Rights groups highlight obligations to refugees

The tightening of border controls and immigration policies by Afghanistan's neighbours since the 11 September terrorist attacks in the US has put the lives of thousands of Afghan civilians at risk in contravention of international law, respected human rights organisations reported on Friday.

"Afghanistan's neighbours face real security concerns at this time, but these countries have international obligations to meet their security concerns by screening out armed elements so that borders remain open for refugees," Rachael Reilly, Refugee Policy Director at the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), stated in a press release.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, on Thursday (20 September) also urged the states surrounding Afghanistan to keep their borders open so that desperate people fleeing the strife-torn country could be protected.

Lubbers said he was asking governments to provide temporary protection to those fleeing Afghanistan and pledged that UNHCR would work with all concerned to help people return home as soon as circumstances allowed.

Tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have fled towards the Pakistani border in recent days, while others are moving towards Tajikistan and Iran. All six countries bordering Afghanistan - Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China - have officially closed their borders to Afghanistan.

There are already an estimated 2.5 million Afghan refugees living in Iran (including about 1.5 million documented 'programme refugees') and more than two million in Pakistan. Both countries have long said they do not have the capacity to cope with these numbers, not to mention accept any more.

However, "the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom are threatened is a fundamental principle of international customary law and is enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and China are all parties," Human Rights Watch stated on Friday, 21 September.

Amnesty International took up the theme on the same day, stating that Afghanistan's neighbours had "obligations under international law - in particular the principle of 'non refoulement', which prohibits states returning anyone against their will, directly or indirectly, to another country where they risk serious human rights abuses."

"Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan must reopen their borders and provide protection to refugees," but the international community must assist so that these countries did not have to bear a disproportionate cost, it stated on Friday. [http://www.amnesty.org/]

Pakistan's actions in tightening up on immigration and border controls were in direct response to a request from the US to strengthen security in an effort to apprehend those responsible for the attacks, according to Human Rights Watch.

Pakistan was identifying potential sites for additional refugee camps for Afghans but would only establish them if the numbers fleeing increased to an extreme level, Pakistan's Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Northern Areas, and States and Frontiers Region (SAFRON), Abbas Sarfraz Khan, told IRIN on Saturday.

The Iranian government, while reiterating that it was unable to admit any new refugees, had offered to assist Afghans through cross-border assistance operations, according to Human Rights Watch. However, the organisation expressed its opposition to the establishment of camps inside Afghanistan, or the creation of so-called "safe havens" for Afghan civilians.

"Past experience from Bosnia, Rwanda, and Northern Iraq tells us that 'safe havens' have proved to be anything but safe," said Reilly. "Instead, any refugee camps established should be outside the territory of Afghanistan," she added. [for more details, go to: http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/index.htm]

Civilians in Afghanistan now faced three particular serious problems, according to Human Rights Watch: First, the border closures by their country's neighbours meant that people fleeing Afghanistan had nowhere to go for protection; second, the withdrawal of international relief agencies had jeopardised food supplies in a country already facing famine; and third, Afghans with a valid fear of persecution who sought asylum overseas, particularly in western countries, may face prolonged immigration detention or deportation.

There have been "large-scale population movements" inside Afghanistan, particularly from the cities of Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad, to villages and the open countryside but also to border areas, UNHCR spokesman Yusuf Hassan told
IRIN in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday.

"One of our biggest fears is of people trapped in between - unable to get into neighbouring countries because the borders are closed and unable to get back to their home areas - where they would quickly exhaust their resources," he said.

"Sooner or later they would [in that event] run out of food and water, and we are afraid that this could give rise to another humanitarian flashpoint - a crisis within a crisis," Hassan added.

HRW recommended on Friday that all countries in the region should reopen their borders to refugees from Afghanistan. It also advocated that host and donor governments, and the United Nations should develop a coordinated strategy to identify and separate militants and armed elements from civilian refugees.

Governments outside the region, particularly those of industrialised states, should explore emergency resettlement possibilities for Afghan refugees, according to the NGO, which also called for donors governments and relief agencies to take all steps possible to ensure that adequate humanitarian assistance reached all affected civilians inside Afghanistan, especially the internally displaced.

"The people of Afghanistan have suffered conflict and famine for decades. The international community must offer protection and relief immediately, and provide adequate resources to the UN High Commission for Refugees for it to carry out its mandate in an effective manner," Amnesty International added.