UN urges Tajikistan to stop deporting Afghans

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern about the deportation of Afghan refugees from Tajikistan.

On August 23, the Tajik authorities deported a mother with three children to Afghanistan, Kommersant reports citing the UN agency.

"Tajikistan must stop detaining and deporting refugees - actions that clearly endanger people's lives," said Elizabeth Tan, Director of the UNHCR Department of International Protection.

"The forced return of refugees is contrary to the law and the principle of non-refoulment," she said. Elizabeth Tan also recalled the situation with women's rights in Afghanistan.

Numerous cases of deportation of Afghans from Tajikistan have been recorded since 2021. In this regard, UNHCR has issued General Recommendations on Afghanistan, which call on all countries to prohibit the forced return of all Afghan citizens to their homeland.

According to the UNHCR, in the summer of 2022, there were more than 8.500 Afghan refugees in Tajikistan, of which 5,700 people arrived after the radical Taliban movement came to power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021. Last year, about 4,000 Afghan refugees left through Tajikistan for third countries.

The Taliban government is mainly composed of Pashtuns, only two out of 40 posts are occupied by Tajiks. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has repeatedly criticised the Taliban for their actions and for ignoring the rights of Tajiks in Afghanistan. According to him, ethnic Tajiks make up more than 46 per cent of Afghanistan's population.

According to the UN, the Taliban systematically violate human rights in Afghanistan. Women are the most vulnerable. At their first press conference after seizing power, the Taliban promised to respect women's rights under Shari'ah law, but soon they introduced a number of prohibitions, in particular, restrictions on women's education. The New York Times wrote about how Afghan women protesting against the Taliban were subjected to repression.