UN refugee agency deplores sudden deportations of Afghans from Tajikistan

An Afghan woman and her four children who had been living in Tajikistan since 1992 were suddenly deported Wednesday to their home country, even though three of them had recently been accepted for resettlement in Canada, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond said today.

"UNHCR strongly deplores a decision by the government of Tajikistan to deport five members of an Afghan refugee family," he told a news briefing in Geneva.

"UNHCR strongly urges the Tajik Government to adhere to its international obligations resulting from the refugee Convention and various other human rights instruments," he added, referring to a 1951 Convention relating to treatment of refugees, and a 1984 Convention against torture and other abuses.

The deportation followed the decision by Tajikistan's Refugee Status Determination Commission to strip the mother of her refugee status earlier this year. The mother had appealed against the decision directly to the Dushanbe City Court of Law, and was still in possession of valid immigrant documents, when she and her children were put into a detention centre with no reason given this week, he said.

During their detention they were not allowed to speak to a lawyer, nor were they given the right to appeal the deportation decision within one week, in accordance with Tajik law. Although the UNHCR made urgent contacts with the authorities, they were not even allowed to access the family prior to their deportation on 14 September.

It is not the first time the Government has deported Afghan refugees without reason. In late 2002, five Afghans were expelled from the country even though the Tajik Government had given their assurances to the UNHCR that asylum-seekers would not be deported.