives at all’; ‘The so-called resettlement scheme for Afghans remains a mirage’.
In the only census of Afghans in Pakistan in 2005, refugees were provided with proof of registration cards, confirming their status as refugees. However, in February 2007, these registrations stopped as the Government of Pakistan extended the validity of cards and citizenship only to the prior registered refugees. In a landscape where the UNHCR has limited capability to process asylum applications, it issued non-return advisories in 2021, 2022, and 2023, seeking to stop the forcible return of Afghan refugees.
Impact
For Afghan refugees in Pakistan, an unregistered legal status presents significant difficulties in seeking support from UN agencies. Furthermore, the lack of documentation obstructs the refugees from being relocated to a third country. According to assessments by Amnesty International, countries that offer relocation schemes to Afghan refugees cannot operate in Pakistan due to lengthy wait times and complicated processes. Still, the authorities in Pakistan argue that the deportation process concerns “persons residing in the country ‘illegally’ and there is no intended association with Afghan refugees”, as reported by AP News in conversation with the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The South Asian Deputy Director at Amnesty stated, “Afghans seeking asylum were first punished by the Taliban – and now by arduous registration, asylum and visa processes. The international community has failed to provide adequate protection to those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, in sharp contrast to the initial promises made. We are calling on the UNHCR to expedite registration and reviews of applications from Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan, and the Government of Pakistan must stop arbitrarily arresting and harassing Afghan refugees”.
Action for deportation has begun in Pakistan whereby more than 250 Afghan refugees and migrants have been detained as the Government of Pakistan continues to publicly claim safe and secure deportation processes.
Since 2021, at least 200 Afghan journalists have fled to Pakistan under the conditions of restrictions on press freedom, draconian laws against women journalists, and widespread censorship and shutting down of media houses. Following the order of deportation in October 2023, the Federation of Afghan Journalists in Exile has called on the UN and Pakistan authorities to support these journalists and protect them from arrests, detention, and abuse.
Current Action
Prominently, UN agencies have ‘appealed’ to Pakistan to refrain from indulging a mass human rights violation by deporting refugees to their country of origin where they continue to face threats of persecution. The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated, “We are very worried that those who are deported face a whole host of human rights violations including torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, severe discrimination, and lack of access to basic economic and social needs”.
Since the announcement on 3 October, around 60,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan, of whom 78% have cited fears of arrest as the reason for leaving Pakistan, according to UNHCR and the IOM.
The especially vulnerable groups of refugees recognised by the UN include women, girls, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and former government officials and public servants. Further, the onset of winter is likely to amplify the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
The Government of Pakistan must acknowledge the violations of human rights, recognise the vulnerability of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan and adhere to the protection and promotion of their rights. Currently absent action between the UN agencies and local authorities in Pakistan is required to prevent deportation and refoulement. Pressure must also be put on Pakistan to create a plan for the protection and execution of safe, dignified, and voluntary return of Afghan refugees, consistent with international law. Otherwise, both the past and the fate of Afghan refugees will remain bleak. This is not something that the world can tolerate.
Vrinda Sahai
References
https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-afghans-illegal-migrants-deportation-2c6beee6f73db4678d127cc4752729e4
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142477
https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pakistan-deportation-deadline-looms-afghan-refugees?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhfipBhCqARIsAH9msbnIggwKAfRC7s6owiuz1VkdF7gOOBKw2ObRP8dkCNWA1jI3orXZLYMaAnmpEALw_wcB
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/pakistan-afghan-refugees-harassed-jailed-and-forced-pay-bribes-new-testimonies?utm_source=google&utm_medium=grant&utm_campaign=BRD_AWA_GEN_dynamic-search-ads&utm_content=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhfipBhCqARIsAH9msbno_k-nZMBrVFBMfYcF-A6CyUNvtWNlXuf5NgYhrbFbSxPWjIuzpnYaAkjJEALw_wcB
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/12/pakistan-drop-threat-deport-afghans#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20High%20Commissioner,takeover%20on%20August%2015%2C%202021.
https://www.voanews.com/a/un-urges-pakistan-to-suspend-forcible-deportation-of-afghan-nationals-/7331800.html#:~:text=A%20social%20group%2C%20Aurat%20March,illegally%2C%20including%201.7%20million%20Afghans.
The Government of Pakistan announced on 3 October 2023 that all “undocumented” foreign nationals must leave the country by 1 November or confront deportation to their countries of origin. The UN subsequently addressed the particular risk for Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan, presently around 3.7 million persons, noting the Taliban takeover and conditions of human rights abuse in Afghanistan.
Background
Pakistan is a popular destination amongst Afghan nationals who want to flee from human rights violations in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, Afghan nationals have fled to Pakistan, escaping persecution, where they have confronted arrests, detentions, and threats of deportation. Most persons do not hold ‘proof of registration’ which entitles them to stay in Pakistan or they instead possess expired visas.
