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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
AFGHANISTAN: Forced return of asylum seekers from UK condemned
ISLAMABAD, 29 April 2003 (IRIN) - There has been strong condemnation of a decision by the UK to return a group of Afghan asylum seekers, after the government rejected their claims. With few details available, it's understood from rights groups and Afghan community organisations in the UK that 30 Afghans were flown back to their homeland from Stanstead airport, outside London on Monday.
"We are worried about the situation in Afghanistan and people are leaving because there is no peace in Afghanistan and they should not be turned away like this," a representative of the Afghan society in London, Sayed Jan Karwani told IRIN on Tuesday. He left the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in 1978 to settle in England.
Following the deportations, a meeting of Afghan community leaders was convened yesterday in London. "We plan to meet with home office and UNHCR to take up this matter. Security in Afghanistan is reportedly not getting better and our people need protection," he added.
Amnesty International (AI) also condemned the decision, saying the Afghans were forcibly returned. "This is not a responsible attitude towards human rights. It is simply premature," spokesman for Amnesty International, Neil Durkin told IRIN from London on Tuesday.
"Given the complexities and challenges in ensuring the sustainability of return, the timing of returns should be informed by human rights standards," he added. A recent mission from the human rights watchdog to Afghanistan concluded that conditions were still not conducive to the promotion of voluntary return.
"Lack of security in the country, including in Kabul, and in spite of the presence of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), is still a serious problem," a statement issued by Amnesty said.
Durkin said the notion that these were symbolic returns was totally unacceptable. "Returns for symbolic purposes are dangerous because they are motivated by public perception rather than a cool-headed and objective assessment of the reality on the ground."
Meanwhile, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a statement on Monday connected to the deportations. "There are groups of Afghans who remain in need of international protection. In this particular instance, UNHCR has been assured that the people who are subject to removal have availed themselves of the asylum procedure and have been found not to be in need of international protection."
The statement added that while security was still a concern in Afghanistan, last year more than 2 million people chose to return of their own will and that UNHCR hoped conditions would allow more than three million Afghans living outside the country mostly in Pakistan and Iran, to be able to return.
The refugee agency is calling for the Afghan authorities, and the international community, to take measures to strengthen security in the country, particularly in rural areas, as this will be a precondition for widespread return.
"We understand that at present the UK is returning people only to the Kabul region where the security situation is relatively stable," the statement said.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs
[ENDS]
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