Tajikistan continues to expel Afghan refugees - UN agency

Despite assurances that asylum seekers would not be deported following the expulsion of nine Afghans in September, the United Nations refugee agency today said the government of Tajikistan had expelled five more Afghans from the country last week.

Expressing serious concern about the deportation, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that on 9 November, Tajik authorities had detained more than 30 Afghans who were picked up on the streets of Dushanbe and from their homes, including two minors and another two undergoing medical treatment, and kept them in detention while their documents were examined. The minors and those needing medical attention were later released.

Among the deported people were two known to UNHCR, including one who was due to be resettled to a third country in the coming weeks, Rupert Colville told the press in Geneva.

UNHCR had written to the Tajik authorities protesting the detention and deportation of the Afghans, Mr. Colville said. "These are all people of concern to our office who may face grave danger back in Afghanistan because of their possible association with previous Afghan regimes," he said, adding that the refugee agency had met with the authorities one day before the group's expulsion and had been assured that there would be no further deportations.

Tajikistan suspended screening for refugee status determination two years ago, leaving refugees and asylum seekers in a precarious situation, UNHCR said, noting that more than 9,200 refugees were repatriated last year while about 2,500 Afghan refugees remain in the country.