Pakistan is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and lacks a national asylum system. The Society for Human Rights and Prisoner’s Aid, a UNHCR partner NGO in Pakistan, has come under severe criticism for protracted administration, whereby refugees are compelled to stay in conditions of exile due to long period of processing in asylum applications. On World Refugee Day earlier this year, the 20 June 2023, former members of the Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan highlighted the poor conditions for Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, in conversation with Amnesty International: ‘Our lives in Pakistan are no lives at all’; ‘The so-called resettlement scheme for Afghans remains a mirage’.
In the only census of Afghans in Pakistan in 2005, refugees were provided with proof of registration cards, confirming their status as refugees. However, in February 2007, these registrations stopped as the Government of Pakistan extended the validity of cards and citizenship only to the prior registered refugees. In a landscape where the UNHCR has limited capability to process asylum applications, it issued non-return advisories in 2021, 2022, and 2023, seeking to stop the forcible return of Afghan refugees.
Impact
For Afghan refugees in Pakistan, an unregistered legal status presents significant difficulties in seeking support from UN agencies. Furthermore, the lack of documentation obstructs the refugees from being relocated to a third country. According to assessments by Amnesty International, countries that offer relocation schemes to Afghan refugees cannot operate in Pakistan due to lengthy wait times and complicated processes. Still, the authorities in Pakistan argue that the deportation process concerns “persons residing in the country ‘illegally’ and there is no intended association with Afghan refugees”, as reported by AP News in conversation with the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The South Asian Deputy Director at Amnesty stated, “Afghans seeking asylum were first punished by the Taliban – and now by arduous registration, asylum and visa processes. The international community has failed to provide adequate protection to those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, in sharp contrast to the initial promises made. We are calling on the UNHCR to expedite registration and reviews of applications from Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan, and the Government of Pakistan must stop arbitrarily arresting and harassing Afghan refugees”.
Action for deportation has begun in Pakistan whereby more than 250 Afghan refugees and migrants have been detained as the Government of Pakistan continues to publicly claim safe and secure deportation processes.
Since 2021, at least 200 Afghan journalists have fled to Pakistan under the conditions of restrictions on press freedom, draconian laws against women journalists, and widespread censorship and shutting down of media houses. Following the order of deportation in October 2023, the Federation of Afghan Journalists in Exile has called on the UN and Pakistan authorities to support these journalists and protect them from arrests, detention, and abuse.
Current Action
Prominently, UN agencies have ‘appealed’ to Pakistan to refrain from indulging a mass human rights violation by deporting refugees to their country of origin where they continue to face threats of persecution. The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated, “We are very worried that those who are deported face a whole host of human rights violations including torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, severe discrimination, and lack of access to basic economic and social needs”.
Since the announcement on 3 October, around 60,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan, of whom 78% have cited fears of arrest as the reason for leaving Pakistan, according to UNHCR and the IOM.
The especially vulnerable groups of refugees recognised by the UN include women, girls, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and former government officials and public servants. Further, the onset of winter is likely to amplify the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
The Government of Pakistan must acknowledge the violations of human rights, recognise the vulnerability of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan and adhere to the protection and promotion of their rights. Currently absent action between the UN agencies and local authorities in Pakistan is required to prevent deportation and refoulement. Pressure must also be put on Pakistan to create a plan for the protection and execution of safe, dignified, and voluntary return of Afghan refugees, consistent with international law. Otherwise, both the past and the fate of Afghan refugees will remain bleak. This is not something that the world can tolerate.
Vrinda Sahai
References
https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-afghans-illegal-migrants-deportation-2c6beee6f73db4678d127cc4752729e4
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142477
https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pakistan-deportation-deadline-looms-afghan-refugees?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhfipBhCqARIsAH9msbnIggwKAfRC7s6owiuz1VkdF7gOOBKw2ObRP8dkCNWA1jI3orXZLYMaAnmpEALw_wcB
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/pakistan-afghan-refugees-harassed-jailed-and-forced-pay-bribes-new-testimonies?utm_source=google&utm_medium=grant&utm_campaign=BRD_AWA_GEN_dynamic-search-ads&utm_content=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhfipBhCqARIsAH9msbno_k-nZMBrVFBMfYcF-A6CyUNvtWNlXuf5NgYhrbFbSxPWjIuzpnYaAkjJEALw_wcB
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/12/pakistan-drop-threat-deport-afghans#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20High%20Commissioner,takeover%20on%20August%2015%2C%202021.
https://www.voanews.com/a/un-urges-pakistan-to-suspend-forcible-deportation-of-afghan-nationals-/7331800.html#:~:text=A%20social%20group%2C%20Aurat%20March,illegally%2C%20including%201.7%20million%20Afghans.