Referring to the Islamic Republic's recent decision to deport two million Afghan refugees from Iran, Caroline Gluck, the spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that any return must be voluntary.
Gluck said that hundreds of thousands of refugees were returned to Afghanistan last year. She added, "Last year, despite the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees not to return, many migrants were forced to return.”
Gluck said in a video from Islam Qala on Saturday, December 21, "Hundreds of thousands of people have been repatriated to Afghanistan in the past year. Many of them were forced to return despite UNHCR's advice not to return."
Gluck said that since September of this year, the number of returnees from Iran has increased significantly.
The UN official referred to recent statements by Islamic Republic officials that they plan to deport two million undocumented Afghan refugees by the end of this year.
"The position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is that any kind of return must be voluntary and carried out in safety and dignity," she stressed.
