Tehran – Kim Elling, senior adviser to Kim Elling, Director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), appreciates the country’s efforts in hosting and providing services to refugees in Afghanistan.
IOM officials met Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Bataei on Monday on the sidelines of the 76th Annual Session of the 76th Annual Session of the UN High Commission on Refugees, held from October 6th to 10th in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ering praised the country’s efforts in hosting Afghan citizens, saying that a reduction in aid from donor countries is a major challenge for the UN in advance of the project.
An Iranian official emphasized that “despite unilateral mandatory sanctions, Iran provided important services to foreigners.”
Iran hopes that donating countries will be held responsible by allocating appropriate assistance to projects underway within the country, officials added.
Lectured and the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi and special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Kamal Kishore is one of the plans of Iranian officials.
The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner Program (Excom) meets annually in Geneva to review and approve the institution’s programs and budgets, advise on international protection, and discuss various other issues regarding UNHCR and intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
Authorized refugees will not be deported
In August, Home Minister Escandar Momeni announced that over 1.2 million Afghan nationals (mostly undocumented immigrants) have left Iran in the past year, with the highest number of recorded departures in the eastern part of Kholasan Razabi province.
Momeni said the country does not plan to deport documented and licensed refugees.
“We are just deporting two million Afghans who live illegally in Iran,” he said.
“Iran is not an anti-immigrant country as it hosts six million foreigners. Approximately 800,000 of the 2 million undocumented refugees have left the country since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21),” Isna said on July 18.
“These are honorable people who contributed to the country’s production. Under regulations, unfair refugees must leave the country. If they want to live here, they must follow legal procedures,” the official noted.
A total of 717,658 Afghans returned to Afghanistan from March 21 to June 27. Over 80% of them have voluntarily left the country.
According to the head of the National Immigration Agency at Nader Yar-Ahmadi, there was no residency and the type of services offered to documented Afghans living in the country.
On the contrary, as illegal citizens leave the country, they will benefit from more services, the IRNA reported.
“The majority of these citizens are employees or students. We usually see employment as the basis for residential use in long-term planning,” the IRNA quotes Yar-Ahmadi.
Officials went on to say that the presence of illegal immigrants in any country poses many challenges and that in critical circumstances they will become the main suspects. Their presence has a negative impact on the economy, society and the security sector.
Global experience shows that at best immigrants can make up 3% of the population of any country. Iran’s population is estimated to reach around 90 million next year, which means that 3 million migrants. Currently, the country has over 6.1 million citizens and should gradually decrease, Yar-Ahmadi added.
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