RASC News Agency: The Human Rights Defenders Assembly, a network of human rights activists operating both within and outside Afghanistan, has urgently called upon the international community and the United Nations to intervene immediately to alleviate and end the inhumane treatment and tensions faced by Afghanistani migrants and refugees in Iran. The organization has reported that Afghanistani migrants in Iran are subject to inhumane treatment.
Headquartered in Geneva, the Assembly issued a statement urging Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to promptly investigate the conditions of Afghanistani migrants and make a visit to Tehran to engage in dialogue with Iranian officials on this pressing matter. Recent reports have surfaced of coordinated attacks against Afghanistani migrants in various Iranian cities, including Tehran. Some of these reports indicate incidents of physical violence and the arson of their homes.
The Human Rights Defenders Assembly also called on the Iranian government to adhere to internationally accepted standards in its treatment of Afghanistani migrants and to cease what it described as “promoting hatred against Afghanistani migrants.” The statement urged member states of the 1951 Refugee Convention to engage in constructive diplomacy at both global and regional levels to improve the situation of Afghanistani migrants in Iran.
The declaration also called on the Iranian public to show tolerance toward Afghanistani migrants, who are currently in need of humanitarian support. The Assembly warned that continued hostilities against Afghanistani migrants in Iran could have severe repercussions for the cultural and social relations between the two countries, which share deep historical and cultural ties.
Following the recent news of an Iranian citizen’s death during an altercation with three Afghanistani migrants, several migrants in Tehran have reported widespread mistreatment by local residents in the eastern part of the capital. Last week, it was reported that an Iranian citizen was killed in a confrontation with three Afghanistani migrants who had earlier visited his brother’s apartment to collect maintenance fees.
Subsequent to this incident, several Afghanistani migrants in eastern Tehran reported being attacked by local residents in parks, streets, and metro stations.
